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What can you take for pain while taking prednisone?

Posted , 6 users are following.

mary68968
mary68968

Had to have an MRI the other day & was in a very awkward position for at least half an hour.  What an awful experience, but that's another story.  My shoulder is really bothering me since then & I am sure it irritated an already existing problem.  I am on 7.5 mg of pred & wondering what can be taken for the shoulder pain.

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • tina-uk_cwall
    tina-uk_cwall mary68968

    Posted

    Hi Mary, it's funny you saying that, I had to wear a blood pressure monitor for 13 hours 2 days ago and although I wasn't really in a certain position I just had to be careful what I did. I have since then had aching shoulders. They are not too bad but if they get worse I'd simply take a couple of paracetamol to ease the pain. All the best, christina 
    • mary68968
      mary68968 tina-uk_cwall

      Posted

      I was about to attribue it to a flare & then I remembered the hellish MRI & the strange position I was in.
  • charles01893
    charles01893 mary68968

    Posted

    There have be some studies regarding this- University of Leeds, for example. The conclusions were not very positive concerning pracetemol, and for that mattter  Ibuprophen. For a  lot of pains they weren't much help, and at high doses are dangerous to kidneys and livers.

    You can probably google the matter, reported a week or so ago on BBC TV.

    • mary68968
      mary68968 charles01893

      Posted

      Thanks Charles.  I did a bit of googling & aspirin, ibuprophen did not sound like a great idea.  
    • tina-uk_cwall
      tina-uk_cwall charles01893

      Posted

      Yes Charles you are quite right. I don't that often take pain killers, I think last time was July last year as I do know that they can indeed cause many   Clinical problems. Regards, christina 
  • Sheilamac_Fife
    Sheilamac_Fife mary68968

    Posted

    My understanding is that aspirin and Ibuprofen shouldn't be taken with Steroids but Paracetamol is ok if not taken in large doses long term. I use it for the odd pains I sometimes have when I've overdone it. Of course they can damage the liver but I think if used only when necessary they are very useful!
    • EileenH
      EileenH Sheilamac_Fife

      Posted

      No NSAIDs (non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs) should be taken regularly alongside pred - the odd dose for a headache is unlikely to cause much trouble for most people but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

      Google NSAIDs to get a list of substances and brand names.

      Paracetamol (acetinamophen) and codeine alone or in combination are proabably OK but codeine causes constipation and dependency and makes some people just downright ill.

      A recent study done in Australia has shown that paracetamol does no more than placebo (a sugar pill) in low back pain and osteoarthritis while putting patients at a 4 times higher risk of abnormal liver tests. So again - the odd dose won't be too much of a problem but there are doctors who will tell you it is what you should be taking for OA and back pain long term. And don't ever take it with alcohol - that just makes things worse.

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