Prednisone

[Guest guest]

Judy,

Congratulations!!! I hope you never have to take it again.

a

----- Original Message -----

From: Judy Brummit <JBRUMMIT@...>

< egroups>

Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2001 9:56 PM

Subject: RE: [ ] Prednisone

> With all this talk about Prednisone, I am happy to report after 4 years, I

> am finally completely off of it.......YEAH!!!

>

> Judy in Texas

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Judy,

How long have you been off it? How much were you on? How long did it take for

you to get off it? Aren't I curious. =)

~Rainy

> With all this talk about Prednisone, I am happy to report after 4 years, I

> am finally completely off of it.......YEAH!!!

>

> Judy in Texas

>

[Guest guest]

Yes, Judy, I want to know this, too, as do others, I sure. How did you get

off of prednisone and how long had you been taking it? Good job!

----- Original Message -----

From: <Rysu19@...>

< egroups>

Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2001 10:14 AM

Subject: Re: [ ] Prednisone

> Hi Judy,

>

> How long have you been off it? How much were you on? How long did it take

for

> you to get off it? Aren't I curious. =)

>

> ~Rainy

>

>

> > With all this talk about Prednisone, I am happy to report after 4 years,

I

> > am finally completely off of it.......YEAH!!!

> >

> > Judy in Texas

[Guest guest]

Well, Rainy Sue,

I have been off prednisone almost a month now. I started at 20mg, then

tapered down to 3mg (that took almost a year, then I would go down 1mg every

year. It wasn't until I started the Enbrel, that I felt I good enough (or

should I say brave enough) to stop completely. Now ask me again this summer

(when I feel the worst, Texas summers are not fun) how I feel without

prednisone.

Judy in Texas

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Rysu19@... [mailto:Rysu19@...]

> Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2001 10:15 AM

> egroups

> Subject: Re: [ ] Prednisone

>

>

> Hi Judy,

>

> How long have you been off it? How much were you on? How long did

> it take for

> you to get off it? Aren't I curious. =)

>

> ~Rainy

>

>

> > With all this talk about Prednisone, I am happy to report after

> 4 years, I

> > am finally completely off of it.......YEAH!!!

> >

> > Judy in Texas

> >

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My RD asked me if I wanted instant relief from the pain or could I wait for

the MTX to kick in. I told her I couldn't take the pain anymore (it had been

4 months before a diagnosis, and I could barely use my hands, going up and

downstairs was a nightmare) And within 2 days I could move again. But it

came with a price, I had terrible headaches while on prednisone, but I would

rather be able to move.

Judy in Texas

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Rysu19@... [mailto:Rysu19@...]

> Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2001 12:53 AM

> egroups

> Subject: Re: [ ] Prednisone

>

>

> That is what my first RD did. He prescribed Prednisone for me

> almost right

> away. But it was like every other day or something, I'll need to

> check my med

> records for dosage and such. Too lazy to get the folder out. But once my

> organizing project is done all my med stuff will be readily

> available. I have

> such high hopes! ANYWAY, I was in bad shape and I guess he wanted

> to give me

> some relief while trying the other stuff. But since my body never

> responded

> to anything very well, I ended up on it all the time. He didn't

> believe in

> pain killers. Jerk. Made my teenage years even worse than they

> normally are

> for teens. So, that is one of the first pieces of advice I give

> anyone who I

> hear is on Prednisone. STAY OFF IT IF YOU CAN. Use it only for

> short term.

> You don't want to be rolling into your 19th year of using the

> stuff like I

> have to where you can't get off it at all. But I still have high hopes of

> lowering it. You all know how stubborn I am and that I am a FIGHTER! I'll

> wait to lower it, however, since I am flaring.

>

> ~Rainy Sue

>

> In a message dated 1/9/01 7:11:29 PM Pacific Standard Time,

> aA@... writes:

>

>

> > I get really upset when I hear that a doctor prescribes

> Prednisone as the

> > first line of treatment. The immediate pain relief is great,

> but the long

> > term side effects are terrible. Quality of life sometimes is

> of greater

> > importance than the long term affects. It's a trade off. I

> urge anyone

> > just starting Prednisone to try other alternatives before your

> body becomes

> > dependent on them. Many of us didn't know about the

> dependency or the side

> > effects.

> > a

> >

> >

> >

> >

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks a,

Me too!!

Judy in Texas

> -----Original Message-----

> From: a [mailto:aA@...]

> Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2001 10:07 PM

> egroups

> Subject: Re: [ ] Prednisone

>

>

> Judy,

> Congratulations!!! I hope you never have to take it again.

> a

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: Judy Brummit <JBRUMMIT@...>

> < egroups>

> Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2001 9:56 PM

> Subject: RE: [ ] Prednisone

>

>

> > With all this talk about Prednisone, I am happy to report after

> 4 years, I

> > am finally completely off of it.......YEAH!!!

> >

> > Judy in Texas

> >

>

>

>

> Chat room: chat/

> Web pages for our group: http://rheumatoid.arthritis.freehosting.net/

> http://www.rasupport.webprovider.com/

> Change subscription options:

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks, June. What is the new test drug?

Judy in Texas

> -----Original Message-----

> From: JUNE [mailto:juner24@...]

> Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2001 8:56 PM

> onelist

> Subject: [ ] Prednisone

>

>

> Congrats Judy on getting off the Prednisone. I hope and pray you never

> have to go on it again.

> My new rheumy was making a list of my meds and I told her I was only

> taking 2.5mg Prednisone every day. She said, well that is all it takes

> to do great harm and we will get you off it ASAP. It will be interesting

> to see how she does it. I expect to see her as soon as the new test

> drug is available,probably early Feb. I will also mention my missing

> body part.

>

> Hugs

> June

>

> Chat room: chat/

> Web pages for our group: http://rheumatoid.arthritis.freehosting.net/

> http://www.rasupport.webprovider.com/

> Change subscription options:

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Judy, =)

Summers aren't good for me either. The heat really bothers me. Even a mild

Washington summer. I swell like crazy.

I am confused. You went down 1 MG a year?

~Rainy Sue

> Well, Rainy Sue,

> I have been off prednisone almost a month now. I started at 20mg, then

> tapered down to 3mg (that took almost a year, then I would go down 1mg every

> year. It wasn't until I started the Enbrel, that I felt I good enough (or

> should I say brave enough) to stop completely. Now ask me again this summer

> (when I feel the worst, Texas summers are not fun) how I feel without

> prednisone.

>

> Judy in Texas

>

[Guest guest]

Sorry if I confused you, I will try to explain it better. Once I got down to

3 mg, I started having real problem with my feet, lots of pain. So my RD

didn't think it was a good idea to lower it, but being stubborn person I am,

I would needle her every winter (when I feel better) to lower it. So I was

at 2 mg for year, then finally at 1 mg for year until this last Dec, I

finally quit completely. And it turns out the pain in my feet is from heel

spurs. Does that clear it up?

Judy in Texas

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Rysu19@... [mailto:Rysu19@...]

> Sent: Monday, January 15, 2001 12:27 PM

> egroups

> Subject: Re: [ ] Prednisone

>

>

> Hi Judy, =)

>

> Summers aren't good for me either. The heat really bothers me.

> Even a mild

> Washington summer. I swell like crazy.

>

> I am confused. You went down 1 MG a year?

>

> ~Rainy Sue

>

> > Well, Rainy Sue,

> > I have been off prednisone almost a month now. I started at 20mg, then

> > tapered down to 3mg (that took almost a year, then I would go

> down 1mg every

> > year. It wasn't until I started the Enbrel, that I felt I good

> enough (or

> > should I say brave enough) to stop completely. Now ask me again

> this summer

> > (when I feel the worst, Texas summers are not fun) how I feel without

> > prednisone.

> >

> > Judy in Texas

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'VE HAD PROBLEMS WITH MY FEET IN THE PAST. MY DOCTOR SENT ME TO A

PODIATRIST AND I HAD TO HAVE A CORTISONE SHOT IN BOTH OF THEM. I KNOW IT

SOUNDS TERRIBLY PAINFUL BUT IT DID THE JOB, WOW I REALLY CAN WALK RIGHT AND

WITHOUT PAIN. ABOUT 6 MONTHS LATER HAD TO HAVE IT DONE AGAIN AND HAVEN'T

HAD MUCH OF A PROBLEM SINCE THEN. THEY DO GET TO HURTING WHEN THEY ARE WET

AND COLD. THE COLD REALLY BOTHERS THEM , SO THE TRICK IS TO KEEP THEM WARM.

[Guest guest]

OK, I wasn't sure if you really meant 1 MG a year. That is patience! =)

~Rainy Sue

> Sorry if I confused you, I will try to explain it better. Once I got down to

> 3 mg, I started having real problem with my feet, lots of pain. So my RD

> didn't think it was a good idea to lower it, but being stubborn person I am,

> I would needle her every winter (when I feel better) to lower it. So I was

> at 2 mg for year, then finally at 1 mg for year until this last Dec, I

> finally quit completely. And it turns out the pain in my feet is from heel

> spurs. Does that clear it up?

>

> Judy in Texas

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

IN the beginning of my getting sick ..one of first problems was heel spurs,

had shots in feet for 2yrs, every 6 months and all gone...course now i wear

mostly good atheletic shoes all the time...Judy in AZ

[Guest guest]

Whenever I take Prednisone it gives me insomnia so I try to take it first

thing in the morning.

LaVina

[Guest guest]

Rhoda,

When my husband was on them for a week, he took them before bed.

Hopefully someone else will answer you tonight because that is the only

experience I have with it.

I hope it helps you.

a

----- Original Message -----

From: rhoda kendry <plantjunkie@...>

< egroups>

Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2001 9:58 PM

Subject: [ ] prednisone

> hi

> i just got perscribed pred for a short treatment i

> have to take 8 5mg pills a day for 6 days when would

> be the best time to take them? night?

> rhoda

>

> _______________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Rhoda-

I think I have always been told to take them in the a.m.

before 9. I am not sure of the logic. The bodies own

natural cortisone kicks in around 2 or 3a.m. so there is

some logic to taking it short term in the evening.

Always eat - even if it is just crackers- with it. It

can do a real number on the stomach even short term-

particularly if you are taking that large a dose ( am I

reading you correctly - 40 mg??) and are on other drugs.

[Guest guest]

Hi Rhoda,

Take them in the morning. My doc said that the body is different in the

morning than at night. They work better when taken in the morning. Sorry I

don't have the doctor terms for this. :-/ Also, for a lot of people

Prednisone peps them up and gives them energy, so taking them at night might

keep you awake.

~Rainy Sue

> > hi

> > i just got perscribed pred for a short treatment i

> > have to take 8 5mg pills a day for 6 days when would

> > be the best time to take them? night?

> > rhoda

> >

>

[Guest guest]

no other drugs

we finally stableised my intestines so now it's time

to force the swelling down so they can heal for a bit.

i don't seem to be having any problems with the pred

and tummy reactions soooo we'll see what happens

thanks all

rhoda

--- k.j.choate@... wrote:

> Rhoda-

>

> I think I have always been told to take them in the

> a.m.

> before 9. I am not sure of the logic. The bodies own

>

> natural cortisone kicks in around 2 or 3a.m. so

> there is

> some logic to taking it short term in the evening.

> Always eat - even if it is just crackers- with it.

> It

> can do a real number on the stomach even short term-

>

> particularly if you are taking that large a dose (

> am I

> reading you correctly - 40 mg??) and are on other

> drugs.

>

>

>

>

>

> Chat room: chat/

> Web pages for our group:

> http://rheumatoid.arthritis.freehosting.net/

> http://www.rasupport.webprovider.com/

> Change subscription options:

>

>

_______________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

, sometimes when you are on predisone for a short treatment , for

asthma for example, a dr prescribes it in high dose for a day or 2, then

decrease by 5 mg each day . Five mg tablets are easier to do this with..no

breaking of tablets, less chance of getting hooked ....I have gone from

50mg(day 1 & 2) down 5mg a day till last 3-4 days for asthma....but even then

had trouble getting off it....The idea is usually to hit whatever you are

taking it for in big dose (usually causin immediate help)and then get you off

it w/o getting problem to re occur. I hope I explained right so youcan

understand.Myself last time I was on short term ...had problems getting off

it even...shows how our bodies can mess up thru the yrs. Judy in AZ

[Guest guest]

>rhoda kendry <plantjunkie@...> wrote:

>i just got perscribed pred for a short treatment i

>have to take 8 5mg pills a day for 6 days when would

>be the best time to take them? night?

That seems odd. Why not just 2 - 20 mg. pills?

/Celine Kossart

kozys@...

[Guest guest]

if i know my doc it's so i can reduce the dose as i

fell necessary if it causes probs. i'm one of those

lucky people who have problems taking medications.

rhoda

--- /Celine Kossart <kozys@...> wrote:

>

> >rhoda kendry <plantjunkie@...> wrote:

>

> >i just got perscribed pred for a short treatment i

> >have to take 8 5mg pills a day for 6 days when

> would

> >be the best time to take them? night?

> That seems odd. Why not just 2 - 20 mg. pills?

>

>

> /Celine Kossart

> kozys@...

>

>

>

> Chat room: chat/

> Web pages for our group:

> http://rheumatoid.arthritis.freehosting.net/

> http://www.rasupport.webprovider.com/

> Change subscription options:

>

>

_______________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

i was getting headaches. i was taking 5mg a day. my primary told me to drop

to 2.5. he said it was from the prednisone. but i am still getting headaches,

not as bad or maybe as frequent, if not every day, every other day. kathy in

il

[Guest guest]

Hi, Suzanne. I have no personal experience with prednisone, but it is

known that headache can be a result of both prednisone use and

prednisone withdrawal. In the case of prednisone withdrawal, sometimes

the tapering is too rapid for your body to handle, and you may suffer

from symptoms of secondary adrenal insufficiency including:

" Headache, dizziness, fainting, fatigue, lethargy, myalgia, joint pain,

dyspnea, orthostatic hypotension, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, weight

loss, fever, hypoglycemia, desquamation of skin. "

Source:

http://www.aafp.org/afp/980800ap/zoorob.html

Hope you and your doctor can figure out if it's the tapering and, if it

is, how best to adjust the dosage to make you more comfortable, yet get

you off of it.

[ ] prednisone

> Hi everyone,

>

> I'm been attempting to wean myself off the prednisone since my last

> appointment with the rheumatologist. Our new stragegy was to try to

reduce

> the dosage by 1 milligram every 3 days. Also, he upped the

methotrexate by

> 2.5 mg. I had been stuck at 10 mg. Anything less and the symptoms

started

> coming back. With the increased methotrexate I have managed to drop

down to

> 3 mg. a day. Now, at that level, I am having some returned aches and

pains,

> nothing like before I began treatment, but at the higher dosages of

> prednisone I didn't have *any* pain.

>

> One thing that has been occurring over the last several weeks is that

I am

> being plagued by headaches. Since, as a rule, I don't get headaches,

I've

> been wondering if they have anything to do with the decreasing dosages

of

> prednisone?

>

> Could any of you folks out there who have taken prednisone tell your

story

> about what happened when you stopped taking it?

>

> Thanks,

>

> Suzanne

[Guest guest]

Thanks ,

You are a treasure! Good link. How come I've never one of those

people who experience the weight loss side effect?? <VBG>

I've got one of those blinding headaches right now. Think I'll hold

at 3 mg. for a while and see if they stop.

Thanks!

Suzanne

> Hi, Suzanne. I have no personal experience with prednisone, but it

is

> known that headache can be a result of both prednisone use and

> prednisone withdrawal. In the case of prednisone withdrawal,

sometimes

> the tapering is too rapid for your body to handle, and you may

suffer

> from symptoms of secondary adrenal insufficiency including:

>

> " Headache, dizziness, fainting, fatigue, lethargy, myalgia, joint

pain,

> dyspnea, orthostatic hypotension, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, weight

> loss, fever, hypoglycemia, desquamation of skin. "

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy,

Had you always gotten headaches, or did they start after taking arthritis

medications? I also read yesterday that methotrexate can cause headaches.

Seems like I may have a double whammy going on. The headaches become bad

enough that I really start thinking about leaving work and going home. So

far Tylenol controls it. It's really weird. I seem to get a headache

anywhere between 11:00 am - 2 pm. Just that one time a day. But it's a

doozie when it hits.

Suzanne

Re: [ ] prednisone

> i was getting headaches. i was taking 5mg a day. my primary told me to

drop

> to 2.5. he said it was from the prednisone. but i am still getting

headaches,

> not as bad or maybe as frequent, if not every day, every other day. kathy

in

> il

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Debbie,

When I first started taking prednisone, since I had the rx filled in late

afternoon, I started it around 6:00 pm and continued to take it around 6 pm.

I had a lot of trouble sleeping, along with getting very overheated. (Can't

quite say I had night sweats, but did get to feeling pretty hot.)

I continued on this schedule for quite a few weeks till I had a discussion

with my rheumy. He told me to take prednisone in the morning! Not at night.

That it was a diurnal (think that was the word) drug and worked best taken

in the morning, following a person's normal day to night pattern.

Hope I expained that right. Anyway, when I changed when I took it, I felt

much better and slept better! Having that little push of energy is much more

appreciated when at work, than when trying to sleep!

Suzanne

Re: [ ] Friends and family who don't understand

> I feel a tad bit better today. I've been taking it at about 11:00 with

some

> toast before lunch. I find it's not keeping me awake at night like at

first

> when I tried taking it later in the afternoon. I asked Bill if he noticed

> if I'm overly grumpy lately, and he said no, but then reminded me that I

> told him to shut up and go to sleep the other night! lol Poor Bill.

>

> Debbie Mc