prednisone + how long before it starts to work

Hello Anne,

Have you actually been given prednisone by your doctor for fibro ? Or do you have an inflammatory/automimmune condition such as arthritis, asthma, SLE or Sjogrens - to name a few - with fibro being what is called 'secondary' ? Fibro is not an automimmune condition and I cannot understand why if you do not have a medical problem that requires a corticosteroid your doctor would give it to you.

The most popular treatments prescribed by doctors for fibro consist of getting restful sleep, pacing yourself, moist heat, gentle massage & gentle exercise. Medications such as NSAIDs, muscle relaxants & tricyclic antidepressants are used a lot to give relief of symptoms and to aid getting into a restful sleeping pattern.

Do you think you should speak to your doctor again to make sure exactly why he is prescribing prednisone ? I personally feel it would be a good idea.

Have a good day.

goldenwings :angel:

Anne, Goldenwings is the expert on prednisone and has given me some very good advice about it. It does depend on what you are taking it for, how your body usually reacts to medication and on the dosage. All that said, when I first started taking prednisone I noticed improvement within 3days. After about 5 days it leveled off. Now if I need to take extra for something I may notice a bit of a change, but I may not notice any change and when the recommended time limit on the increase is over I just start feeling better. Hope this helps.

Glojer

Hi Anne,

Just a little bit more information - from a patient point of view of course.

Corticosteroids - prednisone/prednisolone (UK) is produced in the adrenal gland naturally. The function of this gland is to produce horomones that then regulate salt and water metabolism - a bit technical but bear with me - and is the source of adrenaline which is the thing that gives us the 'fight or flight' action we need in time of danger, stress or anything like that.

This function is inhibited by large doses of steroids and turns off when they are taken. The gland does recover but it does need time and if you stop taking steroids abruptly, this will then lresult in no cortisone in the body. Most patients get very ill if they mistakenly stop their steroid therapy abruptly. When the dosage is reduced gradually, as it should be, then the adrenal gland gradually returns to full function. Once full function returns, the steroids can be completely discontinued.

Some people who have not been on prednisone for very long (usually less than one month) or who have tapered off with sufficient care that their adrenal gland is back to normal, can come off the drug completely.

I am giving you this information so that you can get a positive idea of what steroids do and how they work in your body. Again this is why I am querying the use of them unless you have a condition that specifically requires them.


Take care.

goldenwings :angel: