CBD oil capsules to help to reduce prednisolone

Many thanks Eileen. Don't think I favour anything untested (I'd be too nervous) but was interested to fathom how friend came off pred so easily having found it impossible. I am happy for him but will pass on this so called cure.

Sarcoidosis can sometimes just clear up on its own - as does PMR. Once you are down to 5mg pred and below the problem isn't just a return of the PMR symptoms, getting adrenal function to take over again also takes time. To some extent it depends on how long you have been on pred in the first place and also how high the dose was. Maybe it was just coincidence - maybe it did help. We'll not know until someone starts doing proper studies and looking at what sort of doses are needed, Even pred only works when you are on high enough a dose!

ALSO, I have RA and the prednisone is not stopping my joints from eroding and my osteoporosis is bad.. SO although my pain is manageable with prednisone, I need to get off and find something else to con trol joint erosion of RA and pain from RA and PMR, when I lower / get off pred.

Haven't tried it myself, just my friend has used it to come off pred. (?) so he thinks.

If you have RA with joint erosion - why have you not been started on a DMARD (disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug)? Moderate dose pred is used in RA and can work well for symptom management - but it does not work on the disease process and stop joint damage. They have been standard practice for RA

Many rheumatologists use DMARDs in PMR as so-called steroid sparers. They do not work on their own for PMR - when they do help it is usually because the diagnosis is not really "just" PMR - but in some patients they do allow them to get to a lower dose of pred. Whether the amount of difference it makes is worth it is debatable but it is certainly possible to use both together to get the best symptom control in both RA and PMR. Is it actually sure you have PMR? - RA can also cause almost identical symptoms.

My friend takes it. Gets it from well known health food shop where there is one in most UK towns. Capsule form, 1 per day. He swears it helped him down from 3.5mg where he was stuck, to zero. But who is to say? It's whether you want to take something untested by the medical profession. You need to Google it.

I've tried several different DMARDS and biologics, with little help for my PMR, and many bad side effects.. it's truly a dilemma how to medicate me!

If it is PMR - it is pred or nothing really - that's the problem. DMARDs and all the anti-TNF biologics will do nothing. Actemra and Stelara both seem to work for some cases of GCA which is the same as PMR but not all.

THANKS for your knowledge and advice... but my osteoporosis is worsening so we're trying to reduce the pred. possibly with the help of other meds. The RA Is acting up now more than before.But, when I lower my prednisone I start to feel the OMR pain right away MR pain right away.

Hi Bethune, couple on additives that might help; not a cure all, but I take them each morning with no side effects, MSM a vitman K. Good luck and try to stay active, it helps.

I do appreciate that - but why are you not on osteoporosis medication? They shouldn't be used without good reason - but when there is a reason, there is a definite place for bisphosphonates - or Prolia/denosumab or Forteo. And you take those alongside the pred so you get the best of both worlds.

Thanks!

I am considering those, and researching carefully. The risk of fracture is high for hips, and the side effect risks for PROLIA though rare are serious. My GP prefers getting calcium through green foods and ALMOND MILK. I take VIT D weekly and a calcium pill daily, and hormone replacement. PROLIA is a relatively new drug, so the longterm studies are not that long term. What are your thoughts about theses meds... pros and cons?

The natural methods are always preferable - but when it is too late for that, you have to consider the options. The point is, we built our bones as young women - and if we didn't do well then, it is a bit late for natural methods to make up for it now.

Prolia isn't that new, it has been in general use since 2010. I'd definitely consider it if the option was having to stop pred for PMR since there are no options except another, equally recently introduced, biologic. Prolia has been found recently to have the downside that there is rebound bone density loss when you stop it. That means taking it longer or switching to oral options when you stop the Prolia. However, it works very well to increase bone density and is easy to use. I know several people who have been on it with excellent results and no problems.

Please don't take prolia unless you are old enough not to care if you have to stay on it for the rest of your life. Do you take Vitamin K2 along with the usual calcium and D?

THANK-YOU!

I DO... , and thanks for your advice!

To be fair Anhaga, it does build bone density quickly - which may be the primary need - and then you can switch to an oral bisphosphonate for a time before then stopping that. That is what is being recommended by some experts.

Too many people are being put on these meds who don't need them at all, they need a simple lifestyle change. There are also other causes of osteoporosis, besides aging and meds like pred and PPis, which should be investigated for. I think the drug route is too easy for the doctor, hard on the patient and possibly unnecessary. And yes I think it is likely that some people do need them because deterioration continues - why the deterioration continues needs to be investigated if they've been doing all the right things in terms of nutrition and exercise - but why use as first line one which has very serious consequences? The stories I've read from people on the bones forums who have taken Prolia for a while, felt well, then gradually develop pretty awful side effects and then are faced with the difficult choice of how to safely discontinue and what alternative med should they take. It's not just the rebound OP which is a problem with Prolia.