My doctor wants to put me prednisone ,I was told by others not to take steriods
I have had this and lupus for the last few years and i was put on prednisone for a upper respiratory infection about 5 months ago… It helped with that as well as my joint pain… So i went to my new rhuemo doctor and he has kept me on it but at a low 5mg a day dose… It gets increased if im having a flare up but always gets tapered back down to the 5mg a day dose. Listen alot of people dont like the whole pred. Thearpy but as for me it had jelped tremendously! Good luck and im here if u want to talk more. 
Thats suppose to say " has helped" haha sorry … Typing error! 
Niki said:
I have had this and lupus for the last few years and i was put on prednisone for a upper respiratory infection about 5 months ago.. It helped with that as well as my joint pain.. So i went to my new rhuemo doctor and he has kept me on it but at a low 5mg a day dose.. It gets increased if im having a flare up but always gets tapered back down to the 5mg a day dose. Listen alot of people dont like the whole pred. Thearpy but as for me it had jelped tremendously! Good luck and im here if u want to talk more. :)Hi Niki and John,I have just started with 5mg about a week ago and it's been helping with joint pain and general feeling of malaise. I have Primary Sjogren's.S Goddess
I just finished a high dose of Prednisone for Cronh’s disease. I felt fine while taking it, but afterwards, not so much. It’s been about 3 weeks since I’ve taken it, and I’m in the worst Fibromyalgia flare I’ve ever had! I’m in so much pain I can barely see straight. I’m not certain the Prednisone was the cause, but I think it is.
Has anyone else had this problem?
How long will you be on the steroids? What dosage? I’ve heard of others taking it, long term. The only thing you have to look out for is Cushing’s disease. Ask your doctor these questions, and if you don’t feel right about taking them, ask for a second opinion.
Fascina
My lupus was very active during my 20s and 30s. Prednisone was a lifesaver. I had pain, ver low esplatelets, protein in my urine…you name it. However, I often took high dosages. Now I’m in my 50s with SS. I have two broken vertebrae and it is suspected that the steroids caused this. Almost worse than this, I have a retina disease in my left eye and am nearly blind in that eye. I went to world renowned optical medical care and the first thing the retina specialist asked is if I had been on a lot of prednisone. So… It is a life saving, important medication, but I think all efforts should be made to use the lowest dosage possible to get relief.
The name. Prednisone elicits strong feelings in a lot of people. It can and does have serious side effects if taken in a large dose or if taken long term.
I was on it for 4 months because of prolonged high inflammation. I tapered slowly and had no side effects from the taper. I experience weight gain and irritability while I was on prednisone. My symptoms are back so I will need to explore my options since I already have osteopenia.
It’s a decision that only you can make. It really was a lifesaver for me. I never felt better. I wish you luck in your decision.
Kaz:
I was on a high dose, and slowly tapered off. (I didn't keep the bottle) So I don't know why it gave me a severe Fibro flare. It shouldn't have. That is the only thing I can think of that would have caused the flare. Or maybe it was the Plaquenil. *shrug* I'm not totally sure. All I know is I'm in so much pain right now that breathing seems to hurt. (slight over exaggeration, but you get the idea) I've never had a flare this bad before.
My regular doctor wanted to give me a stronger pain killer then Percocet. He believes in being pain free. My pain doctor on the other hand, doesn't. (go figure) He believes in taking care of the pain other ways, but so far his "other ways" suck! I just want a little relief. Which the Percocet barely does.
If you take prenisone, you have to take the good with the bad. You feel better, it suppresses the autoimmune response, it gives you energy it keeps you alive. On the other hand, it has all kinds of side effects, weight gain, osteoporosis, blood pressure problems, water retention to name a few.
How does the saying go? You can't live with it, but you can't live without it. We're all different and you have to be real proactive and assertive with your physician if it's perscribed.
I was put on it for a week but had to stop after four days because of burning stomach pain. I’m not sure if this is common .
My rheum told me to ask my nephrologist but when my renal appt came I had so much going on there that I forgot to ask. I have another renal appt the end of this month and I’ll put it on my list. My osteopenia is not related to prednisone use. Thanks for the reminder.
As for you, check with your md.
I am on a low dose (5 mg) of prednisone and it is a life saver for me. I have Sjogrens, arthritis and fibro. The low dose of prednisone has helped with my energy level and joint pain. I have had higher doses that tapered down for treatment of bronchitis...this low dose does not give me the same side effects as the high dose.
As with kmMSm, I am on 5mg and only use it for flare-ups, I was told to take calcium with Vit-D; this low dose Prednisone has been wonderful for me! I don't use it long term, only for a couple of weeks when needed for bad flare-ups (a couple of times a year). For the minor flare-ups I "keep moving".
Hi Sk,
I do suffer with problems with all of my digestion. They decided last year to do a ct scan instead of a scope. I’m not sure how much they can see from that but I was told it was ok. I have for now a very restricted diet as i had a really bad reaction to ppi and another med for stomach issues, so just tried each food in turn and cut out whatever caused stomach pain and reflux . At least for now my stomach is not in unbearable pain.
Anyway they kept doing blood tests and telling me they were fine but i had blood tests a couple of weeks ago and the kidney one has come back abnormal. My gp wants to wait 6 months and re check but have to go and say no and that i want it looked into further. He knows nothing about sjogrens and the possibility of kidney issues so i need to educate him . I am now wondering if kidney issues have been causing my digestive problems
I have a feeling they will be related .Thanks for your post it sort of made me feel grateful that at least for now i managed to find my way out of the pain i was suffering with my stomach all last year. It really was miserable.
The other thing that i have found helpful is nettle tea. It doesn’t taste great but it is soothing for pretty much everything for me.
My poor mum has been on steroids for 18 months now and they have caused numerous health problems .
She is being tapered off now but extremely slowly !
Take care x
Very good point. I was already taking VitD as I've always run low on that...but I was told to increase my Calcium to 1200mg per day with the low dose of Prednisone. I've been on it for a solid month now and have to say it is helping alot!
SGoddess said:
As with kmMSm, I am on 5mg and only use it for flare-ups, I was told to take calcium with Vit-D; this low dose Prednisone has been wonderful for me! I don't use it long term, only for a couple of weeks when needed for bad flare-ups (a couple of times a year). For the minor flare-ups I "keep moving".
Good point! I do take 1200 mg of calcium along with the prednisone...forgot to mention that important detail.
Kaz said:
Ensure you speak to your doctor about calcium as low dose over long periods of long duration time hold exactly the same risks as high doses with certain adverse reactions such as leaching of calcium from bones leading to osteoporosis, and also Cushings.
I cannot stress enough that people need to speak with their doctors about their calcium levels and taking supplements if on high dose or long term dosages.
This is straight from MIMS which doctors use for prescribing information for precautions.
During prolonged corticosteroid therapy, adrenal suppression and atrophy may occur and secretion of corticotrophin may be suppressed. Duration of treatment and dosage appear to be important factors in determining suppression of the pituitary adrenal axis and response to stress on cessation of steroid treatment. The patient's liability to suppression is also variable.This is under common reactions:
Musculoskeletal. Osteoporosis and vertebral compression fractures can occur in patients of all ages.