I have RA... I've tred so many meds... I have found a low dose of Predisone helps more than anything else...
Dose anyone else here take low dose pred.?I take 5mg...every other day...
My Dr. wants me off Pred. but the other meds make me so sick....or just worked & stopped.... but RA & meds have awful side effects...including Pred..
Anyone on Pred..with pain med.. for extremely bad days?
Any response appreciated...Hope this makes sense...

I am taking 10mg of Prednisone per day, 150mg Arthotec per day, 400mg of Plaquenil per day and 20mg of Methotrexate per week. I still have alot of pain, stifness and swelling. It still continues to spread to new joints. I will be starting Enbrel next week so I am hoping that it is going to help. When I get realy bad days I have gone as high as 30mg of Prednisone. That is when I have to stay in bed for a week or two because of the pain. I hope that you find the right combo that works for you soon.

I have RA and was on Prednisone almost 2 years at an average dose of 10 mg. per day. When I had major flares I boosted it up to as high as 40 mg. then tapered back down to 10 mg. It is a wonder drug, but also has long term side effects. I gained alot of weight, was very bloated/puffy, had heart palps, bruised easily and my rheumy believed alot of my swelling in my feet and hands was due to the Prednisone. I have been off of it now for almost 4 months and I feel great (lost all the weight too). But I mostly attribute feeling better to starting the Humira injections.

Yes all the RA meds have bad side effects, but so far other than the Prednisone I have not experienced any of them. The Methotrexate did cause a little nausea and fatigue for a couple of days. I just decided that I have to live in the here and now and that quality of life is more important.

Everyone is different and has to find the right combo that works for them. Just keep working with your doc to find that combo. Best of luck to you.

I am on a low dose of prednisone (5mg) per day along with Arava. I'm also on Ebrel (just finished 2nd week). While I was just on the Pred and Arava, I still had a lot of pain and I thought there was no relief in sight, until Enbrel. I feel SO much better, it's like night and day. I can do everyday things without pain (there were days I used to have trouble dressing myself or brushing my daughter's hair). I may eventually be weaned off the other meds because I don't like taking the steroid for so long. I was overweight to start with so added weight from the prednisone sure ain't fun!

Good luck to all!