Problems with Prenisolone, Tired, Frustrated

It does seem like we re always trying to work out f the RA is affecting adversely- or the meds we are given! It is frustrating!

But the increasing pain, to the extent you can't sleep sounds like good old RA to me.you say you have recently been diagnosed. Have you also been prescribed a DMARD? Maybe it hasn't had time to work tet( 12 weeks) or maybe it isn't working and they need to try another. Prednisolone is only ever a stop gap though sometimes a long one. I too didn't have a lasting response to steroid jabs. About 7 and half mg pred works for me and once I taper down below 5 mg the joints react again.

but I think it's all about finding which med/s actually hold the disease back .it took about 9 months for me, all the time with increasing symptoms. Then a biologic was added which has made a great difference and I am also nearly off orednisolone 21 months after diagnosis. So hang on in there to get the optimum treatment you can.

just a tip on taking orednisolone- I read it s better to take it between 2 and 6 in morning if you hapoen to wake( take with food) as that mirrors the normal time our adrenals produce similar.

hope you get something sorted.

Hi never- ready predisilone is a antinflammatory I also think it suppresses the condition. I've pretty much overcome my ra through a program in UK. However I have taken pred and the shots worked fast but was short lived but less side effects and withdrawal than tablets.

i took 10mg tab for 3 months and when I came off them albeit too fast I was paralizesd in every part of  my body the pain and inflammation was like never before. 

After three weeks I could take no more pain so I decided to go it alone and experiment so I asked doctor for 5 mg tab and worked up untill the inflammation and pain was minimised up to in my case 15 mg then I reduced to 10 mg. I'd read that up to 10 mg showed much less side effects as in osteoporosis etc. I stayed at 10mg for weeks eventually reducing to 5 mg. I don't eat certain foods and have epsom baths. It's important to shower off the acid drawn from the body by the salts the following morning. You can get to a much better place with ra.

HI, I don't have RA but PMR.  I have, however, been reading tons of stuff on how statins are  powerful anti-inflammatory drugs and in one double blind clinical trial of RA  patients on 40 mg Lipitor, patients reduced CRP in 6 months by 50% and the sed rate by 28%.  This sounds great to me so I am wondering if  you guys take statins?

    In the case of PMR it is more complicated because 5-10% of people who take statins get muscle problems, which is the primary symptom of PMR.  I have personally decided the problems are rather different and can be distinguished. I have restarted statins because that anti-inflammatory aspect is so appealing, but I suspect most PMR patients won't do that.  

    Statins sound much nicer than too mucy prednisone or metheltrexate.

Ummm, statin can actually cause muscle/joint pain, not reduce it - in some people that is.   I discontinued statins a few months ago, for urticaria rather than RA, it certainly helped with the urticaria but did nothing in reducing the pain from RA.   Tapering prednisolone varies from person to person.   Your taering regimine sounds a bit severe from my experience sounds rather severe to me, I'd be surprised if you don't have a reaction.   Also be aware that methotrexate can actually increase the pain, it certainly did with me and as a result I had to increase my prednisolone dose to deal with it - it didn't work!

I would like to ask the group something about prednisone, I only take it during flares and not everyday like some of you do. The pills I take are 200mg and kind of like a z pack. They last for 9 days and that is it. How much predisone can you take everyday? 20-50 mg sounds like a lot and then you have to spend months weaning yourself off, because of side effects? I have not experienced this. Under what condition does a doctor prescribe prednisone everyday?