introduction + prednisone question

[Guest guest]

> Welcome Mike,

>My 31 year old son has stills-I beleive he was born with it. He went

>on Prednisone when he was 7 years old and has not been able to wean

>off it yet (24 years). He is now on 4 mil a day which is not

>much--but-- the side effects varied with him as to how much he was

>on at higher levels he had mood swings and his appitite was greatly

>increased, his weigh went up. The weight has come of now that he is

>on lower doses. He has thinning bones because of the Prednisone. To

>me it is a one way street once you start it your body needs it to

>function. Is your Dr a rhumatoligst? If not I would say get to a

>rhumatoligst right away. This is a great group of people.

Good luck keep in touch

Sally (Lorens Mom)in southern Oregon

>Hi Everyone,

>

>I thought I'd introduce myself and ask a question while i'm at it.

>

>First the background...

>After a month of battling fevers, body aches, and fatigue, and

>getting all kinds of tests and body scans, I was finally diagnosed

>with Stills disease just last week.

>

>I've been on anti-inflammatory drugs (Naproxen) since then.

>Thankfully, my fevers have pretty much disappeared. On occassion i

>get some low grade fevers (99-100), but they don't bother me at

>all...maybe because i've already experienced the serious stuff at

>104+ in the past!

>I do have muscle/joint pains that I'd characterize as 4 on a scale

>of 1-10 (10 being worst).

>And I have a rash that itches at times. I'd say a 5 on a scale of

>1-10 (10 being worst).

>And of course I still do experience fatigue.

>

>My doctor has recommended that I go on prednisone, 40mg per day. Her

>expectation would be to reduce to 30 mg after 1 month, and to 15-20

>mg after 6 weeks, and then slowly reduce further over more time. She

>explained that reduction tends to slow down as you get to lower and

>lower levels otherwise the symptoms return.

>

>Just wanted to get a sense of others' experiences with prednisone,

>as I've read about the side effects, and that is a little bit scary.

>

>Thanks, and glad to know that there is a support group out there like this.

>-Mike