I have been on Prednisone since December. I have been on 10mg and haven't been able to cut back at all. I still have swelling almost every night and pain of course. The rheumatologist said she doesn't want to take me off the prednisone until I start getting better. What exactly does that mean...does the pain have to go away? Does the swelling have to completely stop? I don't feel like it ever will :( What has your experience been with stopping Prednisone?
Thanks
I believe I was on prednisone for about 3 years. Once I was on a mixture of meds that was doing their job, and I was feeling better for some time, I stopped taking prednisone. Over the years though, my medication has been increased, plus more added to it, since I was having more pain. I have been off prednisone for about 11-12 years now and still have a fair amount of pain, but I've decided to stay away from the prednisone unless I'm unable to move. I've talked with my doctor about this and she is fine with it.
So maybe your medication needs to be increased or something added to it? Once you've had a period of time where you're feeling much better, then talk with your doctor and see what he/she says about going off the prednisone.
I have been on Prednisone for the past 4 years for my RA. But, I have been on Cortef (which is a steroid for my Addison's disease for 6 years. Basically I am doubled up all the time between the two). However, with the cocktail of medications I have been able to cut back SLOWLY over the past year and bump up and back down when needed for flares and horrible days.
Once you find the right combination of drugs with your RD you should be able to wean yourself down little by little. Don't rush it. Listen to your body.
Training girl, are you on anything else? NSAIDS and DMARDs? If not you prob. need to be so that you can start to decrease the Prednisone. My RD told me to start the MTX and then after about 3 weeks to start going down on the Pred.I get so much out of this site because everyone has a different story and there is always one or two that you can relate to. It reminds me that I'm not alone and there are people who understand even if those nearest and dearest say they do (understand) but really can't. Not their fault, just the nature of the beast, if you don't have it you don't REALLY understand.
I have only been on prednisone for three weeks but I can already see my face filling out from it. My doctor started me on it with the steady decrease so that I'll only take it for about a month to a month and a half. Hopefully I won't need long term use and my face can go back to normal.