Hey, I read a lot of post with people being prescribed Prednisone. am I the only one who has never taken this drug? I know that is prescribed mostly for swelling, I really don't have a lot of swelling, am I the only one out there that doesn't have a lot of swelling?
Hope everyone is having a good weekend,
Hi Boney, I know I am lucky. not much swelling, just wanted to know how many never had prednisone. I am on Mtx and 3 remicade infusions. hope you are feeling ok.hi doing ok thanks..mtx and 3 remicade thats a strong combo
i hope it continues to do the job for years to come..
Boney
I've never taken it either. My RD suggested it a few times in the beginning as a temporary measure until the mtx kicked, but I guess I was stubborn and keep declining. I have to add though that I wasn't having any horrible flares either, or I may have decided differently.I've never taken prednisone either... when I was in flares I did have cortisone shots in a knee each time... Maybe I'm foolish.. but I had more fear of that then the MTX and the enbrel ive had RA for over 20 years in that time i have been on pred (medrol packs)a total of 14 days. i have serious erosive disease so was not taking the pred the right decsion..for me it was. i was never comfortable with the side effect profile. Based on the lack of reaction to the pred packs I took myy rheumatologist felt i would have had to be on high dose pred to control the disease.Thanks for the replys, I hope it never gets so bad that I need this drug. Hi Buckeye, being nosey here, as i have used it scince i got ra but knew
nothing about the drug at all.. every dmrd was not enough whithout pred
and medrol injects.. i just wonderd if the dmrds you used were allso not
enough to controll ra therefore you have sustained a lot of joint damage..
Boney..
hi janlee this makes me wonder if i had been able to have
remicade plus mtx 13yrs ago wheather i would have needed the pred
Boney
That is good that you have not had to have prednisone! I hope you never will have a need for it other than to help you get over a flare at most. I've been on Pred for 4 years for a flare that has continued unrelenting for that period of time. Have been on AP therapy, Enbrel, Humira, Remicade, MXT, Sulfasalzine and now back on Humira and MXT with complete clinical remission for the last 3 months. I have to continue 5.5 mg. of Pred. due to sluggish adrenals. I don't recommend anyone use Pred. unless it's absolutely necessary and for me it was. I was housebound with the flare. LindyLin, I'm glad you are feeling better, sounds like you have really suffered. hope the remission continue. I took pred for five years. This was mainly due to inflammation in the rib joints/chest wall. I am now using nerve blocks to help with the issue-mainly cause I don't want to be on pred forever...I am now 31 and this disease isn't going anywhere. I am sure I'll be back on it later. I do have a longer acting steriod that I am to take when the chest flares.
Boney I know what you're saying. Remicade has helped a lot of people. you have also been tru alot.
Boney..its more a question of what i haven't been on . I was dx even before mtx was approved for RA. I went on it 3 days after it was approved and it did ok for many years thne the flare from hell hit and that was all she wrote. That flare lasted in an acute stage for about 3 years and its now over 10 years later and something somewhere is always inflamed. Realistically though the disease started the damage cycle early it just the the really bad flare to finish everything off. I've had 7 major joint replacements since 2000 so the good news is that im running out of joints for the disease to be active in.
I'm currently stable-not better but not worse- on rituxan.
I've been highly resistant to just about every med. I maxed out the doses on every drug I've been on. with no side effects..its almost like i'm injectiing water and swallowing sugar pills. I did not respond well to the pred packs which is why my dr said it was probably a good thing i never went on it. he felt based on my history that I would need a massive dose of pred to get a reaction and at that dose the side effects were likely to have caused more problems than it helped. but we'll never know for sure at this point, I don't regret my decision, i really don't
buckeye2008-05-18 18:53:01I was on pred at the very, very beginning. Before NSAIDs, even aleve, b/c I was breastfeeding. At the time, they thought I had tendonitis. Swelling and pain was not prominent and only slowly increasing...then I went on pred. It was AWESOME. But on day 4 of the pack, I WAY overdid it and my hand went crazy. I mean, I was still ON the prednisone, and I went somewhere with my baby, was having to hold him (grip) a lot, no one else around to help, and by the time I headed home, I could only drive with one hand. The other was just entirely useless. And I still had a day of pred left!
Anyway I don't know what was going on. I think it was just the start of a huge flare and the pred fooled me into not resting.
My dad is on pred for adrenal issues, but, when he got too high of a dose, he had some psyciatric issues, got amazingly, scarily manic, so I plan to stay away to long term therapy unless necessary.
Hi I'm new here but have been fighting RA for 24 yrs . Back when I was diagnosed they started out with the little stuff( asprin) and you worked up to the big drugs . So we oldies got alot of damage before they got around to the big guns . predisone was a first drug of choice as it got rid of the swelling so it made the disease more bearable but the damage continued unabated. now they start you on the big stuff right away . . It controls alot of the damage and makes life more comfortable and slows the damage down alot. This is good. It took ten years before I was given metho . I am still on predisone today and have never been off of it in 24 yrs. they have tried to take me off but I will flare every time . Now they can't take me off because my body doesn't make it anymore naturally as it should and this is something your body needs to fight infection.
Im currently on Enbrel , metho, predisone,hydrocloriqin and vitimin D shots, folic acid
I am enjoing your site here and hope to be a contributing member. Hi Janlee
I have been on prednisolone for 5 weeks now as plaquenil wasn't working. I do not have any swelling except a little in one ankle and all my blood tests are normal for inflammation although positive for RF and anti-CCP. Rheumy wasn't convinced it was inflammatory arthritis so tried pred and I feel better than I have for 2 years as it took all the pain away which has proven it is inflammatory. I am tapering off now and the pain is coming back, waiting for MTX to kick in. I haven't had any side effects and I feel that it has been beneficial as at least I have heard a break from feeling so terrible. After my experience with it I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a short term option.
I have never taken Prednisone. My reheumatologist never even suggested it during my initial visits.
I took Naprosyn initial which didn't do much. The rheumatolgist suggested Plavenquil and MTX. I started MTX rather quickly. The MTX worked with a month. I have been very very lucky....so far.
Patti372008-05-19 03:07:46hi Buckeye when i read your ra is running out of joints it made me think
about what i once said to the nurses about some of the meds
Joints can be replaced we can not..
as you say .. a decision of if to take a med or not is a individual choice
and a person will never know what the outcome may have been
unless you could split into two and watch yourself..
and as you say mass doses of pred is not good.. i have been lucky
in that while i could take the meds they had a impact on my ra..
where you are able to tollerate the meds but whith little or no impact
on your ra... i thought maybe we could meet in the middle...
Boney
I take pred only occasionally.. but the thing is I almost NEVER swelll. I have disease activity but almost no swelling.. I take pred for pain and loss of function.. when I cant use my hands, knees, feet or jaw, its time to break down and take it.I have been on pred. four times in the last several years. The first and second the time it was prescribed for unrelenting arm pain, the third time for sudden hearing loss (it didn't bring my hearing back) and just recently for ringing in the hearing ear to hopefully prevent autoimmune inner ear disease loss in that ear. The pred didn't help with the ringing but switching to injectible MTX seems to have helped a little. I never had swelling except a couple of times in my hands. I get stiff and achy, but don't swell. I have mixed feelings about the pred. not working for my ears. I'm scared silly of the stuff, but if it's going to prevent serious problems, it's certainly worth the risk, isn't it? The lesser of two evils, to be sure.Thanks everyone for responding, I was starting to think I was the only one with mild swelling.
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