Pred finally caught me!

Wouldn't you know it??? After years of having Uc, I have managed to avoid prednisone.  In comes arthritis and guess what? Yep, put on prednisone.  I went to see my primary today and she didn't quite know what to do to help me.  I really wanted a steroid injection in my one finger that hurts but she felt that an oral steroid would help my other finger joints that are hurting.  Sort of killing 10 little piggies with one stone sort of deal.  I am to take 10mgs for 7 days, 5mgs for 7 days and then 2.5mgs for 7 days.  And after that, I am going to attempt short burst dosages of an anti-inflammatory such as Celebrex if my insurance will cover it.  My insurance normally doesn't cover it so my doc is going to call in an authorization - but I doubt that will work.  However, IF my insurance says ok, then I am not going to be doing typical dosing because of the bleeding risk.  More like one a day for a couple days then off it for a few days and then on.  I know I've read on here that it's best to take Pred in the morning so I won't get insomnia right?

It's generally recommended to take Pred in the morning. Not only will it help prevent the insomnia, but that is when your adrenal glands normally release steroid hormones into your body, so it's a more normal pattern.

Be sure you take it with food to prevent stomach irritation and bleeding. And you may need to take something for heartburn, because Pred can contribute to reflux. I always took Ranitidine 75 mg. in the morning and evening when I was on Pred.

I have been on and off pred for 14 long years. As much as I hate it, and as much ill-effects it has on my body, I have to say that it does sometimes actually work. Just 2 days now and I am noticing a bit of a difference - still in a flare, still having urgency blood and mucus, but not as urgent and not as many times a day. I hope just one "cycle" or burst of pred will do the trick - we will see when I start tapering....usually once I hit 25mg or less, flare is back.... As bad as pred is, it can be a good thing too I suppose....as dangerous as it is.

It's best to take the prednisone before 9 am - supposedly it fits best with your circadian rhythms then. However, when I was on a dose greater than 20mg, I would take 20mg in the am and then the rest (but not more than 20mg) with lunch to keep a more even dose in my system.

Even though I'm already on something for my GERD, I found that the pred made the heartburn much, much worse. I ended up taking my Aciphex in the AM as usual and then taking a rantidine (usually 150) in the afternoon when the heartburn hit.

Best of luck Red!

I hope the pred gives you some relief.  10 mg. is a really low dose so hopefully you won't suffer many side effects.  The moon face (which is my least favorite side effect) usually hits me after 3-4 weeks at higher doses so hopefully you'll escape that lovely side effect.  Whenever I take pred, I have to split my dose up and take it 3 or 4 times a day instead of taking the entire dose at once.  If I took the entire dose at once, I noticed that I'd feel really sick a few hours before I was due to take the dose.  When I split it up, it stayed more consistent in my system and it worked better for me. 

Lila, welcome to Hw :) I can't offer any insight on prednisone since this is first time I am taking it. I have, however, used steroid enemas for almost a year and ended up with moon face. It went away rather quickly after I stopped the steroid enemas. Hang in there! How long do you need to be on pred?

LOL Happychic - do you know what happens when I take Ambien?? I sit on my husbands chest in the middle of the night babbling at the wall! I already take a sleep aid every night but I don't know if it's strong enough to counteract a steroid. But we shall see tomorrow since that will be my first dose.

Red_34 said...
Judy, I'm already on Prilosec. I take the Prilosec on an empty stomach and then a half hour later I have breakfast. Prednisone won't interfer with the Prilosec then or visa versa?

Peety, does hydrocodone have codeine in it?

I don't know! Sounds like it though, doesn't it?

Good luck, Sherry! Just wondering-- do you get any relief from topical anti-arthritis meds on fingers? / Old Hat (nearly 30 yrs with left-sided UC ... [etc.])

Missmissy - I already know the warnings of Celebrex. At first my GI nixed the idea so that is why I am doing an unconventional dosing regimine. And I am to stop it (if my insurance approves it that is!) if I get any sort of Uc symptom.

Old Hat, I have been using Australian Dream topical pain reliever. It does help tremendously but it's short lived. I also have a parrafin wax dip and once again, it's very short lived. I take Tylonel Arthritis and that helps. So I figured that if the things that I am trying is not working then it was time to up the game ya know?

Peety, the reason I asked if that contained any codeine is because I'm allergic to codeine. I also can't take Tramadol. Last time I took Vicodin is when I had my endometrial ablation and shortly after I had to be taken to the hospital for an adverse reaction to the medications but of course they gave me other narcotic meds in addition to the vicodin. So I don't know if it was the Vic that did it to me or the whole combo.

Ohhhh well that explains that then eh Q? Thanks for the link!

I love the Rozerem commericials! I haven't tried that one yet but I don't think my insurance would cover that anyway. Once when I was on Ambien, it eventually stopped working for me so the doc wrote me a script for Ambien CR and my insurance wouldn't cover it! I was sooo mad.

But anyway, I survived the first dose. I am bit a sensitive to steroids and last night I had the most awful leg cramps! Oh my lordy were they burning! I drank tons of water and that seemed to help. I also couldn't get my mind to focus on anything. LOL I was talking to my hubby and in a middle of a conversation I walked away. I didn't mean to but my mind went to other things and my body followed. My poor hubby had a look on his face like wah???