Xolair taking effect often means weening off pred

[Guest guest]

Some of you who are starting to taper off pred because Xolair is

taking effect may be experiencing something Doug and I went through

more than two years ago. We think it worth mentioning, especially

with the resurgence of concern about possible side effects of Xolair.

Prior to starting Xolair, Doug took so much prednisone that it

created some other debilitating conditions for him. He took large

quantities of pred daily to manage his asthma. I, on the other hand,

usually had one two-week taper per month, but this went on for a

couple of years. Both of us had HUGE difficulty tapering off

prednisone for good. It can really affect your adrenal glands and

cause a lot of discomfort.

In addition, one of the worst things about prednisone is that it

masks other illnesses and symptoms. I can't remember what Doug told

me happened to him, but the main thing for me is joint pain. Without

regular anti-inflammatory effects of pred, my early onset arthritis

is noticeable, where before it was not. Because arthritis runs in my

family, it was easy to " rule that in, " as the cause of the joint

pain. I know a few of us on this board have talked about it - and

wondered if we have some sort of " inflammatory " gene which makes us

asthmatic and, now, arthritic.

To sum up - those of you who are having some symptoms that you think

might be due to Xolair really need to review them with both your

allergy doc AND your regular doc so that you make sure you are not

overlooking a separate condition that needs to be treated

appropriately and which may have previously been overlooked while you

were so sick with your asthma.

Addy

Group co-owner