I was a given a methylprednisolone dose pack by my RD, who said don't use it unless you need it, we won't be giving you them that often. He said if you have a bunch of bad days in a row and need a little relief, which is now, than use it. I am freaked out by the oral steroids and their side effects, and also the thought I could be on them for the rest of my life. I only have pain in my knees, so could I do just as well with injections instead for now? Also, about how long do they last? Is it a matter of days? Weeks? And finally, if I take the steroids next week, and then have a doctor's appt 2 weeks after that, will it screw that up, so the doctor can't see what's really going on?
Thanks for the help
Steph
Hi Special,I only take the predisone if theres alot of joints involved,if it's just yours knees not sure why they wouldn't inject them.I have been on predisone since 1989 on a low dose only had cataract problems.When they inject can last up to 6 wks.Not sure on your last question have u see the DR.before?Do you have RA? Thanks SandyI am in the process of being diagnosed I guess. I have seen a RD who says statistically speaking I probably have RA, come back in six weeks I might help you then. He took a ton of blood tests and I am still waiting for the results of them 3 weeks later. Is that a long time? It feels long. I saw a general doctor in passing, his guess was bursitis based on a 30 second knee exam. I am going to a holistic accupuncture guy who is going the herbal route, which unfortunately is not helping. And finally, I have an appt. with an ortho in a couple weeks. I made that appt. after the RD one went so poorly. I don't want to screw things up so the ortho doesn't get an idea of what is going on, but I just don't know if I can sit around for two more weeks waiting for the inflammation to go away, when I'm pretty sure it won't. So, I don't really know what's going on yet, just that it's making me nuts!!
Steph
Hi Steph,
About your question if the Dr will see your symptoms after taking Prednisone/Cortisone you might want to take pics of any joint swelling you have. This is something I did early in my Dx since being Sero-Negative I had a tough time getting a Dr to listen to me.
My Dr will not let me have Prednisone on a daily basis but I have had 2 Medrol packs and I am given pain meds. Also, I seem to always have multiple joints involved in flares so I get Cortisone Injections in the bum. I seem to be in a permanent flare, lol.
I hope some of this helps as I remember so well the Diagnosis process and educating myself helped a lot.
Take care
The short term benefits of steroids are not worth the long term damage thatspecial-
pred has its place for short term relief so take it if you feel you need it. in fact if you improve woth the pred pack it is an additional indication that whatever is going in is inflammatory.
injections into a joint can be done 3-4 times every year. they are not without risk themselves but can be very helpful with a swollen joint. i will get an injection only if other measures dont help