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LPR and prednisone

Posted , 6 users are following.

phyllis10549
phyllis10549

Tete has got to be a better medicine for the pain of this disease. I don't know who maybe having trouble with awful coughing and congestion and burning mouth and throat but this is awful plus the pain. On 4 mgs. Tried tapering lower now I'm almost back to square one. I try my best to be positive but I can't sleep or be awake pain, coughing , shaking and weakness. All day long everyday. I hope non of you have this experience. I need your replies desperately. I don't care what it is . This stuff is destroying me. U hope you don't think I whine as I'm tough but this has,about shot me to heck.

1 like, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • EileenH
    EileenH phyllis10549

    Posted

    Are you on the right forum? I'm afraid your post doesn't really make sense.

    LPR is acid reflux as far as I know and while it can be a side effect of prednisolone your doctor should have given you gastric protection medication if it is a problem. You can take a PPI such as omeprazole or ranitidine, the substance in Zantac. You can buy them OTC. Many of us have found that yoghurt helps avoid such problems - but yours sounds more serious. 

    If you have polymyalgia rheumatica then no, at present there is no other medication that manages the symptoms. Some people are put onto other rheumatoid arthritis drugs to try to reduce the pred but it rarely is fully successful.

    However, it is your doctor you should asking for help if it really is as bad as you say.

    • phyllis10549
      phyllis10549 EileenH

      Posted

      Sorry. I can't see a lot on my phone. I thought I wad starting a new forum. I do have PMR. Thank you for your reply. I've been this way since starting preds. I was desperate . Thanks, Eileen.
    • EileenH
      EileenH phyllis10549

      Posted

      You did start a new thread - it was just you didn't say you had PMR and just mentioned LPR and wasn't there a better medication - but not what for!

      You really should have discussed this with your GP long ago. Most doctors tend to hand out omeprazole as standard along with the prescription for pred. Many of us won't use it because of side effects and either have no problems anyway or can manage them in other ways - like the yoghurt. But some people need them.

      There are also enteric coated pred pills - they were supposedly stopped for general use because it was claimed they were much more expensive. In the meantime the pharmaceutical companies increased the price of plain white pred tablets so there isn't much difference in price any more. A month of 5mg white tablets is about £1.31, of enteric coated is £1,86. The enteric coated sort have an acid resistant outside so they pass through the stomach before breaking down and so avoid the gastric problem. Your doctor can prescribe them if you need them - and it sounds as if you do. 

      Make an appointment with the GP and fess up! You may need some other tests to be sure your gullet hasn't been damaged by the acid reflux. 

    • phyllis10549
      phyllis10549 EileenH

      Posted

      Thanks so much Eileen. I did not know this. Course they tell me nothing until I get mad. Now I get copies of my bleed test etc. My rhuemy brushed me off said it wasn't preds. I knew It didn't help...the preds just didn't know how bad. Ive been to gastroenologist and Ent. No problem in stomach but ENT said throat red and vocal cords slightly swollen. I take 80 mgs of omeprazole no help. Time for some major help but I'm at loss on whete to go. Again thanks.
    • EileenH
      EileenH phyllis10549

      Posted

      Hmmm - have you tried ranitidine (Zantac) or been tried on another PPi besides omeprazole? It may be that the omeprazole isn't working for you - there is a variation from patient to patient and another one may be better. About one third of patients don't respond to omeprazole at all - so ask to try something else.

      Have you been advised about lifestyle changes? Other than the pred is there any food that makes it worse? Many people find that restricting processed carbs helps a lot - white flour and sugar is the simple way of looking at it. But there may be things in articular that you don't tolerate well. Several small meals rather than a big dinner doesn't overload the stomach and not eating soon before bed or doing things might help. Raising the head of the bed or a wedge under the mattress helps some people - not lots of pillows though.

  • noninoni
    noninoni phyllis10549

    Posted

    I have a horrid cold which is much harder to get rid of when one is on prednisone, and it takes a lot longer to recuperate because your immune system is suppressed. The cold causes awful coughing, congestion, sore throat, etc.  Those are not symptoms of prednisone or PMR.  So my guess is that you also have a cold or the flu or some sort of infection.  I agree that it is a miserable existence.  

        The shaking:  my dog was shaking 2  days ago and not eating and I took him to the vet.  The vet said he had a very bad back and put him on prednisone!.  That quickly solved the shaking and lack of appetite.  Then the vet called me the next day and said his white blood cell count was really high and also put him on anti-biotics.  My dog is much better now.

          I have Raynaud's and I have also been nearly shaking at times this winter.  I keep turning up the heat and adding clothes.

         What is LPR?

  • Anhaga
    Anhaga phyllis10549

    Posted

    You have tried some of these things already, but google these words: how to heal your esophagus after acid reflux.  There is an article on livestrong site with some other ideas that might help you as you look for ways to help heal the damaged tissues.  All the best - I hope you get the care you need and feel better soon.
  • Mrs_CJ
    Mrs_CJ phyllis10549

    Posted

    Hi Phyllis,

    I have silent acid reflux which is like yours except I'm missing a couple of symptoms.  Here is a link to a topic last month where helpful things were discussed.  There is a link within this topic where the most responses were made. 

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/silent-acid-reflux-is-a-possible-side-effect-of-taking-prednisone-493296

    I have adjusted my diet after researching online for foods to avoid, I'm putting my white prednisone pills into a gel cap (I can't get enteric coated pills in Canada), I sleep on my left side and I've raised the head of my bed.  These have helped a little but not as much as I hoped.  I didn't see my doctor yet because he will be quick to put me on a drug and I wanted to try the other suggestions first.

    I was on 4 mg when I started trying the gel caps and the past few days I've had to go to 5 mgs (from overdoing while beginning to reduce to 3 1/2 mgs.....sigh) and I've noticed my throat/cough symptoms are worse from that increased dose. 

    I see from the comments that Eileen suggested yogurt.  I haven't tried yogurt because I can't tolerate dairy, but I've been wondering if soy or coconut milk yogurt would have the same effect....or if it has to be cow/goat yogurt.

    I hope you find something that works for you as I know how aggravating these symptoms can be day after day after day.

    • EileenH
      EileenH Mrs_CJ

      Posted

      I think a lot of people considert it to be the cultures in yoghurt - which I assume are also there in non-dairy. There's only one way to find out if it helps you - try it!
    • Mrs_CJ
      Mrs_CJ EileenH

      Posted

      I bought some coconut milk yogurt with "live cultures" of 10 million so  my experiment starts tomorrow morning!

      thank you for your advice about this. 

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