I took Humira for 8 months for rheumatoid arthritis and it put me in the hospital twice within six weeks, the first time requiring emergency surgery. I now take 5mg prednisone daily. It seems to work well with no side effects. I'll take prednisone over Humira any day.
1
I take hydrocortisone daily because my body lost its ability to make cortisol. So the pills merely bring me up to a normal level, not an elevated one. Does this mean I'm at a greater risk? The article doesn't address this.
3
Maybe you should ask a flesh and blood doctor instead of the Internet.
True, a doctor can offer advice based on education and experience with patients, but the internet provides information based on collective first-hand experience.
5
What's the alternative? Prednisone is prescribed for nearly every autoimmune disease I can think of-- and compared to male or white female dominated diseases-- autoimmune is poorly studied with minimal advances. Sad state of the world when societal advances = Facebook.
5
Often, there are no other options. I'm on 5 mg of prednisone daily, and have been for 12 years, as part of my immunosuppression regimen following a lung transplant. I don't have a choice about the steroids. I've tried to go off them, but my body has adapted quite well does not tolerate being off them after 12 years. So I just take the side effects, because I'd rather be alive.
Steroids have a lot of uses in pulmonary medicine, especially when treating conditions like pneumonia. When used in conjunction with an antibiotic, you can get a good result. All drugs have side effects, some of them quite terrible. But just because a medication *can* cause problems doesn't mean it *will* cause problems in every individual--and just because it does cause problems (like loss of bone density), those problems may be outweighed by the therapeutic benefit of the drug.
Steroids have a lot of uses in pulmonary medicine, especially when treating conditions like pneumonia. When used in conjunction with an antibiotic, you can get a good result. All drugs have side effects, some of them quite terrible. But just because a medication *can* cause problems doesn't mean it *will* cause problems in every individual--and just because it does cause problems (like loss of bone density), those problems may be outweighed by the therapeutic benefit of the drug.
11
E-- Exactly as you write: "often, there are no other options". Thanks for writing that. For my Multiple Sclerosis exacerbation full body numbing, (one symptom for example), a Prednisone Taper is prescribed. I've had MS since 2001, and Prednisone has only been used. That is over 15 Years without an alternative medication, an option. ------ I suppose places are working on an improvement. I expect something new on the World Market soon.
5
Review of these medications in the British Cochrane Collaborative review and the American National Institute of Health Library provide a strikingly more positive census of steroid safety and effectiveness.
This outlier study needs to be compared to numerous previous studies on the safety of judicial steroid use. The New England Journal of Medicine's 2015 Clinical Review of Allergic rhinitis states the importance of prompt use of these medications, and the N.I.H repeatedly this century has published national evidence based medical reviews on the importance of prompt use of these medications with asthma exacerbations, and the importance of maintenance steroid aerosol medications.
This outlier study needs to be compared to numerous previous studies on the safety of judicial steroid use. The New England Journal of Medicine's 2015 Clinical Review of Allergic rhinitis states the importance of prompt use of these medications, and the N.I.H repeatedly this century has published national evidence based medical reviews on the importance of prompt use of these medications with asthma exacerbations, and the importance of maintenance steroid aerosol medications.
5
The article specifically excludes people who received only inhaled steroids. As for the asthma exacerbations, that is a specific diagnosis that I'm not certain they performed a separate analysis evaluating risk. They did use the patients themselves as a control, with a pre-steroid and post-steroid analysis, as well as used patients with matched diagnoses who did not receive steroids. It isn't to say that steroids don't have their uses in specific cases, however it seems to get thrown at a hodgepodge of diagnoses for which there is no strong evidence.
1
I wonder if the researchers corrected for the illness itself.
People with an illness (or ailment) are more likely to become septic, fall down (break bones), and get blood clots.
This study, although useful, does not show causation. Perhaps a higher power and double blinded study might be done next?
People with an illness (or ailment) are more likely to become septic, fall down (break bones), and get blood clots.
This study, although useful, does not show causation. Perhaps a higher power and double blinded study might be done next?
18
If you read the article itself, you'll see that it matched the patients in the study with others with the same diagnoses and analyzed precisely what you're asking. True this doesn't establish causation, since you have to consider that they may have gotten steroids because they are sicker, however it strengthens the correlation.
2
Something else to consider is how readily most veterinarians prescribe steroids for our pets. Most of the time, the condition goes away quickly (which actually only means it has been suppressed, not at all cured) and comes back later, often worse than it was before. I have taken my animals to a holistic veterinarian for almost 30 years and they have never been treated with steroids. Conditions that a traditional vet would have treated with a steroid were instead treated with a nutritional supplement, herb, homeopathic remedy, etc. And the conditions were actually cured. An animal who never receives steroids, antibiotics, or more than one or two absolutely necessary vaccinations will live a much healthier and longer life.
6
The brevity. The lack of "meat". This seems slipshod if only because of the lack of detail. I know that steroids save lives and reduce pain and also have serious side effects. I just want a beefier examination in an article like this.
25
What are cancer patients supposed to say? I took Decadron for Multiple Myeloma for months and got so ill. Not to mention getting fat.. that's the protocol to take for many of us...you get ill from the cancer or you get ill from side effects of the steroids. You can't sleep too on steroids!
For me I tell people be sooooo grateful if your healthy and don't have to put this poison in your body.
For me I tell people be sooooo grateful if your healthy and don't have to put this poison in your body.
18
The dosage is important. I take 5mg Prednisone three times a week. Some weeks I am able to take 2.5 mg on two days and 5mg only one day. I have needed this for many years. No problems so far. I am 60 years old.
I was told by MDs that keeping the dose under 10mg tends to be OK and less is better.
I was told by MDs that keeping the dose under 10mg tends to be OK and less is better.
22
I took prednisone for 14 years; I have pemphigus, an autoimmune skin disease. I took high doses when the disease was at it's worst but mostly I was on maintenance doses of 5 or sometimes 10 mg. My doctor recommended taking the prescription every 2nd day, because he felt it would minimize side effects. I still have a few issues but I've been off prednizone for years and have had no obvious side effects. Prednizone may have saved my life.
3
Mmmhmm. When my daughter's had a migraine for a week and no end in sight, prednisone is what gets rid of it. I think we'll risk the side effects.
14
The same with me. People don't understand that with a migraine you just "lose those days". For me after three days with a migraine I have not just suffered from the event but have also reached a severe frustration point. With any medicine with serious, potential, side effects the concept of quality of life is an integral constant in the equation.
4
Prednisone is thrown at patients instead of providing a diagnosis. After 6 months of Prednisone in 2015 I took matters into my own hands and researched nutrition. I removed inflammatory foods from my diet and was able to have my doctors take me off of Prednisone and only 1 week since then have I needed Prednisone. I highly recommend Fred Pescatore's book, The Allergy and Asthma Cure: A Complete 8-Step Nutritional Program. I have asthma and after reading this book removed gluten and dairy from my diet. I started reading labels and was surprised the number of products with gluten that weren't even related to bread, like ice cream. I have not cured my asthma, but the inflammation is reduced. I recommend you be proactive and not accept Prednisone as the cure all.
19
This article seems to be "behind the times". Breaking News regarding recent findings of Prednisone etcetera stated: Long term use of Low Dose Steroids were OK to ease chronic inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis. This study did not come out of the USA. It was from Europe. "Dated March 7, 2017. - Low-dose glucocorticoids appear to be safe over the long term for early active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), French researchers.....from MedPageToday website." ----- I suppose the issue of Prednisone could be "no issue" if a better medication came on the market.
12
They only present relative risk, which isn't that useful when talking about rare events. Triple or quadruple the risk of a rare event happening to a healthy person over a short period still represents a low absolute risk that may easily be outweighed by the steroid's benefits. You may not care if your risk of sepsis goes from 1/9000 to 1/3000 if you have a 100% chance of benefit of the drug.
49
Exactly....the author made no attempt to put the risk in perspective, or mention that steroids are often used to treat serious, even life-threatening conditions. ANY medication comes with risks that must be balanced against potential benefits.......
8
"It is important to minimize their use if alternatives exist.” Well , what are the alternatives?
20
Dietary modifications to reduce inflammation.
8
Dietary modifications are as helpful as prednisone? For what conditions? Citations?
16
Many times there are no alternatives.
15
another scare tactic headline. I take 2 mg of Medrol (methylprednisolone) daily for two weeks and then on alternate days for two weeks. This allows me to tolerate the IVIG that keeps me infection free, and has done so for almost four years.
It isn't until this article gets to the bottom paragraph that the dosage of 20 mg or more is where the problems lie
Please try to consider less over blown titles to your articles.
It isn't until this article gets to the bottom paragraph that the dosage of 20 mg or more is where the problems lie
Please try to consider less over blown titles to your articles.
35
Also, while the risk was increased it was likely still at a low level
7
In the same month for no known reason my milligrams was up to 40 a day everyday until six months ago.
I trusted my Dr to know what he was doing and didn't ask the proper questions.
Now... I am in a power wheelchair living in a medical facility.
Trying to get to Cleveland Clinic to get to 15 mg. without killing myself...
I can stay at 15 mg up to 3 days till my body can no longer take the pain and the serious side effects, basically it has ate my joints from the inside out.
Every single disc in my spine from my neck to my pelvic pops and cracks with every breath
If I ever get off this drug I will never under no circumstances take it again.
I now have a new physician and this will be my 8th attempt to lower the dosage to 15mg. a day.