[MelodyL]

He has never been on this before. His back was so bad, he's tried the epidurals, heat packs, etc. Nothing ever gave him relief. This thing however is a whole different ballgame. He actually was able to get up from the chair WITHOUT ASSISTANCE. We couldn't believe the change.

It has 4 refills. Alan thought "oh, once I'm done, I'll simply refill this'. I said "oh no, I have to ask the pharmacist (and we have a call in to his doctor). I went to the pharmacist and said "Can he continue to take this?" He said "no, that's the purpose of the pills, you titrate down".

I said "oh, because of the side effects of steroids he can't take this every day". The guy said 'Well with prednisone if you HAVE to have it every day, then I guess you have to deal with the side effects (such as weight gain, and whatever else there is).

These pills did more for him than anything he's been on. And he doesn't take anything for his neuropathy or his back because well, I really don't know why but since he got off the Fentanyl pain patch 10 years ago, he won't go near another pain med.

Just wanted to share

Melody

[Jomar]

Have you done a search on it for more info?
What size dose is he on?

It's not a long term drug, for some severe conditions it may be used for many many months especially if a person life depends on it.
But tapered down to go off it after long term use.

long term use = mood changes ( cranky, irritable), moon face, weight gain, bloating. may leach calcium out of bones & teeth...

and more-
http://www.drugs.com/methylprednisolone.html
http://www.rxlist.com/medrol-drug.htm

[MelodyL]

Hi there.
He's on the pack of pills. First day it's more pills, they go down each day. I know two other people who did this regimen and they said it was like a miracle for them. One had a doctor tell them "This drug cures everthing"

Our doctor just phoned us. I asked him about Alan possibly going on a low dose of a steroid sometime in the future and he said "I have other patients who do that, but let's just wait and see how he does on this one. Let's wait a few weeks, if he needs another regimen of it, you have the refill".

So Alan takes his last day of pills tomorrow. There has been a NOTICEABLE difference in his pain level. Even his neuropathy is improved. And that's saying something.

Melody

[Jomar]

[One had a doctor tell them "This drug cures everything"]

I wouldn't say it cures things, it may stop the cycle of something and if you're lucky that thing goes away, or it may be stopped for awhile.

It's also used for autoimmune conditions.

Is he on a 5 day dose pack or a little bit longer that?

I had a bad respiratory infection last year and had the 5 day dose pack.
Dh, my brother , his daughter & her dh all ended up needing a dose pack to fully get over the lingering respiratory /flu symptoms.

[mrsD]

The dosepaks are typically for acute interventions.

If the methylprednisolone works this way, the next step would be
a chronic dosing of prednisone without the taper.

Some doctors do every other day treatment to prevent adrenal suppression which happens on steroids to everyone.

Some people are lucky and can do 2.5 to 5mg every other day, and others need higher doses.

The steroid also suppresses autoimmune disease, and Alan might have that response as well, since he showed the protein in the spinal tap before.

So once the taper is done, and he is drug free, I'd wait a week and see how he feels. If the back flares up again, I'd call the doctor for a more stable treatment regimen, instead of the high dose taper pack.

Steroids suppress immunity, so keep an eye on that foot ulcer, in case
it flares again.

[MelodyL]

He's on a 6 day dose pack. Today is day 5

Mel

Originally Posted by Jo*mar

[One had a doctor tell them "This drug cures everything"]

I wouldn't say it cures things, it may stop the cycle of something and if you're lucky that thing goes away, or it may be stopped for awhile.

It's also used for autoimmune conditions.

Is he on a 5 day dose pack or a little bit longer that?

I had a bad respiratory infection last year and had the 5 day dose pack.
Dh, my brother , his daughter & her dh all ended up needing a dose pack to fully get over the lingering respiratory /flu symptoms.

[MelodyL]

Mrs. D.

I know someone who takes prednisone (low dose) daily. I ran this by her asking if she would recommend this drug. She just wrote this to me:

"Melody

Sadly, I would NOT, NOT, NOT recommend a long term prednisone usage, despite how much better it makes him feel to start with. I was started on it after my daughter was born, as I was COMPLETELY crippled, in horrid pain, and unable to hold my newborn baby...so I didn't question it, just started taking it...and had almost immediate relief. Sadly, the relief didn't last long, so they "upped" the dose...again, immediate relief, and the vicious cycle started. They kept upping my dose, over and over, and I never questioned it...until I became ENRAGED one day, which is NOT like me in the LEAST!!! I am very mild mannered, don't yell, don't get flustered...never have, but I just felt like I was crawling out of my skin, and I was very anxious and aggitated at EVERYTHING...my husband took me to the ER, and it turned out I had "steroid induced rage"!!!! I had never heard of such a thing, but apparently high doses of steroids can cause even the most meek and mild to quite literally go bezzerk! (no idea how to spell that, lol) I had to spend a week in the hospital having IV steroids administered and titrated to get it under control, and then had to spend YEARS titrating down to a maintenence dose, which I will have to take for the rest of my life, since once your body is accustomed to the steroid, it quits producing on its own, and you can die if you miss a dose, even by just a few hours! Furthermore, it COMPLETELY destroyed my bones, which is the ONLY reason I am in a wheelchair now. Prednisone (same thing as what Allen is taking, different name) leaches all the minerals from your bones, as well as other side effects, and NO amount of sprouting or healthy eating can counter balance that. Prednisone TEMPORARILY restored me, then it DESTROYED me in the long run-bad news, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE look for alternatives! I have been to the BEST doctors in this country and in England, top clinics, top hospitals, yada yada...and they all encouraged me to stay on the prednisone...all the while it was destroying me. BAD NEWS!! You know me well enough by now to know that I shoot straight, and TRUST me when I tell you, he can get better and get rid of his back pain JUST by watching what he eats-he very likely has some unknown allergies or sensitivities that you might need to deal with, and its hard, but WAY better than taking a pill that ultimately only makes matters far worse. His back pain won't get any better if he ends up with a steroid induced fracture in it! I wish I could give you more encouraging news, but NO WAY would I lie to you and suggest that I think it is a good idea...far from it. The GOOD news is, there are plenty of herbal/supplemental stuff that can help him with the pain, but I suggest trying to figure out what his food triggers are too. Valerian root is a natural muscle relaxer-it is what VALIUM is made from, only it is natural and not full of crap that makes matters worse-tastes vile, comes in drops or pill form, amazing stuff!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This scared the hell out of me.

Melody










[

[mrsD]

Elderly patients are not typically given high doses, or increased
like that quote describes.

High dose can lead to psychosis, and chronic steroid use can
cause osteoporosis over time.

This is why in the elderly the every other day regimen was
tried and studies showed it works pretty well.

When I had my spider bite, which was pretty terrible, I had a Pred taper too. All my arthritis pain went away, and after the
treatment was done, all my discomfort returned.

You can expect something like this to happen with Alan most likely. For acute things, there may be less relapse. But for a chronic thing, mostly likely the pain will return.

People on chronic steroids in Alan's age group also run a risk of hip fracture...so keep that in mind too.

[echoes long ago]

when i get respiratory infections i need prednisone to get better or else the infections go into asthma and long term chronic coughing/wheezing. sometimes it does even with the prednisone. im started on 40 mg, but if it develops into more chronic episode, i might have to interrupt the 40 mg taper which takes 16 days and go up to 60 mg which takes 24 more days to taper, so sometimes im on it over a month. i hate taking it and cant wait until i taper off of it. it makes me very fidgity,short tempered, and feeling like crawling out of my skin after ten days or so. i have to keep reminding myself that im not really angry or that no one is doing anything to me its just the prednisone. i would never want to take it long term, though i understand that the dose is usually much less for long term use, like 5mg.
it never did anything for pain i had in my feet.

[mrsD]

Also, I forgot to mention... steroids raise blood pressure and blood sugars. If Alan takes them regularly...doctor should
check the blood pressure regularly, and you can check his sugars now and then.