anyone take steriods like predisone for FM - Fibromyalgia Message Board

ginn26 · 06-26-2003, 07:38 AM

I have gone to my rheumy and he did knee surgery and took fluid from my knee to see if I had any RA, but the test said there was not any. I am on predisone and that helps with all my strange pains in my body. I have not been diagnosed yet for FM, but feel like its not far off. Doctors don't know whats wrong with me. I have been ready posts here and have not found anyone take predisone and I just want to know if anyone has and if it has worked for them.

Thanks

Creeping Crud · 06-26-2003, 08:06 AM

Hey ginn,

I was put on 40mg of prednisone a day (taken orally) before my fibromyalgia diagnosis & it only made me feel worse.. It messed up my body, it messed up my mind & it's probably the worst drug I've ever taken..

It didn't seem so bad at first, but when I started swelling up in strange places (like my face, arms and abdomen), started feeling like I was going insane, getting even less sleep than my normal 2-3 hours and experiencing these strange sensations that my swollen parts were detached from my body because they felt so alien, I knew something was wrong.. I didn't immediately connect it with the prednisone because I was pretty sick to begin with, but the more I took it, the worse I felt..

When I saw other doctors (during the period that I was trying to get a diagnosis), the only thing they could agree on is that I never should've been put on prednisone.. For one thing, it masks certain things in your bloodwork so any testing you do in the search for a diagnosis might be less accurate.. For another, I've been to 3 rheumatologists, one neurologist and several medical doctors over the course of my illness and all of them agreed that prednisone should NEVER be used in the treatment of fibromyalgia - that's probably why there aren't many posts about it on this board.. Steroids are bad news..

I'm not sure how long you've been on them or what kind of dose you're taking, but just be very careful (especially if your doctor didn't already discuss a tapering schedule with you).. It's not a drug that that you want to be on for a long time if you can help it, trust me.. Also, don't be afraid to get a second opinion.. I trusted my doctor when he put me on prednisone, but my trust was severely misplaced..

Steroid shots are another story entirely.. I do know people who have experienced relief from them.. If you want to see more of my opinions about prednisone, check out this thread:

[url="http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/Forum51/HTML/001734.html"]http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/Forum51/HTML/001734.html[/url]

Take Care,
Melanie

ginn26 · 06-26-2003, 09:12 AM

I haven't been on the medicine for long and I am on a low dose of 10mg and sometimes I only take 5mg because I have read the bad side effects. So far I don't have any. The doctor does want to wean me off of them, he wants to keep me on them for another month at this dose and then wean me off. I am kind of worried though, at the end of the day my pain comes back and the only thing that works are the steriods like predisone and I did take a medrol dose pack once.

I have two harrington rods in my back and I am waiting to have an MRI of my back to see if there is anything wrong with them and maybe that is what is causing all these strange symptoms. This is just so fustrating not knowing what is going on with me. Sounds like everyone here

Thanks for your response

Midnite · 06-26-2003, 10:54 PM

Hi ginn,

I have been prescribed prednisone several times for pain. I experience pleuritic type pain in my chest and the prednisone is the only med that alleviates it when it flares up badly. It works for me tremendously and clears it up in a relatively short time. Fortunately, I do not require long-term treatments of it and can, therefore, avoid the bad side effects of the drug. Since I've been taking guaifenesin daily, I have not had the chest pain as intensely as in the past and have not needed the prednisone. This past week I had a flare of it and took 2 Ultracets for the pain and it helped lower the pain some. I have also used Vicodin in the past for it and it wasn't very effective for this type of pain. When this pleuritic pain is at its worst, the prednisone is the only thing that works best. Hopefully, I won't need the prednisone again, but if it does start to flare up intensely again, I will not hesitate to ask my doctor for a script of prednisone.

Also, I have used it for severe muscle spasms, too. It has helped relieve those effectively as well.

Best wishes to you and take gentle care,
Midnite

------------------
If you keep a green bough in your heart, the singing bird will come.

painsucks · 07-18-2003, 01:12 PM

Ginn,

I have to agree with Creeping Crud. About two years ago, my FMS was so bad that I couldn't walk without a cane. The pain in my lower back and legs was just unbearable. My doctor tried me on prednisone and I experienced the same things that CC described. I was so swollen I thought I would explode, my face was so red it looked as if I had been asleep in the sun for about 24 hours, and I felt like a wild animal. I stopped taking the prednisone and don't ever want to take it again! As for the FMS pain and ability to walk without a cane, well, it was a long summer but I'm doing better now. No longer need the cane to walk, some days are better than others. I think I was just experiencing one of my worst flare ups ever at that time. I was working a very stressful job, working no less than 15 hours a day, on call 24 x 7, and had been doing this job for about 7 years. I actually left the company and had enough vacation time built up that I took about 6 months off and just rested. I went back to work a year ago at a much less stressful job. I still have a lot of pain, some days are unbearable, I have to stay in bed all day just to make it through the rest of the week. Maybe you should talk to your doctor about some of the more widely used medication for your FMS such as muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatory, anti-depressants, etc., my advise is stay away from prednisone!