really sore knees

bridesmum

I haven't been on the forum for several months as I have been pain free I was diagnosed with polymyalgia in march this year and started taking 20mg of prednisolone. Within a couple of days I was painfree. I have OA in both knees and hips as well as fibrmyalgia but the pred made all the pain and fatigue vanish! The downside is weightgain, irritability and a horrendous effect on my diabetes. Before prednisolone my diabetes was perfectly controlled by metformin. Now I am insulin dependant and still poorly controlled. My gp didn't warn me of the side effects and although it has been wonderful these last few months to feel normal and be able to walk without a stick, if I'd known the side effects I would never have taken them. I saw my gp three weeks ago and he said my inflammatory markers were almost normal and reduced my pred dose to 12mg daily. I am now back to the level of pain I was in previously which is quite depressing. My question is, does pred normally have such an effect on OA? I thought that it only worked for RA

dreamdaisy

Pred is widely used for many health conditions, I inhale a couple of doses every day for my asthma and use a steroid-based cream on my skin when required. In tablet form it 'peps up' the whole body but, if over-used, at some cost to the body. It doesn't tackle the root of the trouble, it masks the symptoms so although we feel a great deal better we're not. As the pred is reduced so the symptoms reappear, leaving us feeling cheated, deflated and definitely peeved. I've been there and done that, I empathise.

Pred has a role to play but it is an indiscriminate drug - yes it tackles swelling etc but by thinning every tissue in the body, lungs, kidneys, muscles, bones, you name it, pred thins it. If one is on it for too long osteopororis becomes a real risk. When I was on it I had to take another drug, alendronic acid, to protect me against that. I was on a comparatively low-level dose of pred for three years but took a year to withdraw. Another side-effect is weight-gain and / or moon face - I had both. Now the approach seems to be hit things hard for a short length of time then withdraw relatively quickly. I am now so anti-it that when I'm asked to take it I refuse, I find it easier to plod on with what I know because nothing will remove my PsA and OA, they're here to stay!

I hope things improve, it's nice to see you back albeit for completely the wrong reason. DD