prednisone woes

[Velouria138]

[anno]

I have no experience w/pred, But I don't want you to take it anymore either! Have you asked for a list of ap docs in your area? I don't like the sound of your doc.
 You are right, pred is immunosuppressive. There are others here who are weaning off of pred; hopefully they will chime in here….

[linda]

Idk anything about traumeel, but you need to ask your doctor why he wants you to take pred as opposed to some other anti-inflammatory. ANYTHING, and I do mean anything, is better than prednisone.Ask your doctor how many of his patients have successfully and permanently stopped taking prednisone, and also ask for other options. Nothing is without side effects, and generally the stronger the anti-inflammatory, the worse the side effects, and we all end up in a pick your poison situation, but there is no drug that has as many side effects as prednisone.

[Trudi]

[user=2043]Velouria138[/user] wrote:

My doctor wants me to start taking prednisone every other day and to take traumeel tablets as a replacement eventually. This doesn't make much sense to me…how can a homeopathic thing replace something like prednisone?

Am I correct in that it sounds like he wants to wean you off the pred (your signature says you are already taking it)?  I looked up the ingredients for the traumeel tablets–I think they are worth a try, especially if they work like pred but without the side effects.  I was going to write it down to talk to my doctor about it, but see that it has chamomile in it and I am allergic to it.  Darn!

BTW, I have every respect for homeopathic extracts.  They can be very powerful–they've thrown me into some painful herxes.

Trudi

Lyme/RA; AP 4/2008 off and on to 3/2010; past use of quinolones may be the cause of my current problems, (including wheelchair use); all supplements (which can aggravate the condition) were discontinued on 10/14/2012. Am now treating for the homozygous MTHFR 1298 mutation. Off of all pain meds since Spring '14 (was on them for years--doctor is amazed--me too). Back on pain med 1/2017. Reinfected? Frozen shoulder?

[PhilC]

It sounds to me like your doctor wants to wean you off the prednisone. You can't just suddenly stop taking it if you've been on it for a long time. Getting off prednisone in such cases is a gradual process.

Phil

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
- Albert Einstein

[lynnie_sydney]

I use Traumeel in a cream form- its primarily for soft tissue inflammation. Cant say that it ever gave me any joint relief – though good for stiff neck and general aches.  Lynnie  

Be well! Lynnie

Palindromic RA 30 yrs (Chronic Lyme?)
Mino 2003-2008 100mg MWF - can no longer tolerate any tetracyclines
rotating abx protocol now. From Sep 2018 MWF - a.m. Augmentin Duo 440mg + 150mg Biaxsig (roxithromycin). p.m. Cefaclor (375mg) + Klacid 125mg + LDN 3mg + Annual Clindy IV's
Diet: no gluten, dairy, sulphites, low salicylates
Supps: 600mg N-AC BID, 1000mg Vit C, P5P 40mg, zinc picolinate 60mg, Lithium orotate 20mg, Magnesium Oil, Bio-identical hormones (DHEA + Prog + Estrog)

[linda]

Oops, my bad, I thought he wanted you to start taking pred, not wean off of it. In that case, go for it with my best wishes! If unsure, just google the potential side effects. Sorry for the fibro moment, everyone! We need an emoticon for those blunders, this is as close as I can get.:blush:

Yeah, it's time for bed, the brain already nodded off hours ago.  Zzzzzzzzzz……..

[Velouria138]

[Merla]

[user=2043]Velouria138[/user] wrote:

Does prednisone even have an alternative? 

 Is pred. just kept around for its anti inflammatory abilities? I'm confused…

Hi Velouria,

When I had just gotten off prednisone last month my doctor offered me a natural steroid he said was similar to prednisone if I needed the support. He said that prednisone is about 7 times stronger than the natural one. I didn't get the name of it but want you to know that there is something. 

I understand your questions about using prednisone. I was also very reluctant to use it but I also know that I really needed it to control my inflamation. My doc told me I should use it back then and I'm glad it was there for me.

Merla

[superperroRA]

(Velouria, Spanish name? very pretty. My mother was Puertorrican and my father American. I was born in P.R., and raised there, but moved to Boston to go to college (MIT) and have been in the US ever since)  Homeopathy(for instance, traumeel) is pseudo-science and superstition. You are as likely to cure your RA using homeopathy as you are using astrology or elephant tusk powder. Look up on the Internet the scientific justification and history of homeopathy.

Yes, weaning off prednisone is very good advice, because prednisone eventually gives cataracts, osteoporosis, diabetes, edema, suppresses your immune system, etc. I was on 13mg/day prednisone for one year and hated it. I was able to replace it by Voltaren, an NSAID. I have been taking the Voltaren (plus antibiotics, of course) for one year now, and getting better very fast. There are many kinds of NSAIDs and their effectiveness depends very much on the patient. For example, Mobic works well for some people and does absolutely nothing for me. Celebrex works medium well and Voltaren super-well for me. So I advise everyone to try as many NSAIDs as possible, to see which ones work best for you.  I get a liver and kidney blood test every two months to make sure that the NSAID is not causing kidney and liver damage, which can happen to a small percentage of NSAID users. NSAIDs often cause ulcers. But this can be prevented by taking prilosec or some other proton pump inhibitor at the same time, or by taking the NSAID in suppository  form, or by doing both.

You might also try MSM, another anti-inflammatory. Some people find it quite effective. it doesn't work too well for me. That's the thing about RA. Which medicines work best depends very much on the patient

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