#90313 - 08/28/07 07:02 PM
Prednisone long term use anyone?
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Bandon
Member
Registered: 08/28/07
Posts: 7
Loc: Sandy, Oregon
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Hi I am new to this forum, and was diagnosed with AS last April at the age of 52 after 30 years of symptoms. My Rhuemy wants me to take celebrex (from which I get moderate help) and prednisone. He thinks a low dose of between 2 to 8 mg a day is ok long term. My concern is this, my family doctor is very concerned about long term use of prednisone, yet I cannot function without it at this point. My Rhuemy is not advocating a TNF blocker, at this point, because he does not think "I am bad enough" yet. I am sure it could be worse, but its not great!
I am constantly tired and in pain unless I am on my prednisone.
My question is whether anyone else has been taking low dose prednisone for a long period of time, and what the side affects have been. So far I have not really had any side affects from the Prednisone.
Is my doctor the only one out there prescribing prednisone long term for their patients?
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#90314 - 08/29/07 04:01 AM
Re: Prednisone long term use anyone?
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tiabird
Registered Visitor
Registered: 03/03/06
Posts: 1840
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If there are any other options, I WOULD not stay on prednisone long term. My mom took low dose steroids long term and she has many problems as a result: Look up addisons disease
osteoarthritis
weight gain
with all the other KNOWN side effects of this drug, it is not a long term pain. After several years you will still have AS along with problems given you due to the use of this med. Any doctor that feels you need prednisone long term and wont give you dmard's or tnf blockers in my opinion should be fired!!
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Tia
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#90315 - 08/29/07 04:03 AM
Re: Prednisone long term use anyone?
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tiabird
Registered Visitor
Registered: 03/03/06
Posts: 1840
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well it may be a long term pain, lol
but I meant to say not a good long term plan
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Tia
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#90316 - 08/29/07 04:41 AM
Re: Prednisone long term use anyone?
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greenshampoo
Registered Visitor
Registered: 01/18/07
Posts: 1189
Loc: Pennsylvania
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Tia, I was glad to see that second post, I thought maybe I was the only one whose pain seemed long term!!!LOL
Bandon, while I myself agree strongly with Tia, my sister has been taking 10mg of prednisone for almost 2 years now. She has been taking it for severe allergies, and I constantly yell at her for not seeing someone else about them. She lives in Kansas, and I am sorry for anyone who lives in Kansas, but I could go on and on about Kansas doctors-I question whether they even make them go to med school. Any way, off my soapbox, she does not seem to be having any of the long term effects-yet. Even with highbloodpressure running in our family, hers is fine, her heart still checks out okay. I worry about her bones, but so far she seems fine, and she hasn't gained weight either-actually has lost some. I have to take prednisone once a month for a 3 day cycle around the Remicade, and even that makes me nervous. I can't take the Remicade without it and I need the Remicade, soooo...I take it. It is a scary med(unlike all the other meds that we take that I am sure are so good for our bodies),so I would recommend caution and looking for alternatives. Ultimately we are at the hands of our doctors though, I wish you luck and Good Health!!!
_________________________
Some of the best things come from Author Unknown.
When the world says, "Give up," hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
Though you can't go back and start again, you can start from now and have a brand new end.
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#90318 - 08/31/07 04:03 PM
Re: Prednisone long term use anyone?
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sulwyr
Registered Visitor
Registered: 08/10/07
Posts: 20
Loc: Seattle
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Hi Bandon,
From personal experience, I've been on Prednisone in varying doses from 5 to 30mg per day for the past eight months. For the first six months I had no side effects. Over the past two months, I've been fighting constant infections from pneumonia to oral thrush which my doctor believes are due to the chronic prednisone use.
Prednisone for me has been a double edged sword. While it has on several occasions been the only thing that will touch the inflammation and pain and has allowed me to resume a somewhat normal life, I also have experienced significant side effects.
No one can really say what would be best for you. If I had to do it again, I would have pressed my doctor to start the anti-TNF drugs sooner and possibly avoided the Prednisone side effects.
Best of luck to you.
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#90319 - 09/01/07 05:01 AM
Re: Prednisone long term use anyone?
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jackieb
Registered Visitor
Registered: 04/16/07
Posts: 1497
Loc: Saltville
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There are just too many side effects to use it long term, I would question the Drs. about other meds first, it is a quick fix. I have used it several times to get extreme pain under control and then was placed on other medication after the tapering. I would never take it full time.
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Jackie
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#90320 - 09/03/07 04:30 PM
Re: Prednisone long term use anyone?
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Bandon
Member
Registered: 08/28/07
Posts: 7
Loc: Sandy, Oregon
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Thanks to everyone who responded. I have felt uncomfortable about the prednisone long term philosophy my doctor has and will need to revisit this issue with him. I am having to take more and more to get the punch I first did, and I definately do not want to keep increasing my dose. Thanks for giving me some additional validation to take a different direction with my doctor.
Bandon55
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#90321 - 09/03/07 06:21 PM
Re: Prednisone long term use anyone?
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Banana
Registered Visitor
Registered: 07/23/06
Posts: 2902
Loc: New York
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You need to find another doctor. Long term pred without a DMARD, is a lazy doctor.
I am tapering off it now myself. A very low dose, like 2 or 5mg is not as bad, but it is worse for us because of our spine issues.
Doctors sometimes don't take women seriously.
Cataracts, diabetes, easy skin infections, weight gain are the most common ones.
Anna
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Imuran 50mg x3 daily, Humira weekly, Aravam folic acid, Cymbolta x1 daily, Fish Oil, Calcium. Diagnosed with AS in 2004, suffered undiagnosed since 1982.
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#90322 - 09/04/07 08:15 AM
Re: Prednisone long term use anyone?
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kera4
Registered Visitor
Registered: 09/26/06
Posts: 304
Loc: SF Bay Area
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Hi! I am one of those people who has been on low dose prednisone for a long time, anywhere from 2.5mg to 5 mg. Occasionnally, my rheumy has me bump it higher when I flare badly, but I always move it down to 5 mg. I am also on Remicade, methotrexate, ultram and occasional Voltaren. The reason I have been on it so long is that the TNF blockers (Enbrel, Humira, Remicade) have worked somewhat, but not so spectacularly that I can go off the prednisone completely. I have tried many times, but I flare up, so my rheumy has kept me on this low dose. I do not have any bad side effects if I keep it at 5 mg. That has just been my experience since I was diagnosed in 2000. Take care, Kera
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