Anyone try Prednesone for relief of Fibro pain? Although I know steroids have serious side effects, but in low doses, 10mg. I read that they can help a great deal. I'm desparate to end this everyday pian and fatigue. Vicadin and other pain medicine just don't seem to work that well anymore.

Hi rstarre,
I would no sooner use Pred for anything unless it was the very very last option. Fibro is not an inflammatory disorder and therefore Pred is completely inappropriate. I know you hurt but for Fibro or other disorders like it, myofascial pain disorder for one, Pred is NOT called for. You need a good physcian who believes that there truly IS Fibro and other disorders like it and then go to work looking at ALL your options. There is help especially for sleep and pain so keep reading here and you will be amazed at the info you will get.Hope to see a post from you soon.
Meredith

Sorry for taking so long to reply to this subject. I have to disagree with the above. If a person has recieved advice from doc and has a good relationship with a doc then I would not rule in or out any treatment. What works for one does not work for everyone. I Have been taking these steroids for six weeks now. I started on 30 mg and reduced to 10 mg daily. I was concerned about the side effects and questioned my doc. He specialises in treatment of Fibro, ME and CFS. He explained that the steriod at these low doses and over a short term are not harmful. (if used properly). The idea of this treatment, as I understand it, is that the steroids give a boost of energy and stimulates the entire system. By reducing the dose and then eliminating the steroid the theory is that the system will have been kick started into performing again. Please excuse my very non medical approach and language on this. A bonus for me on these steroids is that I having been on painkillers for fifteen years, I am now free of painkillers. I know this is only while I am on the steroids but it great to give the system a break from painkillers for even a short period. The good news is that I am feeling well. The flares associated with Fibro are less frequent and less severe. I hope and pray that it continues. My doc has said this is not a cure , but has been shown to reduce symptoms.
I hope this is of use to sombody.

Brend

I have mixed feelings about the use of steriods for fibro. About four years ago, I was experiencing the worst flare I had ever had. I could not walk, I could barely get out of bed. My doctor prescribed steroids, I cannot remember the name, but I started off taking I think 6 a day, then 5, 4, and so on. I had NO PAIN! It was the most wonderful thing in the world. Of course, after a few days without the steroids, the pain came back. Then my doctor prescribed Prednisone, to me, that stuff was EVIL! I had the absolute worst side effects to that drug, I will never take it again. So, having had a good experience with one steriod, that I wish I could remember the name of, I wouldn't rule them out, but I would stay away from Prednisone at all costs.

MY dr had been doing Seroid injections in my Neck head and Back and they don't do any good. He keeps trying and cannot find anything that works. I am only 23 and am taking Hydocodine and soma alond with B 12 injections

I have been on prednisone for about a month now and it has really helped my fibro symptoms. After starting with more I am now on just 5 mg. a day. I'm not saying it has completely taken away the pain - it's raining today and I can feel it all through my body - but, it's so much better than it was. Prednisone is also an immune suppressant and I will have to have my white blood count checked every 3 months. Could the immune suppressant property be the thing that is helping? A side effect of Chronic Fatigue and Fibro is an overactive immune system I've read. Maybe prednisone is leveling that field. I guess time will tell.

Pleeeeeaaaaaaaasssssssse Do Not Take Steroids!!!!!! They Have Ruined My Life!!!! I Belive That They Are What Caused My Fm & Cmp.
If You Have Questions Please Let Me Know. I Would Be Happy To Tell You More......
Ps ....steroids Killed My Mother

Steroids of any kind react very differently with different individuals. (Well, hell - our illness deals with brain chemistry, so symptoms, effects, aggravators, and meds are *all* highly individual). I know many people who have very good luck with Prednisone and/or other steroids. I know others who have hated it. For some, they simply hated the side effects: weight gain, tiredness, nausea, whatever (again, these side effects vary widely from person to person). Others hated it because they built up a resistance to the dosage and their docs wouldn't increase the dose - steroids can cause severe liver dysfunction if taken too long or in too large a quantity.

My feeling is that it's soooo dificult to find relief from this illness that I'll try virtually anything once. (For a variety of reasons, none of my docs has ever wanted me to go on steroids, but if someday one said, "Well, let's try it," I'd no doubt give it a shot.) This is the sort of decision that has to be yours, and yours alone, in consultation with your doctors, of course. If you think it's worth a try, go for it - just be sure that you help yhour doc monitor it for any potential bad side effects. And if the concept scares you to death, then it's not your thing - no sense trying to something that will have you so stressed that the tension alone will nullify any positive effects the drugis having! :-)

Seriously, some people swear by Prednisone. If your doc thinks it's a good idea, and you want to try it, try it. Doesn't mean that you have to stay on it if you decide it's not right for you.

Ajijaak

Prendesone helped me alo. Kind of gave me a boost or energy to do work I couldn't do. As far as pain relief...it helped a little but I did feel much better from them . I was taking 10mg

I have never been on prednisone. However, a few years ago orthopedic doctor gave me a shot of Celestone in right shoulder which is steroid and had very adverse side effects after I got home and thought I was going in shock with arms locking down, heart palpitations and uncontrollable sweating so I would never want to go that route again. (TT)

If pred is helping you, than you have something going on besides fibro....fibro alone does not cause inflammation. Dr wallace ( a famous rheumy) says this and autopsies have been done on fibro patients which show no inflammation.

Regardless, pred should only be used as a last resort.

Mmmm, no. Every reputable rheumatologist I've ever known - as well as GPs, neurologists, and other specialists - agrees that fibro can indeed cause inflammation. While pain can stem from inflammation, pain itself can also *cause* inflammation. This is well-established within the medical and scientific communities.

Prednisone has long been prescribed for inflammation of all kinds, including that caused by pain. it's also prescribed for a variety of conditions that are implicated in fibro (such as allergies), whether as a cause or as an aggravating factor. So I wouldn't say that you need to add to your stress by worryikng whether "you have something else going on" - not unless and until that becomes evident or your docs recommend looking for something else. Just talk frankly to the doc who wants to prescribe the prednisone. Ask him/her what factors it would be used to address, what the likely results would be, what side effects you can expect and the likelihood of developing any of the truly scary ones, the length of time s/he would have you on it, what s/he would recommend if it doesn't work after [X] period of time, and whether there are other options (if any) might be open to you that might be just as or more effective.

And as far as Wallace goes, I don't know him, but I certainly trust certain of my own rheumatologists and my own extensive research. And if he says that fibro can't caused inflammation, then I wouldn't believe him on anything else.

Ajijaak

And as far as Wallace goes, I don't know him, but I certainly trust certain of my own rheumatologists and my own extensive research. And if he says that fibro can't caused inflammation, then I wouldn't believe him on anything else.>>>>

Well, he is clinical professor at UCLA medical center, I can't do links here, but feel free to do a web search on him.

Thanks - I'll look him up.

It's just bizarre to me - I've never heard *anyone* say that before. Not even the two idiot neurologists who gave me the pat-on-the-head, "Now, go away and be a good little girl and stop looking for attention" routine. Like we let them stick 8-inch needles in our spines and needles and electric shocks all over our extremities because we think we're attention-deprived. :rolleyes:

Now, *sleep*-deprived . . . .

Ajijaak

I also wanted to add, it was once thought that fibro had inflammation, but it has been found since (I think by dr Wallace) that it doesn't...so maybe some dr's are still not up on this?

Not slamming you, but there are a lot of lame dr's out there :( I've had my share, including ones that said 'well, I don't know what is wrong with you, so I guess you have Fibro'.

(Sigh) yeah, fibro. And Epstein-Barr Syndrome, and possibly a number of other things (at risk for MS and RA, and since you can have either or both for decades before the tests come back positive . . .).

Never been on steroids. Some of my docs have toyed with it, but they all decided against it, which was fine with me. I've been through my share of useless excuses for MDs, believe me. However, while I was living in D.C., I had access to specialists affilated w/Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and NIH, all of whom disagree with Wallace. My most recent - and best-ever - rheumatologist was while I was still in D.C. He specializes in fibro and RA, has trained virtually every rheumatologist in the D.C metro area, according to other docs in town (he's too self-effacing to tell you that himself), and he disagrees with Wallace, too.

I miss him terribly - I had to move 2000 miles away to take care of ill elderly parents, and I'm now unemployed except for what consulting I can do from hime, and thus without health insurance. The Rx expenses are killing me - so, of course, I'm frequently going without.

You fibro, too, or somethihng related but different? And who are yhour three guys? :)

Ajijaak

Hi...no, I don't have Fibro after all, I have Lupus and auto immune thyroid disease. My 3 guys are my husband and my 2 sons :)

OMG, lupus *and* thyroid?! You have my sympathies. Have you found a protocol that works, or is it trial and error?

A

Thanks. I am on Bextra and Plaquenil and feeling pretty good :) I also take Armour for my thyroid disease.