Prednisone question

[Colleen]

I have been on minocycline 100mg. twice a day for almost 3 months now and have noticed a remarkable improvement already…I have had a problem with my lungs, connected to my RA.( even before the mino)…..Now my pulmonologist wants to “test” me on 60 mg. of prednisone for 7 days and then have me stop it abruptly ….Is anyone familiar with this?   It sounds very risky.

[linda]

It's not dangerous if you are only on it for 7 days, but usually they have you lower the dose a little each day. If you take it for longer than a week, you should never just stop as it could out you in a life threatening adrenal crisis.

If you are doing well, I would refusse the pred- what does your doc mean by a trial dose? Is he planning on precribing it for a longer period of time if it helps? I was prescribed pred 10 yrs ago and not informed of the side effects, now I'll probably have to take it the rest of my life.

Besides the side effects of gastritis, ulcers, high blood pressure, diabetes, cataracts, weight gain, mood swings and others, prednisone also causes your own adrenal glands to stop producing cortisol (the steroid we make naturally at about 5 mg. day)If taken over a prolonged peroid of time, our adrenals will no longer produce cortisol, and atrophy from lack of use.  It can be reversed sometimes, but if you stop taking prednisone abruptly, your body will have no cortisol, which is necessary for us to stay alive. That's why anyone who has been on prednisone for a prolonged time must wean off slowly to give their adrenals a chance to start making cortisol again. There is a point of no return, it depends on who you talk to as to how long it takes to get there. Usually it takes years of use. An endocrinologist has told me I've past that point, but my rheumy says no, we can still try.

Ask your doc to explain these side effects to you and also his plan for future use of the drug for you. Is this a one time deal to try to reduce inflammation to help boost the effects of the mino? If it was me, I'd get more clarification before taking it. If it is just for 7 days with no plan to continue, you should be fine.

[Colleen]

Linda:

Thank you for your response….At least for the moment I've decided not to “try” 60 mg. of daily prednisone….I appreciate your openness about the side effects….How many mg. are you on daily?  What a shame no one informed you of the dependance pm steroids…Fortunately my body appears to be handling the mino well, so it doesn't make sense to throw this into the mix with an uncertain outcome.

[linda]

I'm currently on 15 mg pred., I have been on as little as 5 mg every other day in the past, and that is my current goal. It's a good drug for short term therapy, but beyond that I believe the risks outweigh the benefits. However, there are some who become so severe that they have to take it, it's a tough choice to have to make. If I had Sjogren's and was in danger of going blind, I would take the prednisone for sure, in situations like that there really is no other choice. In your case tho, it seems unnecessary for now- especially 60 mg- that's such a high dose.

Hope you continue to improve, linda

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