Just curious, have you taken a steroid other than Prednisone?
1) what drug was it?
2) pro's: what benefit did/does it give you?
3) con's: what side effects/problems did you have on the medication?
Thank you so much for any input.
L.D.
I have been on Cortef for the most part as I gained much too much weight on prednisone. The down side is I have to take it 3x a day and it is not the powerhouse prednisone is so when I am hospitalized for any type of adrenal fatigue/crisis I am given prednisone for a short time, anyway. I prefer Cortef. Less weight gain, less bloat, less edginess if I have to be on a stress dose for any length of time (such as during an illness).
Oh, I also take Florinef. In addition to the Sjogren’s I have no adrenal and no pituitary function so I tend to have low blood pressure. The Florinef, though it can contribute to the bloat, helps me maintain a healthy blood pressure.
I haven't yet. Just got on Prednisone in April and I am interested in the answers. I am a 70 year old female and I have gained weight, have hot flashes and trembles from it. Next appointment is in Oct.
This doesn't exactly answer the main question, but is related i think. I am on Plaquenil which helped but not quite enough. So my rheumy added low dose Prednisone (5mg) daily. Is anybody else on this regimen? What side effects are you having? Does it help you? Thanks
Long term prednisone use is typically no longer used except in cases where no other medication can be tolerated. If you are not seeing a rheumatologist, this is the specialist that should be seen. They are well aware of other medications, including but not limited to plaquenil, that are used to treat autoimmune disease.
Long term use of corticosteroids can have some pretty serious impact on your body. I would question any use of these medications for anything other than short term use.
I agree with Stoney that they should be the last resort. I have avoided steroids by mouth for the same reasons mentioned. Could someone tell me what Plaquinil does for the immune system? Is it hard in
kidneys?
My rheum put me on Celebrex for arthritis and I am also almost 70.
I had not realized how bad I was suffering until starting it! She has not given me anything specific for Sjogrens. I’m very curious about Plaquinil but do not understand what it does exactly.
Thanks Ginger. My rheumy said that a"new" thought on Prednisone is that a 5mg dose is not harmful. I don't know what choices there would be is this is not effective after a period of time. (increase Prednisone? I don't think so!) or that this was a good idea to start. Has anyone else's doctor come up with this regimen?
My RA doctor started me out at 15 MG a day but said I could lower if I had bad side affects in April. He asked me to check the price of Plaquenil. I was quoted $217.90 a month cash where I get my prescriptions. When I was back a couple of weeks ago I was down to 7MG and all the pain was back and he said to raise it until the pain was gone and I was at the stage of being able to tolerate the side affects. I am at 10 MG a day now, and when I go back in Oct. I am thing of paying the cash so I don't have to take Prednisone.
Thank you Mary for your input. I have never taken Cortef.
Prednisone was my first oral corticosteroid, and I was prescribed it last week during an awful flare. Within three days of starting the medication- I became so swollen and bloated. That's why I was curious about other people's experience on corticosteroids.
Mary Powers said:
I have been on Cortef for the most part as I gained much too much weight on prednisone. The down side is I have to take it 3x a day and it is not the powerhouse prednisone is so when I am hospitalized for any type of adrenal fatigue/crisis I am given prednisone for a short time, anyway. I prefer Cortef. Less weight gain, less bloat, less edginess if I have to be on a stress dose for any length of time (such as during an illness).
Thanks for that also.
Mary Powers said:
Oh, I also take Florinef. In addition to the Sjogren's I have no adrenal and no pituitary function so I tend to have low blood pressure. The Florinef, though it can contribute to the bloat, helps me maintain a healthy blood pressure.
Thanks Aunt J.
Let us know if you get those answers.
Aunt J said:
I haven't yet. Just got on Prednisone in April and I am interested in the answers. I am a 70 year old female and I have gained weight, have hot flashes and trembles from it. Next appointment is in Oct.
I wondered about this as well...
Happy Gramma said:
Thanks Ginger. My rheumy said that a"new" thought on Prednisone is that a 5mg dose is not harmful. I don't know what choices there would be is this is not effective after a period of time. (increase Prednisone? I don't think so!) or that this was a good idea to start. Has anyone else's doctor come up with this regimen?
I did see sort improvement on the prednisone, I was really sick last week- no surprise there. But, long term use of corticosteroids is chopped full of its own dangers and side effects. I just was shocked at how effective the 7 day course of the prednisone was.
My rheumatologist has me on so many meds as it is: but, it made me very curious about other's medication experience.
Thank you all for the replies. Much appreciated.
Stoney said:
Long term prednisone use is typically no longer used except in cases where no other medication can be tolerated. If you are not seeing a rheumatologist, this is the specialist that should be seen. They are well aware of other medications, including but not limited to plaquenil, that are used to treat autoimmune disease.
Long term use of corticosteroids can have some pretty serious impact on your body. I would question any use of these medications for anything other than short term use.
Plaquenil is a disease modifier. It does not supress the immune system, thankfully. It is used mostly to treat the fatigue and joint pain of SS. Interestingly enough it was originally introduced (way back when) to our soldiers for malaria. They ultimately found that those with RA started getting better also. It takes a few months to build up in the system. Thanks to its long history, they know that it is generally well tolerated. There is a low risk for macular issues so you do need to see an eye doc regularly while on it. Some people love it, others don't- like everything else meds are a very personal decision to be made with your doc.
On a personal level, I have been on it for over a year and it has been a life saver as far as the fatigue is concerned. It was completely debilitating, now its just a little annoying. The joint pain exists but the flair ups aren't as severe and don't last as long as before. I'd be afraid to know how fast this would've progressed it the Plaquenil wasn't holding it off.
Plaquenil is proven effective- even as it's original antimalarial drug administration.
It's the corticosteroids that have peaked questions for me. I have a grasp on textbook logic- however, I wanted some personal anecdotes that perhaps I couldn't get other than by asking members for their personal experiences on those medications. I thank you all for this discussion. And look forward to reading further if others drop in to comment.
And, I am one of those Plaquenil users.
:)
I know…I saw Happy Gramma mentioned Plaquenil in addition to Prednisone so wanted to add the info. :)
Hi Lisa,
I have been on prednisone for the past two weeks (two and half tablets a day). My doctors tells me l will need to take it for at least a year, I'am also on antibiotics three times a week. Three days ago the doctors took some cells from my lung area to investigate further treatment. I was also told if l don't take the prednisone l don't breath. "Funny that was a no brainer decision".
As far as side effects it's early days, trying to sleep at different times can be hard, a little increase in hungry and making my dry eyes go crazy.
I’ve been using Prednisone since 2001 to treat flare-ups. It’s the only drug that works for me, but the key is to try and not use the Prednisone protocol more than twice a year. The trade-offs are osteoporosis and a lower immune threshhold. When you’re taking it, you’re immune system is compromised and you’re more prone to infections or catching viruses from others. For me, it’s worth the risk.