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Prednisone taper side effect or something else?

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Posted 8/22/2012 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
Last friday I woke up in the middle of the night with a random upper left side pain that was going into my shoulder. By mid day it was horrible, I couldn't even drive. I was having spasms and it hurt too bad to take a deep breath. I had recently been on a short course of prednisone for a flare. Started at 30mg and tapered every 10 days. I took my last pill the day before the pain started. It's been 5 days now and the pain is still there, it's not as bad but if I take a deep breath, yawn, hiccup, laugh or move the wrong way, it feels like i'm being stabbed in my side with a dagger :( I've taken norco & percocet and they don't really help this pain. Nothing showed up in xrays. I'm going in for a ct scan in a few days. Has anyone ever had this type of pain coming off prednisone? I think it's weird that it started the day after I stopped prednisone. In the past I've had weird pain from pred but it usually stops after a couple days..
Posted 8/22/2012 7:18 PM (GMT 0)
I've never been on pred, but I've had it from nerve impingement in my mid back and neck...as well as from gas.

Probably best to tell the doctor and at the very least have an ultrasound of that area.

Have you tried gas x or anything such as that?

Are you still using the enemas?

have you recently upped the vsl3?

q
Posted 8/22/2012 7:45 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I had this happen once when I came off prednisone. The pain was throughout my chest/ribcage and was exactly like you described as being stabbed when you take a deep breath, hiccup, laugh, etc. It was like my whole ribcage would just spasm and I couldn't breathe.

It was horrible but it did get better and went away on its own within a couple weeks. Hopefully you feel better soon!
Posted 8/23/2012 2:17 AM (GMT 0)
I have not experienced that during or after any of my rounds of pred, but it sounds like the type of pain I would sometimes get from lack of oxygen while running or working out... especially if I'd eaten recently and my body was too busy digesting food to deliver oxygen to my exercising muscles. When I would breathe more with my belly and less with my chest, it seemed to help. I know pred messes with heart-rate (higher) and hemoglobin (lower), which carries oxygen throughout your body, so I would not be surprised to hear of pred having this effect. If it didn't disappear within a few weeks, I would make sure to follow up with doctors.
Posted 8/23/2012 2:39 AM (GMT 0)
I had pain in my ribcage/shoulder-blade/back before I developed shingles. You are more susceptible to developing shingles while on Prednisone. It was severe stabbing pain and definitely deep! I had the pain about a week before the rash developed. I thought I tore an intercostal muscle or something. I even had an ultrasound and cat scan at the ER b/c we were worried it was my pancreas (my pain was on the right side). This was before the rash developed. I'm not saying it's that, but if a rash develops, call your Dr. right away and get on some anti-virals. The sooner you treat shingles, the less severe it becomes.

I hope you find some pain relief soon!
Posted 4/17/2016 10:24 AM (GMT 0)
I just recently was tapered of prednisone and the day after I took my last pill, I developed the exact symptoms also in the middle of the night. I have had a stabbing pain in my left rib cage, can't lie down, breath or cough without severe pain. This all started three days ago and I find that if I wrap my rib cage very tight it helps ease the pain along with taking two 300 milligram aspirin in the morning and before bed.
Posted 4/17/2016 5:28 PM (GMT 0)
I've had something very similar happen but it was months after I was on pred. Any torso rotation or deep breath any it was take-you-down-to-your-knees intensity pain in my upper left rib cage ( would radiate to my back sometimes too ). This went on for around a week, and then one evening I was sitting watching tv and started to burp, I kid you not, it was gone like it never happened. Trapped gas somewhere in the rib cage? Who knows but I hope I never have to experience it again as it was hell.
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