Hi all,
I have been posting recently about having been weaned off Prednisilone but I am interested in finding out if anyone has just taken Pred whilst during a flare up rather than every day??
I have had two mega flare ups since last Saturday in my right shoulder and I took a 10 mg of Pred on the day of the flare and the day after and I also did it last night. I am aware that you have to be weaned offf Pred - which I did and came off completely about two weeks ago but am curious as to whether I am causing damage to myself by just taking them during a flare up which usually lasts two days.
I am 36 weeks pregnant now with flu and flare ups !!!
Thanks, Chelybel.
I've taken Medrol dose packs during a flare-up, but those wean you down too. I would talk to your doc before taking more.
Yeah, I agree...I'd call the doctor.
I've never been on it constantly like so many here; but don't think I'd advise doing it the way you are. I've taken it only during bad flairs...but it was still start at a higher dose, then taper off pretty slowly. Always takes weeks to get through it. If you're having a rough time this might not be a bad idea for you. It would probable help you more than taking it once every couple days. This way you get it in your system and once it helps you it's going to help you longer.
Barb is our Predisone expert. Hopefully she'll be around with some of her advise soon.
Hope you are feeling better soon.
Lovie
I too only take prednisone during flair ups. I start out high and wean to a lower dose. The last time I was on it for almost three months and then the rheumy let me wean off. Usually it is a wonder drug but the last time I had a really bad flair up the dosage didn't work at all so the rheumy increased the dosage significantly and then in about a week I started to finally feel the results. Although I hate this fat pill it has always worked magic for me. It was a little scary this last time because I'm not sure what I would do if it didn't give me any relief.I'm on 6mg of prednisone a day, but I do sometimes pop a few extra mg when I'm in a flare. And I'll do that for a day or two, then go back down to my regular 6mg per day. I haven't experienced any bad effects from this. It usually just knocks back the flare and I'm able to go on like normal. But that being said, my rheumy wasn't too pleased when I told him that I make these little "adjustments" mainly because I end up taking more than the prescribed dose, but he didn't say it was a problem because of issues of weaning. In my experience, taking a higher dose for a short amount of time (a day or two at the most) has been okay. But, I wouldn't recommend that others necessarily follow my example! And, certainly, being pregnant, you'll probably want to be more careful than I am about experimenting with these things.
Anyway, I hope things get better for you. 36 weeks pregnant and in a flare sounds really tough.
Thank you all for your replies - I think I shouldn't have taken these just whilst in pain after reading them!
You know what it is like when you are desperate for pain relief of any sort!
I so can't wait until baby is born just to start on something! Anything!
Hope you are all well
x
Sure hope you're feeling better Chelybel.I have taken either Prendisone or Medrol dose packs for flares. If I am starting to get a flare, I will see how bad it is by the second day before getting a steriod. My rheumy gives me Prendisone instead of the Medrol if it's a bad flare because he will prescribe the Prendisone to be taken over two weeks instead of five days.