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18-08-2019, 08:08 AM
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Is (or has) anybody been on steroids?

I'm currently taking the steroid Prednisolone for Polymyalgia Rheumatica and it's been like a miracle - completely cured!!

But of course I'm not cured - if I stopped the steroids I'd be in a lot of pain.

In the 3 months I've been talking them I haven't experienced any side effects except muscle cramp in my calves - a small price to pay. I haven't even put any weight on which was one of my original concerns.

I am currently trying to lower my dose with the hope of coming off them sometime in the future.

To anybody who's been on steroids I wondered how/if they affected you?
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18-08-2019, 08:22 AM
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Re: Is (or has) anybody been on steroids?

I haven't been on steroids Carol but I would just like to say that it is good to hear that your pain is considerably reduced.
Pain makes people unable to live their normal lives... so well done you!
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18-08-2019, 08:22 AM
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Re: Is (or has) anybody been on steroids?

Hi Carol, I was on Steriods but if you are Diabetic your Sugar Levels will hit the Scales at 28.1, which is no good, I was only on them for two weeks and the Hospital had trouble in getting my sugar levels back down, so that had to take me off them.
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18-08-2019, 09:39 AM
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Re: Is (or has) anybody been on steroids?

I was given a course of steroids for a chest infection,cleared it up in no time.
I guess with an inhaler preventer for asthma thats a steroid.
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18-08-2019, 10:40 AM
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Re: Is (or has) anybody been on steroids?

Yes steroids on and off for years tbh it's hard to get the them prescribed these days but they are the only things touch my pain at times. I can understand why they won't prescribe having had a dog had to take them permanently he died a terrible death internal bleeding. Had Cushing's caused by it. So makes total sense they are more careful.
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18-08-2019, 11:23 AM
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Re: Is (or has) anybody been on steroids?

Believe me - I wouldn't have accepted them if there was an alternative.

I know they can have terrible consequences but the doctor said there was nothing else for my condition but steroids.

I'm in a group for Polymyalgia Rheumatica sufferers such as myself and every single one of us is trying hard to get off the steroids by reducing very slowly. You get to a low dose & the disease flares up again so back on the steroids we have to go.

There really is no alternative - the pain is unbearable & painkillers don't seem to touch it.
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18-08-2019, 11:57 AM
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Re: Is (or has) anybody been on steroids?

As you know Carol several years ago my GP wanted to put me on corticosteroids before he’d even done a blood test for PR .
I resisted and the test came back negative .
Somehow those symptoms went away but earlier this year I was attacked by vicious pains in muscles and bones all over .
These are really bad before I try to get out of bed and I have to put both hands under running hot water before I can lift the kettle . But the pains somehow do ease off by early evening .

So I’m going to see him this coming week to see what he thinks .The pain is truly very bad but I can live with it if it doesn’t get any worse rather than anticipate succumbing to the side effects of steroids .
That means I don’t have a good quality of life .
I’ve read that sometimes PR burns itself out by the way .
Of course I might not have it but that’s what the GP thought.
However reading up in various investigative medical papers the following is a worrying thought re jumping to conclusions on a diagnosis .

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is a unique disease of elderly people, traditionally diagnosed based on a clinical picture. A typical case is a combination of severe musculoskeletal symptoms and systemic inflammatory response with spectacular response to corticosteroids treatment. The severity of symptoms may be surprising in older patients where immunosenescence is normally expected. However, PMR may be diagnosed in haste if there is a temptation to use this diagnosis as a shortcut to achieve rapid therapeutic success. Overdiagnosis of PMR may cause more problems compared to underdiagnosis
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18-08-2019, 12:44 PM
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Re: Is (or has) anybody been on steroids?

Originally Posted by carol ->
I'm currently taking the steroid Prednisolone for Polymyalgia Rheumatica and it's been like a miracle - completely cured!!

But of course I'm not cured - if I stopped the steroids I'd be in a lot of pain.

In the 3 months I've been talking them I haven't experienced any side effects except muscle cramp in my calves - a small price to pay. I haven't even put any weight on which was one of my original concerns.

I am currently trying to lower my dose with the hope of coming off them sometime in the future.

To anybody who's been on steroids I wondered how/if they affected you?
I had chronic ulcerative colitis and I was on Prednisolone for years. It adversely affected my bone density. I've been off that medication for some time now. And the colitis has more or less gone.
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18-08-2019, 02:36 PM
9

Re: Is (or has) anybody been on steroids?

The nearest I have got to steroids is a puffer thing called Pulmicort Turbuhaler usually used by Asthma sufferers which helped cure a lingering cough.

Alas I didn't grow any stronger or more muscular and the chemist warned me to be sure to wash out my mouth after using it so that I didn't get thrush!
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18-08-2019, 06:41 PM
10

Re: Is (or has) anybody been on steroids?

Originally Posted by Besoeker ->
I had chronic ulcerative colitis and I was on Prednisolone for years. It adversely affected my bone density. I've been off that medication for some time now. And the colitis has more or less gone.
I'm taking Alendronic acid once a week to protect my bone density - also vitamin D3/calcium.

I hope it works.
 
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