Prednisone - 5mg.

[Susanbrennan80]

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Originally Posted by radar

ellie j. get another doc.

I've been thinking that I would like to wean down from the 5mg of prednisone a day to none but frankly I don't know how. Every time I mention it to my RA, she's Hindi, no disrespect, she mumbles something, I just don't undestand with a voice that suggests I'm kinda wasting her time and I really feel that I am wasting her time and I get embarassed (that word) and limp out of there. I have always known that it is a dangerous drug but I have to admit I love feeling like an elderly wonder woman. Any help would be appreciated. By the way, no known problems, have liver checks done every two months because of methatrexate meds. I also use enbrel and mobic.

[Jenetti]

Originally Posted by Susanbrennan80

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I've been thinking that I would like to wean down from the 5mg of prednisone a day to none but frankly I don't know how. Every time I mention it to my RA, she's Hindi, no disrespect, she mumbles something, I just don't undestand with a voice that suggests I'm kinda wasting her time and I really feel that I am wasting her time and I get embarassed (that word) and limp out of there. I have always known that it is a dangerous drug but I have to admit I love feeling like an elderly wonder woman. Any help would be appreciated. By the way, no known problems, have liver checks done every two months because of methatrexate meds. I also use enbrel and mobic.

I understand what you mean feeling like an elderly wonder woman. My mom has RA and was given prednisone, i believe 10 mgs or so a day or honestly not sure on the dose but she says it makes her feel so good. SHe was on it for 10 days only and she asked the doctor (my mom has alzhemeirs too, so its hard for her to grasp things sometimes) why she couldnt please stay on the med that made her feel good. She asked why is it wrong to be on it, and the doc tried explaining to her how dangerous it was, but my mom kept saying she didnt care cause it helped her and she hadnt felt this good in a long time. I felt so sorry for her , my heart broke.
Jen

[ataylor]

The way I understand it, is that a body naturally makes a certain amount of cortosteroids (in the kidneys, I think). These steroids increase naturally at certain times... like when you're pregnant (that's why RA sometimes goes into remission during pregnancy...handy, but doesn't help the guys much...). If you take predisone the body will think it's made enough and shut down the natural manufacturing process, so you're worse off than before. That's why you take prednisone in high does and gradually taper off, so you don't lose your ability to naturally manufacture steroids.

It's nasty stuff, the crack of RA sufferers. Sure you'll feel great for a while, and not just because you're pain free, but because of the euphoric effect it can have on your mental state. It's like the manic stage of manic/depressions. Eventually, the side effects (ranging from moon face to brittle bones to kidney failure, see the above posts...) will catch up to you.

I keep prednisone on hand to knock the first day or two of a truely massive RA attack... certainly not as a maintenence drug. If you've tried everything else and all you can do is survive on steroids, then that's one thing, but if you're in pain and haven't seen a doc yet, you need to get to one right away. Using a drug just because it was prescribed for something else and is handy is not the way to go.

[Susanbrennan80]

yeah but, how do I wean down from it, I don't have a moon pie face, although I think I've eaten one or two of them, I live in the south now, lol.

[Grandpavan]

In reading this post I agree with just about everything that was said but would like to add that Prednisone helps the symptoms of RA or related diseases but does not do anything to slow or stop the permanent joint damage that often comes with them. For that you need a DMARD (Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug) like Methotrexate, Arava, Humira, Enbrel, Remicade, or Kineret. Also I think Prednisone often increases blood sugar and can cause medication-induced diabetes. It's great stuff for making us feel good and permitting us to function but it is bad in almost every other way.

I started off with very rapid-onset RA and was given 40 mg Prednisone daily to permit me to get out of bed and hobble to the bathroom. I was also given Arava for about four months with little or no success, my doctor added Methotrexate and I took myself off Arava. About 4 months later I still had little or no success, so my doctor added Remicade at 3 mg/kg and slowly increased it to my present level of 6 mg/kg. After about 6 months on Remicade and Methotrexate I was able to wean from Prednisone and now I am off it except for special needs.

Prednisone alone is not a good treatment for RA but it does allow you to function and makes you feel good. Your doctor should be trying to find some combination of medicines to control your RA and permit you to function and feel good without Prednisone. If your doctor is not doing this, I recommend a second (or third or fourth) opinion. God bless.