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Indianagal

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I got diagnosed with fibromyalgia about 3 years ago. I had been seeing a neurologist until recently. He had me taking 400 mg Lyrica and 120 mg of Cymbalta each day. I was constantly in pain...all the time. I was having very few good days.

I have started seeing a rheumatologist and had my second appointment last week. I am now taking 200 mg Lyrica, 60mg Cymbalta and 5mg prednisone twice a day. I can't believe the improvement. The rheumatologist told me I would be feeling much better in a week and I was kind of skeptical but this prednisone seems to be doing the trick in managing my pain. He said other patients of his has done very well taking prednisone. He said he doesn't think Lyrica really does the trick so it may be a matter of time before I stop taking it. Also have noticed since cutting my Cymbalta in half not as depressed.

Does anyone else take prednisone for their fibromyalgia?
 
Honestly, I'm very afraid of prednisone. I know many people, including my Dad, who get great relief from it, but I also know of people who have died from it. It's a very strong pill that takes over your body - it's a bit like a "reset button." That's not necessarily a good thing, because some people can't handle a reset. I've been recommended it by a few doctors, and they've all told me never to stay on it longer than 2 weeks because of how powerful it is. I never took it. My dad was willing to take it himself in short bursts, but was never comfortable with me being on it.

So I'm not surprised to hear that it's working well for you. But be really careful! You should study up on the side effects, because death is a pretty big one.

Also, every doctor I saw (I saw many) said Lyrica isn't all it's cracked up to be. Apparently it makes many patients feel drunk all the time, and this side effect isn't worth it for most people. One of my doctors said she's totally stopped prescribing it for any condition because most people don't do well on it.

Cymbalta was TERRIBLE for me - it made me A LOT worse. This wasn't a "get worse before getting better" reaction. It made me very suicidal, bed ridden, and took away my ability to think or dream. It turned my fatigue into total apathy, and my depression into a lack of will to live. It did nothing at all for my pain. I laid in bed for two weeks, unable to move from pain, and unwilling to even try to get up. I was on the lowest dose of 30 mg.

So please, be careful!
 
Thanks for your reply Siderea, I will look Prednisone up, now you have me worried. I go back to see the rheumy in 5 weeks. He said the prednisone shouldn't be harmful because it is such a low dose. Thanks again....now I need to find out more about it.
 
Honestly, I'm very afraid of prednisone. I know many people, including my Dad, who get great relief from it, but I also know of people who have died from it. It's a very strong pill that takes over your body - it's a bit like a "reset button." That's not necessarily a good thing, because some people can't handle a reset. I've been recommended it by a few doctors, and they've all told me never to stay on it longer than 2 weeks because of how powerful it is. I never took it. My dad was willing to take it himself in short bursts, but was never comfortable with me being on it.

So I'm not surprised to hear that it's working well for you. But be really careful! You should study up on the side effects, because death is a pretty big one.

Also, every doctor I saw (I saw many) said Lyrica isn't all it's cracked up to be. Apparently it makes many patients feel drunk all the time, and this side effect isn't worth it for most people. One of my doctors said she's totally stopped prescribing it for any condition because most people don't do well on it.

Cymbalta was TERRIBLE for me - it made me A LOT worse. This wasn't a "get worse before getting better" reaction. It made me very suicidal, bed ridden, and took away my ability to think or dream. It turned my fatigue into total apathy, and my depression into a lack of will to live. It did nothing at all for my pain. I laid in bed for two weeks, unable to move from pain, and unwilling to even try to get up. I was on the lowest dose of 30 mg.

So please, be careful!

Siderea, I have heard about the dangers that Prednisone poses! Actually there are a lot medications in the market that can cause horrible side effects... My mom was prescribed this medication, but he was too afraid to take it... I'm so glad she did! Because it seems this medication causes more troubles than the few ones it solves.

I really wonder how the FDA can approve this kind of substances knowing they can potentially cause something as awful as cancer? I was taking Spironolactone for a few months, just to find out this medication can cause cancer as well, oh my!

There is also an antibiotic known as Norfloxacin that can cause tendon ruptures and and irreversible peripheral neuropathy. That medication sent me to the ER after taking just two pills! So yeah, no longer trust doctors and always look up the meds they give me online. It looks like the pharma industry wants to make us sick.
 
Thanks for your reply Siderea, I will look Prednisone up, now you have me worried. I go back to see the rheumy in 5 weeks. He said the prednisone shouldn't be harmful because it is such a low dose. Thanks again....now I need to find out more about it.

Yeah, please do look it up! We are not trying to scare you with non sense talk or anything like that, but you should always look up the meds you are taking. This medication in particular is known for suppressing your immune system, and most people know that leaves the door open for many other diseases such as cancer. This medication in higher doses can actually cause certain types of cancer.

I hate to mention the C word here or anywhere in my daily life, but you should really investigate a bit more. Sadly most doctors won't tell you this kind of things, because their mentality is all like: ''well, most medications cause side effects, but treating x thing can be worth the risk...''. Yup, I've heard that from a lot doctors... that's why I don't like doctors that much.

By the way, you can find this info anywhere online, I won't post the link here because isn't allowed. If you are a fairly young person, then you should really look this up, we are too young to take this kind of medications... Just check the side effects and evaluate if the benefits are worth the risk, that's all I can say.
 
Hi, I'm just going to jump in here. First, prednisone has many uses and does help with many, many bad symptoms but it can do great damage. I was an RN for many years and have used it with great success. For short term use, I really don't have an issue but rarely would I condone long term use. It can affect most organs long term, and cause your bones to become brittle. I know you like the effect it gives and only you can determine if the result justifies the risks.
 
Thanks for your reply Siderea, I will look Prednisone up, now you have me worried. I go back to see the rheumy in 5 weeks. He said the prednisone shouldn't be harmful because it is such a low dose. Thanks again....now I need to find out more about it.

I'm glad to hear you say you'll research Prednisone, Indianagal. It's important. One of my best friends was put on it for UC a few years ago. He's a *doctor* and the things it can do were not well known at the time, even within the medical community. It helped... and it as so great that it was helping and he was feeling better.

But then since patients can't be on it very long at a time, they started tapering. The withdrawals, even under close medical supervision were more horrible than he could have ever imagined.

Granted it helps a number of illnesses, and I'm so happy to hear that it makes you feel better... maybe you'll decide to stick with it after your research, which is fine, but taking it without knowing the facts on what it can do probably isn't a good thing. (I realize that your doctor probably explained all that to you already... I'm responding to you saying you'd look into it further.)

I'll have to ask him what his dosage was... may have been a lot higher than yours, too.
 
I've been on prednisone for over 8 years now (I think, lost track of time). If you really want to know my thoughts, on the drug, search this forum for another post about prednisone. My response to it was long and took me forever to write. I don't want to repeat myself, either.

At first, it does make you feel wonderful. That goes, eventually. Now, I was started on a much higher dose than 5mg. 5mg is a pretty common maintenance dose and is considered safe in the medical world. It can still do the same things to your body only it will, most likely, take longer. I've suffered from using it and now require it. I currently take 6mg.

Prednisone is synthetic cortisol. Cortisol is released by your body in response to stress and pain. It's your body's natural pain killer. That's why it makes you feel better, at first, because, at 5mg, you're doubling your pain 'medicine'. However, your adrenal gland, which makes the cortisol, will only make as much as the body needs. By taking Prednisone, you'll cause your adrenal gland to shrink and stop making it's own cortisol. That's why you need to wean off of it, if you use it for awhile. Your adrenal gland needs to get woken up again, as without cortisol (i.e, suddenly stop taking the Prednisone) bad things happen (pericarditis).
 
Hi there

I don't have experience with pred being used for fibro, I was only diagnosed yesterday. I do however have lots of experience with it for crohns, and whenever I was on it for that, my joint pain would get so much better.

There are risks to pred like mood swings and depression but these are rare, and normally start within the first few days of starting it. It can damage your bone density, but there are ways to help protect your bones if needed such as calcium supplements.

As said above, it can cause long term problems with the adrenal gland, so short term use is the better way to go. However, I was on 40-60mg for almost 6 months without an issue, and I know others who have been on lower doses for a few years. Its a very individual thing, just remember to keep on top of your body, ask for regular check ups and make sure that if/when you do come off it you reduce your dose slowly, don't ever just stop taking it.
 
I am an RN and I agree with everything said here. I know prednisone makes you feel better but I wouldn't touch it. Now I am going to be perfectly honest and here is my disclaimer: Everything I say right now is MY OPINION. PLEASE don't let you doctors take control of your health care. YOU be in control. Your doctor can only suggest and has the ability to write prescriptions for you. If I took ALL the pills my doctor suggested I take I would be a complete zombie right now or maybe dead! Your doctor ONLY knows how to pass out pills. to be perfectly honest, we probably know a lot more about fibro and chronic pain than the doctors do! Not just because I am an RN but I do ALOT of research, ALOT. and I know I almost always know more about fibro, chronic pain, nutrition than my docs (no brag, just fact). Doctors are not God and in medical school they teach them to treat with two things: medicines and surgery. That's it! So when they hand you a pill, that's easy for them to do and no skin off their nose...but honestly ladies, love your bodies and your doctor doesn't always have your best interest at heart. I am not a doctor hater. For the most part I love my doctors but I know their limitations. I had a lot of patients saved by prednisone (mostly lung issues). Some hated it because they gained weight and got a "moon face", appearance and couldn't stop eating. Others LOVED it and did NOT ever want to stop taking it. But it is kind of like heroin you will need more and more. One doctor put it to me this way about Prednisone: "It's a wonderful drug, it will help you and it will kill you". That about says it all. The previous statements were my experiences and my opinions ONLY:)
 
New to this group. All the "floxins", Levaquin, Cipro, etc are known to have this horrible side effect. In 2008, I was initially prescribed 21 days and later 5 months of Levaquin to address osteomyelitis which occurred from a new orbital floor implant. The infection finally resolved but I was never the same and 2 prescribing MDs documented the resulting in tendonitis in
all 4 extremities. At 51 at the time and felt like I was 90 and could hardly move. Will introduce myself in another post to ask if others have identified their onset of sxs starting after taking a floxins antibiotic.
 
After reading the posts about prednisone and doing some research of my own I stopped taking it. I took it for 10 days and now am not sure why the rheumatologist even prescribed it as I do also have osteoporosis. I will discuss it with him at my next visit.
 
I've heard mixed reviews about Prednisone. One said that it helped her amazingly, while the other said that it made her migraines much worse and she had to stop taking it. I'm not sure if it was a chemical reaction or what. That's the sad part with diseases we don't know a lot about, especially. Nothing is going to work for everyone, but there are way less options to try.
 
I've heard mixed reviews about Prednisone. One said that it helped her amazingly, while the other said that it made her migraines much worse and she had to stop taking it.

From what I've heard over the last few years, it's not usually a matter of whether it helps or not... but rather the side effects that come with it, or the withdrawal when it's time to stop it or taper.

The person I know who was on it was helped tremendously with the UC, but it was the other things that made it a bad idea.
 
I so much agree with the post below and so many others. You certainly are going to find some relief, especially initially, but this drug is going to wreak havoc on your body in other ways longterm. Stay informed!



Honestly, I'm very afraid of prednisone. I know many people, including my Dad, who get great relief from it, but I also know of people who have died from it. It's a very strong pill that takes over your body - it's a bit like a "reset button." That's not necessarily a good thing, because some people can't handle a reset. I've been recommended it by a few doctors, and they've all told me never to stay on it longer than 2 weeks because of how powerful it is. I never took it. My dad was willing to take it himself in short bursts, but was never comfortable with me being on it.

So I'm not surprised to hear that it's working well for you. But be really careful! You should study up on the side effects, because death is a pretty big one.

Also, every doctor I saw (I saw many) said Lyrica isn't all it's cracked up to be. Apparently it makes many patients feel drunk all the time, and this side effect isn't worth it for most people. One of my doctors said she's totally stopped prescribing it for any condition because most people don't do well on it.

Cymbalta was TERRIBLE for me - it made me A LOT worse. This wasn't a "get worse before getting better" reaction. It made me very suicidal, bed ridden, and took away my ability to think or dream. It turned my fatigue into total apathy, and my depression into a lack of will to live. It did nothing at all for my pain. I laid in bed for two weeks, unable to move from pain, and unwilling to even try to get up. I was on the lowest dose of 30 mg.

So please, be careful!
 
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