Stomach issues

Have you tried lansoprazole 30 mg that's the only thing that helped me. All the best. 

Some time ago I remember a post suggesting squeezing one lemon, dividing it in 3 and taking the juice diluted with water x 3 a day. I know it may seem an odd suggestion but according to other posts it works. I'm not sure if it was for heartburn but it was for something similar. I suggest you wait until someone else comes along and confirms or otherwise.

It would be worth trying taking the Pred. with plain yoghurt. 'm in UK and use an organic variety. I expect you have something similar.

Before I had PMR I had a bout of pains in stomach ( not abdomen ) Endoscopy showed nothing wrong but one of the nurses recommended the yoghurt. Good stomach liner, she said. 

Can't do any harm to try.

You say prednisone - are you in the USA?

Don't get confused though people - Rayos/Lodotra is coated, but it remains in the stomach until it is released after 4 hours so isn't an alternative for people with gastric issues. In the UK enteric coated or gastroresistant prednisolone pills are available - and that does help with gastric problems as they pass all the way through the stomach and are broken down and absorbed in a lower part of the gut. They are only available in the UK though.

An alternative to pills is depot methylprednisolone injections which are suggested in the most recent international guidelines for the management of PMR. Injections avoid gastric issues altogether.

Hello

this can be a real 'pain' - I know. For a decade or more before  PMR/GCA  I have had to take Lansoprazole anyway due to a refux problem and I need a 'double-dose' of 30mg twice a day. It is effectve 99% of the time (I have never had any side-effects from it) and has been so even on high (60mg) doses of Pred. BUT - I take the PPI capsule (Lansoprazole that is) half an hour before eating and half an hour before taking the steroid. Main thing is to eat a decent size bowl of thick greek yoghurt before you swallow your Pred and then a few more spoons after to 'sandwich' it into the yogurt. This works well for me and if I ever have any sense of irritation later in the day - which can occur occasionally if I have an empty stomach as I am trying not to also overeat - I just eat a few extra spoons of yoghurt and that seems to help. It would be a shame if you had to go off the Pred - so maybe you can try this approach first. There are also enteric coated tablets available in some countries too (not here in Australia tho).

Best wishes with it all

Rimmy

Silver is correct, over 8 years ago MrsO told me about lemon juice and we published it our Newsletter and in the 'Tips and Tricks' section of the booklet 'Living with PMR&GCA' all the tips and tricks were supplied by patients with both PMR & GCA.  Now not all of them work for everybody, some do, some don't... but them each of us are individuals.  But the 'lemon juice works for 90%'.

Take one organic lemon (if possible) place in microwave for 1 min  (this triples the juice extraction).  Then divide into three and take it with a little water after each meal.  Now it was explained to me exactly how the acid in the lemon jiuce counteracts the heartburn............

Give it a whirl.

Do not discard the lemon, grate the skin of the organic lemon and then either freeze it and add it to food.....just sprinkle it on.

You can also freeze whole lemons and when frozen grate the whole lot and then use in stews, sprinkle over salads, put in drinks.  You then get every bit of all the nutrients and waste nothing.

Order some enteric coated capsules to put the pred in, you'll have no more heartburn.