Get Informed: Prednisone

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

Approxinmately 5% of iGuard patients taking prednisone reported bruising as a side effect. If your side effects continue or worsen you should discuss them with your doctor.

Posted: 2009-10-29 22:49:15

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

There are newer medications available to help with Rheumatoid Arthritis including abatacept (Orencia), adalimumab (Humira), anakinra (Kineret), etanercept (Enbrel), infliximab (Remicade), and rituximab (Rituxan). You may want to discuss these and the other available treatment options with your doctor to see if they are appropriate for you. You may also find this consumer guide helpful. It is from the Agency on HealthCare Research and Quality. "Rheumatoid Arthritis Medicines: A Guide for Adults" is available at: http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/healthInfo.cfm?infotype=sg&DocID=86&ProcessID=14

Until the right combination of medications is found to control your symptoms, it will probably be hard to completely withdraw from the prednisone. When you flare up while tapering your prednisone, you and your physician need to balance the risks of the flare versus the benefits of tapering the prednisone. It is a very individualized decision that your physician can best help you make based on your specific medical history.

Posted: 2009-09-26 22:18:44

Answer/Reply:

I have been taking Prednisone only for a short while compared to some 10 mg a day for severe hip pain(bursitus) and fibromyalgia. I have had bad nightmares also,people chasing me and my child although his 30 years old now he isn't in the dreams he is very little; being trapped in a basement, horrible storms coming, things like that plus the weight gain. I'll have to start keeping a dream diary I never associated them with the prednisone until now. Thanks for your posting.

52 year old Female

Posted: 2009-11-18 19:48:32

Answer/Reply:

I have lupus, plus other related problems, and have been on prednisone for 33 yrs. It sounds like the level of prednisone therapy you currently need is 10 mg because when you reduce your dose under that your joints and muscles flare-up. It may be that your body is hanging on to that magic number of 10 mg that you have been on for so long. Just keep trying with your physician's help. There's all sorts of ways to go about reducing your prednisone dose. Some doctors even use the every other day method. (Ten one day, then 7.5 the next, then back to 10.) The rule of thumb is that if you can get by just taking 7.5 mg, you won't have any of the bad side effects (i.e. moon face, hump shoulders, major weight gain). Good luck and I really do hope that you are able to reduce your dose down as far as you can.

51 year old Female

Posted: 2009-08-08 00:36:22

Answer/Reply:

I'd like to add one more thing to answer your questions. You mentioned that you are having visual problems that sound pretty severe. First off, you shouldn't hesitate one more minute. You need to make an appt with an opthamalogist asap. It may not be the prednisone, but it most definitely could be a symptom of your lupus. By any chance, are you currently taking Plaquinil (a drug widely used to treat lupus)? Plaquinil can damage your retina over time. I don't believe it would be related to the prednisone, but who knows. The medical community widely uses prednisone to treat various eye problems, especially inflammation-type problems. Hope this helps, but please go asap, and have your eyes checked before there's permanent damage done.

51 year old Female

Posted: 2009-08-08 00:50:22

Answer/Reply:

Prednisone is a steroid which can cause cataracts. I also was losing my vision and had to have cataracts from both eyes. Go see your eye doctor to verify your problem.

75 year old Male

Posted: 2009-08-17 12:37:13

Answer/Reply:

I'm a 58 yr old female and have Lupus and am on Dialysis. Lupus can attack any organ in your body. I've been living with this for about 40 years. I had a retinal vein blockage 7 yrs ago, due to the Lupus, you be getting regular glaucoma tests, the pressure in your eye. Many things can affect your vision even Diabetes.

58 year old Female

Posted: 2009-08-18 21:24:10

Answer/Reply:

I'm a 58 yr old female and have Lupus and am on Dialysis. Lupus can attack any organ in your body. I've been living with this for about 40 years. I had a retinal vein blockage 7 yrs ago, due to the Lupus, you be getting regular glaucoma tests, the pressure in your eye. Many things can affect your vision even Diabetes.

58 year old Female

Posted: 2009-08-18 21:26:44

Answer/Reply:

I have been on prednisone about 15 years now andIi was on a high dose in the beginning and then I was put on 5 mg daily after that and have been on that dose for all these years. I hate to take it but I have no choice, I have had a few times in the past that I was busy and forgot to take it and by evening my heart is pounding and im short of breath.I get so stiff I can hardly move and it takes a few hours before feeling better after I take it. I was told by a dr that you will have to ween off this drug as many years as you have been on it. it can cause your organs to shut down from shock if you dont take it as you normally due.dont let a dr that dont know much about this drug tell you to just skip a day and start taking it every other day to ween off. it dont work that way! make sure your going very slow getting off this drug with a specialist. I have rumatiod arthritis and fibromyalgia and its a hard life to live even on lots of other meds for pain, Im not sure about the meds with your eye site, sounds like you need to see the eye dr. they will know more on that. I need to go myself. im wearing reading glasses in 225 to see to write this and havent went to eye dr in a few years.

43 year old Female

Posted: 2009-08-19 00:57:57

Answer/Reply:

I'VE BEEN ON PREDIISONE FOR 11 YRS NOW. I HAVE WEGENER'S GRANULOMATOSIS. IT'S JUST ONE STEP ABOVE LUPUS. I CAN'T GET BELOW 5 MG. IT MAKES IT VERY HARD TO WALK. THE LUPUS STOPS YOU FROM GOING OFF PREDNISONE. I'M ALSO ON METHOTREXATE. THOSE TWO TOGETHER ARE VERY HARD ON THE BODY. I GUESS OUR BODY NEEDS THAT PREDNISONE TO FUCTION.

49 year old Female

Posted: 2009-08-19 08:44:53

Answer/Reply:

I have been on Prednisone for over 25 years. I started out on a fairly high dose to get my pain under control and then I was tapered down to 10 mg. a day. Every once in awhile I would need a higher dose when I had a flare-up and then back down again. I am currently taking only 5 mg. and cannot get completely off of it as my Rheumatologist told me that my adrenal glands have stopped producing the natural cortisone and the 5 mg. is only a maintenance dose. I also am on Enbrel (since December 1998), atenolol, Fosamax, Tricor, Ridaura (an old-fashioned medicine - gold), and Lyrica. Other than having had both hips and both knees replaced, I am doing pretty good at the moment (one hip and both knees were replaced within 29 months).

54 year old Female

Posted: 2009-08-19 11:49:39

Answer/Reply:

I'm older than you but you need to have your eyes checked by an eye Doctor. You may have developed cataracts and the prednisone causes them to grow very quickly. I had an eye check and no cataracts. 6/7 months later another check and I was almost to the point that I couldn' t drive.

Cutting yourself down on the prednisone has to be done slowly. When you get down and the pain keeps coming back(or won't leave) go up a little til it stays gone. I'm at 10 milligrams and have been able to drop to 5 milligrams but then when the pain starts again I just up it and I'm fine again . I have polymylgia rhumatis and its cousin giant cell artertis(red blood cells retain too much moisture(water?) and swell causing severe pain.

72 year old Female

Posted: 2009-08-27 23:33:44