Prednisone

[Marty]

I developed a painful condition called polymyalgia rheumatica last summer. The rheumatologist prescribed prednisone 10 mg once a day. It had a magical effect almost completely reieving the symptoms.. I've done four INR's since I've been taking prednisone- all between 2.5 and 2.8. Last week the rheumatologist prescribed Fosamax which I will report on next month.

 

[Nancy]

Glad you finally got some relief. I'm sure you are well versed in the pros and cons of pred.

They wanted to put Joe on Prednisone, but his system just couldn't handle it. It would have improved a couple of things, but made several other things much worse.

 

[Blanche]

Success with Fosamax

Success with Fosamax

Marty:
Al and I have been taking Fosamax for 7 years now, for osteoporosis. It has been a success for both of us. Each year our dexi scans shows positive results. Hope it works well for you too. The nice thing about Fosamax is that you only take it once per week.

Regards,
Blanche

 

[Lisa in Katy]

IMO, Prednisone is an evil drug, but unfortunately, it is sometimes the only thing that works. I was on it for a long time when I had RF, and again after my surgery for Pericarditis. Among other things, it made me gain a bunch of weight, and caused a slight dowager's hump, but it did work. I was glad when Vioxx came out and it worked as well without all the side effects.

 

[Marty]

IMO, Prednisone is an evil drug, but unfortunately, it is sometimes the only thing that works. I was on it for a long time when I had RF, and again after my surgery for Pericarditis. Among other things, it made me gain a bunch of weight, and caused a slight dowager's hump, but it did work. I was glad when Vioxx came out and it worked as well without all the side effects.

Lisa, questions- what dose were you prescribed? What effect did it have if any on your INR? Thanks Marty

 

[Lisa in Katy]

I was on several different doses as I had to take it off and on for about 9 months. When I was in the ER, I had the IV version, I also had a few Dosepaks, and then right before being switched to Vioxx, I was on 5 mg each day for several days.

It's hard to say if it affected my INR because it was so soon after surgery, so my INR had never been really stable, and Pericarditis affects the INR. I was also taking Vicodin at times. When I switched from Prednisone to Vioxx, my INR remained fairly stable, so in hindsight, I don't think it affected it, but I can't be sure.

 

[Marty]

I was on several different doses as I had to take it off and on for about 9 months. When I was in the ER, I had the IV version, I also had a few Dosepaks, and then right before being switched to Vioxx, I was on 5 mg each day for several days.

It's hard to say if it affected my INR because it was so soon after surgery, so my INR had never been really stable, and Pericarditis affects the INR. I was also taking Vicodin at times. When I switched from Prednisone to Vioxx, my INR remained fairly stable, so in hindsight, I don't think it affected it, but I can't be sure.

Lisa, Thanks for the info. You got side effects from a really low dose if you only took 5mg/day. I'm looking for side effects from my 10 mg/day but so far except for a 5# wt gain havn't noted any. Are they still checking out Vioxx as a cause for heart attacks? I was in med school in 1948 when we got hold of our first prednisone at IUMC. We prescribed 200 to 300 mgms/day. No wonder we began to see severe side effects. One of my professors said prednisone was indeed a wonder drug- it would allow you to dance at your own wake! Marty

 

[Lisa in Katy]

I was on much higher doses of Prednisone at times. They kept me on the 5 mg for quite a while to try to prevent recurrence of pericarditis. It came and went for about 9 months, and I still fight it occasionally. Vioxx was wonderful to me and I was really upset when they took it off the market. It was the one thing I could take that I knew would work and not interfere with my INR. Since Alleve has come out, it works about the same and hasn't yet done anything to my INR, so I stick with it now.

 

[Marty]

I was on much higher doses of Prednisone at times. They kept me on the 5 mg for quite a while to try to prevent recurrence of pericarditis. It came and went for about 9 months, and I still fight it occasionally. Vioxx was wonderful to me and I was really upset when they took it off the market. It was the one thing I could take that I knew would work and not interfere with my INR. Since Alleve has come out, it works about the same and hasn't yet done anything to my INR, so I stick with it now.

Sounds like you are doing better if Aleve will make you comfortable. They encourage me by telling me that occasionally rheumatic conditions go into spontaneous remission.