Hi there,
I've been lurking here for quite some time, and finally decided to
post! This is a wonderful sight and I have learned so much from all
of you!
I have been tentatively diagnosed with seronegative RA. I started on
Plaquenil; but developed a bad rash shortly thereafter, so was
discontinued.
Since then, my Dr. has started me on a short course of Prednisone,
mainly to see if I get relief from it, and then we'll go from there.
My question to all of you is how long did it take before you noticed
results from Prednisone and what dosage were you on??
Thank you so much!
Jinx
Oh goodness; I noticed a difference right away. By the next morning for sure.
THe first time I was given predisone my first RD gave it to me (As well as two shots of cortisone in my shoulders) on the first visit. She dx'ed me with RA before I'd even gone to the lab for blood work and x-rays. I can't remember what dose it was but I tappered off of it fairly quickly and you should do so as well. Try to work with your doctor to come up with a treatment that doesn't include constant use of predisone. If you do have RA; it's something you'll have for the rest of your life. Long term predisone use can be dangerous. I'd advise you to only use predisone for bad flares.
If you do have some sort of inflammatory arthritis; predisone will be working very quickly. If it doesn't there's likely something else wrong.
Welcome to AI!
Thank you for the prompt reply!My shoulders were horrible that first year as well. Like I mentioned my doctor gave me cortisone injections that first day and it really helped.Maybe you could ask him about doing that.
Good Luck. Hope you find relief soon. I know how bad it is when you can't sleep or even brush your hair for that matter.
Hang in there.
Lovie gave you such good info that there's not much to add.Hi again,Well I don't know that I'd say completely gone. But I remember like it was yesterday my RD calling me at home 2 days after that first appointment to see how I was feeling. I remember telling her it's like night and day. I can't believe the difference. I did tell her all my symptoms weren't gone; but compaired to the way I felt two days before it was absolutely amazing!
I think even on the best treatments you are still going to have some problems. But once you've lived through the worst of it you'll be able to notice the difference. Also keep in mind that if you do have RA or another simular illness; there's no cure. Only treatments to slow it down. I think once you come to understand that you won't expect to be symptom free. It's certainly something that can happen....but you don't expect it as much as you do early on.
I know all that sounds horrible.....but it's not really as bad as it sounds.
It took 3 days for me to see a big difference. I've been on prednisone now for a couple of months, and I'm down to 10 mg. a day now. I'm still swollen and still have some pain but nothing compared to how I felt without the Prednisone.I have been taking prednisone while I wait for the Remicade to either work or not, plus methotrexate. It has helped me so much. My pain is gone....for now! I was screaming every morning before 15mgs of prednisone. Good luckOwwwww Lovie, the cortisone shots... you are a braver woman than I!!