Re: Re: ((((Q. for Lynn)))

[Guest guest]

Hi Lynn;

How much prednisone were you taking? I am worried about that too although

loosing a couple fo inches would not be terrible since I am very tall.

Ruf-Caimi <ruf-caimi@...> wrote:

I can currently trying so hard to get off predisone. I was on it for over 8

years. After encouragement from both doctors, I am coming off of it. I

know it helped me but I really wish I had never started on it. But you do

what you have to do. I am down to 1 1/2 mg a day. One real worry for me is

what will take it place. As all other drugs have failed. I have two inches

in height due to the predisone. Just thought I let you know my experience.

Lynn (MeMom)

Re: [ ] Re: Steroid treatment for arthritis ups pneumonia

risk

> ... and what it does to your bones is not laughing matter either.

>

>

>

> Ms radar <aclavern33@...> wrote:

> Its usually 5mg or less of pred per day. My rheummy will not give

> pred fr daily dose. He will give a burst and limits that. He said

> the caridac and stroke risk from pred is too high among all the other

> bad stuff that can happen.

>

> Toni

>

>

>> Steroid treatment for arthritis ups pneumonia risk

>> Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:21 PM GMT

>>

>>

>>

>> NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who

>> are treated with low-dose prednisone have an increased risk of

> coming

>> down with pneumonia, a new study indicates.

>>

>> However, the findings also show that most other drugs used to

> treat

>> arthritis don't have this drawback.

>>

>> Prednisone, a steroid, tends suppresses the immune system and at

> high

>> enough doses this could increase the chances of infection. " If the

>> results of this study are correct, they may undermine the current

>> belief that low-dose prednisone is safe, " Dr. Frederick Wolfe,

> with

>> the Arthritis Research Center Foundation in Wichita, Kansas, and

> his

>> colleagues suggest.

>>

>> Even though prednisone is commonly used to treat arthritis

> patients,

>> there have been no studies looking at it's effect on the risk of

>> pneumonia -- which is one of the major causes of death in patients

>> with rheumatoid arthritis, the authors point out.

>>

>> Wolfe's team followed 16,788 arthritis patients, average age 62

>> years, participating in the National Data Bank for Rheumatic

> Diseases

>> study. The subjects completed questionnaires early in 2001 and

> every

>> 6 months for up to 3.5 years.

>>

>> The investigators report in the medical journal Arthritis &

>> Rheumatism that the most common treatments were methotrexate,

>> prednisone, Remicade, hydroxychloroquine and Enbrel.

>>

>> During follow-up, there were 749 hospitalizations for pneumonia.

>> After adjusting for factors such as smoking, age and arthritis

>> severity, the researcher found that prednisone was associated with

> a

>> 70 percent increased risk of pneumonia.

>>

>> There was no significantly increased risk associated with so-

> called

>> TNF-blockers -- Remicade, Enbrel or Humira -- or with

> methotrexate,

>> hydroxychloroquine or sulfasalazine.

>>

>> " Prednisone use is common in rheumatoid arthritis and is therefore

> a

>> potentially important health risk, " Wolfe's team concludes. They

>> point out, however, that their data " do not address the issue of

> net

>> benefit, " so discontinuing prednisone " might provoke equally

>> undesirable adverse effects. "

>>

>> SOURCE: Arthritis & Rheumatism, February 2006.

>>

>>

>> http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?

>> type=healthNews & storyID=2006-03-

> 16T182141Z_01_COL666041_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH

>> -STEROID-PNEUMONIA-DC.XML & archived=False

>>

>>

>>

>>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

My Rheumy never let me go above 10mg. Which I now know was the best

thing. I started lowering it at 8mg, but I wasn't doing it all the

seriously. Now I have changed. Since I went to the pcp and learned that I

had lost so much height. I use to be 5/10 and now am 5/8. I love being

tall and this was a shock to me, a real real shock. So since then I have

been very serious about getting off the pred. I am now down to 1 1/2 mg and

will stay here for about a month and then go to 1mg. Things are worse for

me. The stiffness is terrible and the pain is much worse. They gave me

ultraset to take but it makes me tired. I wish I could take the enbrel but

it is out the question for me. From what I have read Enbrel seems to be a

great help. One thing I do is I walk as much as I can. It is a two fold

edge because walking tires me out but for the RA I think it is beneficial.

I walk on flat surfaces as I have trouble with hills. I am not out to

aggravate the Ra just want to make things better. It is just my way of

dealing with all this and certainly not for everyone. I may try Boniva IV

to stop some of the bone loss. The Rheumy says it is good and I contacted

the company and there are no black boxes around it. Still searching it out.

However, I do believe getting off the predisone (if possible) will be a

benefit for me. Hope this helps.

Lynn

Re: [ ] Re: Steroid treatment for arthritis ups

> pneumonia

> risk

>

>

>> ... and what it does to your bones is not laughing matter either.

>>

>>

>>

>> Ms radar <aclavern33@...> wrote:

>> Its usually 5mg or less of pred per day. My rheummy will not give

>> pred fr daily dose. He will give a burst and limits that. He said

>> the caridac and stroke risk from pred is too high among all the other

>> bad stuff that can happen.

>>

>> Toni

>>

>>

>>> Steroid treatment for arthritis ups pneumonia risk

>>> Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:21 PM GMT

>>>

>>>

>>>

>>> NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who

>>> are treated with low-dose prednisone have an increased risk of

>> coming

>>> down with pneumonia, a new study indicates.

>>>

>>> However, the findings also show that most other drugs used to

>> treat

>>> arthritis don't have this drawback.

>>>

>>> Prednisone, a steroid, tends suppresses the immune system and at

>> high

>>> enough doses this could increase the chances of infection. " If the

>>> results of this study are correct, they may undermine the current

>>> belief that low-dose prednisone is safe, " Dr. Frederick Wolfe,

>> with

>>> the Arthritis Research Center Foundation in Wichita, Kansas, and

>> his

>>> colleagues suggest.

>>>

>>> Even though prednisone is commonly used to treat arthritis

>> patients,

>>> there have been no studies looking at it's effect on the risk of

>>> pneumonia -- which is one of the major causes of death in patients

>>> with rheumatoid arthritis, the authors point out.

>>>

>>> Wolfe's team followed 16,788 arthritis patients, average age 62

>>> years, participating in the National Data Bank for Rheumatic

>> Diseases

>>> study. The subjects completed questionnaires early in 2001 and

>> every

>>> 6 months for up to 3.5 years.

>>>

>>> The investigators report in the medical journal Arthritis &

>>> Rheumatism that the most common treatments were methotrexate,

>>> prednisone, Remicade, hydroxychloroquine and Enbrel.

>>>

>>> During follow-up, there were 749 hospitalizations for pneumonia.

>>> After adjusting for factors such as smoking, age and arthritis

>>> severity, the researcher found that prednisone was associated with

>> a

>>> 70 percent increased risk of pneumonia.

>>>

>>> There was no significantly increased risk associated with so-

>> called

>>> TNF-blockers -- Remicade, Enbrel or Humira -- or with

>> methotrexate,

>>> hydroxychloroquine or sulfasalazine.

>>>

>>> " Prednisone use is common in rheumatoid arthritis and is therefore

>> a

>>> potentially important health risk, " Wolfe's team concludes. They

>>> point out, however, that their data " do not address the issue of

>> net

>>> benefit, " so discontinuing prednisone " might provoke equally

>>> undesirable adverse effects. "

>>>

>>> SOURCE: Arthritis & Rheumatism, February 2006.

>>>

>>>

>>> http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?

>>> type=healthNews & storyID=2006-03-

>> 16T182141Z_01_COL666041_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH

>>> -STEROID-PNEUMONIA-DC.XML & archived=False

>>>

>>>

>>>

>>>

[Guest guest]

I have been taking 2.5 mg of prednisone for about one year now. My Dr assured me

that it will not affect me negatively ... I hope so. I love being tall... I

don't want to shrink

Ruf-Caimi <ruf-caimi@...> wrote:

Hi ,

My Rheumy never let me go above 10mg. Which I now know was the best

thing. I started lowering it at 8mg, but I wasn't doing it all the

seriously. Now I have changed. Since I went to the pcp and learned that I

had lost so much height. I use to be 5/10 and now am 5/8. I love being

tall and this was a shock to me, a real real shock. So since then I have

been very serious about getting off the pred. I am now down to 1 1/2 mg and

will stay here for about a month and then go to 1mg. Things are worse for

me. The stiffness is terrible and the pain is much worse. They gave me

ultraset to take but it makes me tired. I wish I could take the enbrel but

it is out the question for me. From what I have read Enbrel seems to be a

great help. One thing I do is I walk as much as I can. It is a two fold

edge because walking tires me out but for the RA I think it is beneficial.

I walk on flat surfaces as I have trouble with hills. I am not out to

aggravate the Ra just want to make things better. It is just my way of

dealing with all this and certainly not for everyone. I may try Boniva IV

to stop some of the bone loss. The Rheumy says it is good and I contacted

the company and there are no black boxes around it. Still searching it out.

However, I do believe getting off the predisone (if possible) will be a

benefit for me. Hope this helps.

Lynn

Re: [ ] Re: Steroid treatment for arthritis ups

> pneumonia

> risk

>

>

>> ... and what it does to your bones is not laughing matter either.

>>

>>

>>

>> Ms radar <aclavern33@...> wrote:

>> Its usually 5mg or less of pred per day. My rheummy will not give

>> pred fr daily dose. He will give a burst and limits that. He said

>> the caridac and stroke risk from pred is too high among all the other

>> bad stuff that can happen.

>>

>> Toni

>>

>>

>>> Steroid treatment for arthritis ups pneumonia risk

>>> Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:21 PM GMT

>>>

>>>

>>>

>>> NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who

>>> are treated with low-dose prednisone have an increased risk of

>> coming

>>> down with pneumonia, a new study indicates.

>>>

>>> However, the findings also show that most other drugs used to

>> treat

>>> arthritis don't have this drawback.

>>>

>>> Prednisone, a steroid, tends suppresses the immune system and at

>> high

>>> enough doses this could increase the chances of infection. " If the

>>> results of this study are correct, they may undermine the current

>>> belief that low-dose prednisone is safe, " Dr. Frederick Wolfe,

>> with

>>> the Arthritis Research Center Foundation in Wichita, Kansas, and

>> his

>>> colleagues suggest.

>>>

>>> Even though prednisone is commonly used to treat arthritis

>> patients,

>>> there have been no studies looking at it's effect on the risk of

>>> pneumonia -- which is one of the major causes of death in patients

>>> with rheumatoid arthritis, the authors point out.

>>>

>>> Wolfe's team followed 16,788 arthritis patients, average age 62

>>> years, participating in the National Data Bank for Rheumatic

>> Diseases

>>> study. The subjects completed questionnaires early in 2001 and

>> every

>>> 6 months for up to 3.5 years.

>>>

>>> The investigators report in the medical journal Arthritis &

>>> Rheumatism that the most common treatments were methotrexate,

>>> prednisone, Remicade, hydroxychloroquine and Enbrel.

>>>

>>> During follow-up, there were 749 hospitalizations for pneumonia.

>>> After adjusting for factors such as smoking, age and arthritis

>>> severity, the researcher found that prednisone was associated with

>> a

>>> 70 percent increased risk of pneumonia.

>>>

>>> There was no significantly increased risk associated with so-

>> called

>>> TNF-blockers -- Remicade, Enbrel or Humira -- or with

>> methotrexate,

>>> hydroxychloroquine or sulfasalazine.

>>>

>>> " Prednisone use is common in rheumatoid arthritis and is therefore

>> a

>>> potentially important health risk, " Wolfe's team concludes. They

>>> point out, however, that their data " do not address the issue of

>> net

>>> benefit, " so discontinuing prednisone " might provoke equally

>>> undesirable adverse effects. "

>>>

>>> SOURCE: Arthritis & Rheumatism, February 2006.

>>>

>>>

>>> http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?

>>> type=healthNews & storyID=2006-03-

>> 16T182141Z_01_COL666041_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH

>>> -STEROID-PNEUMONIA-DC.XML & archived=False

>>>

>>>

>>>

>>>

[Guest guest]

I hear you about being tall. As a child I hated it but as an adult I love

being tall. Since I have lost so much height I now can wear a higher heel.

Which is great, I have a thing about shoes. You know you can never have

enough. I love heels but with the Ra there is a price to pay the next day.

I worn the best shoes to a shower on Saturday and I am still paying for

doing it. Hope you day is good.

Lynn

Re: [ ] Re: Steroid treatment for arthritis ups

>> pneumonia

>> risk

>>

>>

>>> ... and what it does to your bones is not laughing matter either.

>>>

>>>

>>>

>>> Ms radar <aclavern33@...> wrote:

>>> Its usually 5mg or less of pred per day. My rheummy will not give

>>> pred fr daily dose. He will give a burst and limits that. He said

>>> the caridac and stroke risk from pred is too high among all the other

>>> bad stuff that can happen.

>>>

>>> Toni

>>>

>>>

>>>> Steroid treatment for arthritis ups pneumonia risk

>>>> Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:21 PM GMT

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

>>>> NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who

>>>> are treated with low-dose prednisone have an increased risk of

>>> coming

>>>> down with pneumonia, a new study indicates.

>>>>

>>>> However, the findings also show that most other drugs used to

>>> treat

>>>> arthritis don't have this drawback.

>>>>

>>>> Prednisone, a steroid, tends suppresses the immune system and at

>>> high

>>>> enough doses this could increase the chances of infection. " If the

>>>> results of this study are correct, they may undermine the current

>>>> belief that low-dose prednisone is safe, " Dr. Frederick Wolfe,

>>> with

>>>> the Arthritis Research Center Foundation in Wichita, Kansas, and

>>> his

>>>> colleagues suggest.

>>>>

>>>> Even though prednisone is commonly used to treat arthritis

>>> patients,

>>>> there have been no studies looking at it's effect on the risk of

>>>> pneumonia -- which is one of the major causes of death in patients

>>>> with rheumatoid arthritis, the authors point out.

>>>>

>>>> Wolfe's team followed 16,788 arthritis patients, average age 62

>>>> years, participating in the National Data Bank for Rheumatic

>>> Diseases

>>>> study. The subjects completed questionnaires early in 2001 and

>>> every

>>>> 6 months for up to 3.5 years.

>>>>

>>>> The investigators report in the medical journal Arthritis &

>>>> Rheumatism that the most common treatments were methotrexate,

>>>> prednisone, Remicade, hydroxychloroquine and Enbrel.

>>>>

>>>> During follow-up, there were 749 hospitalizations for pneumonia.

>>>> After adjusting for factors such as smoking, age and arthritis

>>>> severity, the researcher found that prednisone was associated with

>>> a

>>>> 70 percent increased risk of pneumonia.

>>>>

>>>> There was no significantly increased risk associated with so-

>>> called

>>>> TNF-blockers -- Remicade, Enbrel or Humira -- or with

>>> methotrexate,

>>>> hydroxychloroquine or sulfasalazine.

>>>>

>>>> " Prednisone use is common in rheumatoid arthritis and is therefore

>>> a

>>>> potentially important health risk, " Wolfe's team concludes. They

>>>> point out, however, that their data " do not address the issue of

>>> net

>>>> benefit, " so discontinuing prednisone " might provoke equally

>>>> undesirable adverse effects. "

>>>>

>>>> SOURCE: Arthritis & Rheumatism, February 2006.

>>>>

>>>>

>>>> http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?

>>>> type=healthNews & storyID=2006-03-

>>> 16T182141Z_01_COL666041_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH

>>>> -STEROID-PNEUMONIA-DC.XML & archived=False

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

[Guest guest]

I stopped growing at age 12, I am 5'9. As a child I felt like the big dummy who

never managed to pass to the next grade although I was one year ahead. As an

adult, my hight has definitely be my favorite feature. I would hate to lose it.

Ruf-Caimi <ruf-caimi@...> wrote:

I hear you about being tall. As a child I hated it but as an adult I love

being tall. Since I have lost so much height I now can wear a higher heel.

Which is great, I have a thing about shoes. You know you can never have

enough. I love heels but with the Ra there is a price to pay the next day.

I worn the best shoes to a shower on Saturday and I am still paying for

doing it. Hope you day is good.

Lynn

Re: [ ] Re: Steroid treatment for arthritis ups

>> pneumonia

>> risk

>>

>>

>>> ... and what it does to your bones is not laughing matter either.

>>>

>>>

>>>

>>> Ms radar <aclavern33@...> wrote:

>>> Its usually 5mg or less of pred per day. My rheummy will not give

>>> pred fr daily dose. He will give a burst and limits that. He said

>>> the caridac and stroke risk from pred is too high among all the other

>>> bad stuff that can happen.

>>>

>>> Toni

>>>

>>>

>>>> Steroid treatment for arthritis ups pneumonia risk

>>>> Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:21 PM GMT

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

>>>> NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who

>>>> are treated with low-dose prednisone have an increased risk of

>>> coming

>>>> down with pneumonia, a new study indicates.

>>>>

>>>> However, the findings also show that most other drugs used to

>>> treat

>>>> arthritis don't have this drawback.

>>>>

>>>> Prednisone, a steroid, tends suppresses the immune system and at

>>> high

>>>> enough doses this could increase the chances of infection. " If the

>>>> results of this study are correct, they may undermine the current

>>>> belief that low-dose prednisone is safe, " Dr. Frederick Wolfe,

>>> with

>>>> the Arthritis Research Center Foundation in Wichita, Kansas, and

>>> his

>>>> colleagues suggest.

>>>>

>>>> Even though prednisone is commonly used to treat arthritis

>>> patients,

>>>> there have been no studies looking at it's effect on the risk of

>>>> pneumonia -- which is one of the major causes of death in patients

>>>> with rheumatoid arthritis, the authors point out.

>>>>

>>>> Wolfe's team followed 16,788 arthritis patients, average age 62

>>>> years, participating in the National Data Bank for Rheumatic

>>> Diseases

>>>> study. The subjects completed questionnaires early in 2001 and

>>> every

>>>> 6 months for up to 3.5 years.

>>>>

>>>> The investigators report in the medical journal Arthritis &

>>>> Rheumatism that the most common treatments were methotrexate,

>>>> prednisone, Remicade, hydroxychloroquine and Enbrel.

>>>>

>>>> During follow-up, there were 749 hospitalizations for pneumonia.

>>>> After adjusting for factors such as smoking, age and arthritis

>>>> severity, the researcher found that prednisone was associated with

>>> a

>>>> 70 percent increased risk of pneumonia.

>>>>

>>>> There was no significantly increased risk associated with so-

>>> called

>>>> TNF-blockers -- Remicade, Enbrel or Humira -- or with

>>> methotrexate,

>>>> hydroxychloroquine or sulfasalazine.

>>>>

>>>> " Prednisone use is common in rheumatoid arthritis and is therefore

>>> a

>>>> potentially important health risk, " Wolfe's team concludes. They

>>>> point out, however, that their data " do not address the issue of

>>> net

>>>> benefit, " so discontinuing prednisone " might provoke equally

>>>> undesirable adverse effects. "

>>>>

>>>> SOURCE: Arthritis & Rheumatism, February 2006.

>>>>

>>>>

>>>> http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?

>>>> type=healthNews & storyID=2006-03-

>>> 16T182141Z_01_COL666041_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH

>>>> -STEROID-PNEUMONIA-DC.XML & archived=False

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

[Guest guest]

That is what happened to me. I never grew after the 8th grade, I was 5 10.

My life long friend is 5 9 and we both liked being tall. That is how we

became friend, we were both at the back of the line all the time. I can't

imagine my life without her, she is very special. Being tall pays off!!!

Lynn

Re: [ ] Re: Steroid treatment for arthritis ups

>>> pneumonia

>>> risk

>>>

>>>

>>>> ... and what it does to your bones is not laughing matter either.

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

>>>> Ms radar <aclavern33@...> wrote:

>>>> Its usually 5mg or less of pred per day. My rheummy will not give

>>>> pred fr daily dose. He will give a burst and limits that. He said

>>>> the caridac and stroke risk from pred is too high among all the other

>>>> bad stuff that can happen.

>>>>

>>>> Toni

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>> Steroid treatment for arthritis ups pneumonia risk

>>>>> Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:21 PM GMT

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>> NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who

>>>>> are treated with low-dose prednisone have an increased risk of

>>>> coming

>>>>> down with pneumonia, a new study indicates.

>>>>>

>>>>> However, the findings also show that most other drugs used to

>>>> treat

>>>>> arthritis don't have this drawback.

>>>>>

>>>>> Prednisone, a steroid, tends suppresses the immune system and at

>>>> high

>>>>> enough doses this could increase the chances of infection. " If the

>>>>> results of this study are correct, they may undermine the current

>>>>> belief that low-dose prednisone is safe, " Dr. Frederick Wolfe,

>>>> with

>>>>> the Arthritis Research Center Foundation in Wichita, Kansas, and

>>>> his

>>>>> colleagues suggest.

>>>>>

>>>>> Even though prednisone is commonly used to treat arthritis

>>>> patients,

>>>>> there have been no studies looking at it's effect on the risk of

>>>>> pneumonia -- which is one of the major causes of death in patients

>>>>> with rheumatoid arthritis, the authors point out.

>>>>>

>>>>> Wolfe's team followed 16,788 arthritis patients, average age 62

>>>>> years, participating in the National Data Bank for Rheumatic

>>>> Diseases

>>>>> study. The subjects completed questionnaires early in 2001 and

>>>> every

>>>>> 6 months for up to 3.5 years.

>>>>>

>>>>> The investigators report in the medical journal Arthritis &

>>>>> Rheumatism that the most common treatments were methotrexate,

>>>>> prednisone, Remicade, hydroxychloroquine and Enbrel.

>>>>>

>>>>> During follow-up, there were 749 hospitalizations for pneumonia.

>>>>> After adjusting for factors such as smoking, age and arthritis

>>>>> severity, the researcher found that prednisone was associated with

>>>> a

>>>>> 70 percent increased risk of pneumonia.

>>>>>

>>>>> There was no significantly increased risk associated with so-

>>>> called

>>>>> TNF-blockers -- Remicade, Enbrel or Humira -- or with

>>>> methotrexate,

>>>>> hydroxychloroquine or sulfasalazine.

>>>>>

>>>>> " Prednisone use is common in rheumatoid arthritis and is therefore

>>>> a

>>>>> potentially important health risk, " Wolfe's team concludes. They

>>>>> point out, however, that their data " do not address the issue of

>>>> net

>>>>> benefit, " so discontinuing prednisone " might provoke equally

>>>>> undesirable adverse effects. "

>>>>>

>>>>> SOURCE: Arthritis & Rheumatism, February 2006.

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>> http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?

>>>>> type=healthNews & storyID=2006-03-

>>>> 16T182141Z_01_COL666041_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH

>>>>> -STEROID-PNEUMONIA-DC.XML & archived=False

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>>