I am on a ten-day, oral Prednisone taper for the first time for some runaway MS symptoms. I’d love to hear from people who have had the same treatment. What was your experience with it? So far after two days I am experiencing less pain and perhaps a tad less weakness. The Prednisone also seems to upset my stomach a bit, but I’m dealing with it.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

My neuro always prescribes prednisone with Zantac (I was taking the 150s when I did a prednisone taper, it helped incredibly but the gut rot feeling was dreadful).

Marion I always used the oral Prednisone, then went to the IVSM years later.

I found they upset my tummy too. So I wrapped each prednisone pill in a little bit of American cheese to make a tiny ball. if I had ten pills of 10 mg each I had ten tiny cheese balls on the table. I took one at a time with water. I let the water wet the cheese ball just a enough to swallow and go down to the the tummy. Then take another.

this way they don't melt of fast on in your mouth or on the way down where they can cause pain. It is easy and works great. You could use any soft cheese or even fresh soft bread. Just cover the pill well inside rolling it in your fingers.

I would start with about 100 mg for a few days, then 80 for a few and down the line. I did it for two weeks going down to 5 mg even. Take them early so you can sleep. They may make you sleep on and off anyway. Just getting four hours at a time. But they work.

They are many oral steroids.The dosages and way to take them are different, like DECADRON* (dexamethasone tablets), etc. Even Cortisone.

I hope you feel better my dear, they take time to work sometimes. Or they work fast. You never know. Take Potassium foods like bananas, yogurt, potato, etc., when you take steroids.

when I've had oral prednisone, I would try to swallow them about 2 at a time with a huge drink of water. When you start out with six 10mg pills, you need a big glass of water. The pills always seem to be really dusty and the nasty taste is overpowering. I need a lot of water to make those pills go down.

I also dont take them on an empty stomach. I usually have either some applesauce or yogurt (Yoplait) to eat right after taking the pills so I can hopefully get the nasty taste of the oral prednisone to go away quickly.

My doctor has given me prescription Prevacid for the tummy issues.

The two times that I've had IVSM, the only thing that would take the taste of the steroids away was garlicky foods. I probably have to be careful with that because a lot of the garlicky foods that I like are also salty foods. Salty food and steroids, not a good combo.

Oh, and I also found some green apple candy that's good for taking the steroid taste away, but it's sugary so I have to not eat tons of that either.

Orals for me was a dose pack. 1st day is 6 or 7 pills total, dropping 1 each day till 1 on the last day. Worked. Forget name of dose pack. Dr said it was strong as 1 gram of IVSM 3x. Worked. Legs stopped jumping at night while trying to sleep. 2 months later & spasms/jolts are back at night (always spasm hard during day, night time ones were new). I'll ask for another dose pack next month.

Eddie I think you need an anti-spasm medication, more so than steroids. JMO.

Hey. I take 120mg Baclofen/day. Upping it to 140mg in a week or 2.
The jolts & twitches are new lesions or damage happening to spinal cord since that's how it goes with me. I get them in muscles where I can't even simulate it. Such as inner forearm near elbo bottom or outter tricep but not really outer. Sides of nose when I sneeze.

OR - How about it's vein/art restriction causing reduced oxygen/bloodflow! Hmmm.

Anyway, oral steroids for me get tappered & work for a while. IVSM's great too. Just watch the lowering of bone density these types of steroids cause.