How many steroids courses have you been?

Well...

After being in denial of a flare (is that possible?) for some months (is that really possible??), with virtualy no appetite, bloating and persistent D, I submitted to a RMA and saw the inflamation again.

The thing is that, after being off meds (ok, ok...) and cutting off gluten I sort of thought I would be ok. So naive... Ok, I GOT better, but you know, I'm not a celiac, so how could I deceive me so?  :)

Now I'm back on pred (40mg), to start tapering in a couple of days. Third time on 40mg, and I already have been twice em 60mg. In 18 years of disease. Am I a lucky one?

We know the dangers and side effects of this dangerous and marvelous drug. And I know that there is some who has to stay there for years.

But I wonder... How many courses have you been at?

Thankx,

Daniel

Lost count to be honest. I'm near the end of my 3rd course this year. Before that, I've been on about 5 courses, but can't remember the exact number. One time I was on Entocort, the rest of the time it's been Pred.

Out of 12 years of having the disease, nearly all the Pred courses have been taken within the last 6 years. Was one relatively early one, in 2003 or something like that, though.

Maybe the courses are not exactly the same... what is a couse for you?

In a 40mg, tappering 5mg biweekly takes 4 months. Three courses means all the year in pred. Thats rough.

Aff...

I have been on 3 courses throughout my 10 years with this disease, all starting at 60mg and tapering for months. It is important to take Vitamin D and Calcium supplements after being on multiple prolonged courses of steriods, they do a number on your bones!

I've been on 3 courses of Entecort (on the 3rd one now), and 1 course of Pred (lasted 6 months). All in the 2 years I've had this DD.


~*Astro*~

I've been on prednisone almost 35 years straight with very few lapses in between. Was able to wean off in the fall. I have no problems with my teeth, dentist says they are solid, it's my gums that are giving me problems. I brush, I floss daily and get dental cleanings every 6 months and I still have problems, my gums are receding way too quickly.

my first 4 years i was on it for the entire time at 40- 60mgs. took awhile to get off too.. the next 24 years its been on and off at least every couple years. now continuously since last halloween.

I was on Pred for about 3 months and have only just (2 days ago) come off them completely after a long long taper. I like being free of the steroids, but the drawback for me now is waking up today flaring. I had been a bit wobbly for the final week as I was on 5mg, so I went about a week longer for the extra time to adjust. So I guess it can be a cyclical thing, if your body can't adjust to being away from the steroids you'd have to go back to them. Which is what I'm doing right after I see my doctor hehe! However, whilst on them I experienced fairly minimal side effects. A little sleeplessness here and there, slight mania in my day to day life, oh and errr eating like a horse constantly. On the whole it's quite manageable and far preferable in my opinion to a life stopping Crohns flare. But this is only my experience and we all react differently of course. Good luck!

Ouch!

You are taking almost everything besides anti-TNF. Hope it works! Good luck!