... but am suffering badly from pain in hips, arms, neck etc. Can hardly get up in the morning due to stiffness and pain. Gets better in the afternoon after taking two 200mg Ibuprofen. Is it better to take the pain or should I increase Prednisone? Is it bad for you to have an increased ESR (30) and CRP (18) and take the pain? Have also been diagnosed with rotator cuff sprain in my left shoulder which probably increased my ESR and CRP. Thanks, Lena
Ibuprofen PMR - Have been on Prednisone for 18 months which kept me almost pain free. Am down to 2mg
- Posted:
- 19 Sep 2011 by Maudette
- Topics:
- ibuprofen pmr, pain, ibuprofen, prednisone
Responses (3)
19 Sep 2011
Dont increase the Prednisone. It is best to take as little of that as you can get by with. It is a nasty drug that is very hard on your body systems. Is there any reason why you cannot take ibuprofen in the morning and the evening or even three times a day? 200mg of ibuprofen works as an analgesic but the anti-inflammatory effects do not begin until doses of 600mg or more. Talk to your Dr and ask him/her if you can take more ibuprofen or perhaps another NSAID or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. Prednisone is a steroid anti-inflammatory. It is obvious that your pain generator is inflammation and your blood work confirms inflammation (the high ESR and CRP) so it stands to reason that an anti-inflammatory is what you need. If you respond to the NSAIDs that is great for they are infinitely easier on your body than Prednisone. Are you on Prednisone for inflammation or for another reason?
19 Sep 2011
DzooBaby is right! Prednisone should only be taken for short periods of time if at all! It can cause your body, specifically your adrenal glands to not make cortisol which is the bodys own cortisone. It can also thin out your bones & casue osteoporosis.The length of time you have been on this drug, you should have a bone density test done as soon as oossible to see if you need to take a bone building med. Good luck to you, & please let us know how you are doing...
Sorry about the typos, Mary
Hi Mary, See my answer to you sent to DzooBaby and you. Thanks, Lena
20 Sep 2011
Maudette: I had been on Prednisone for months at a time up to 80 mg. Now I am a complete mess. Yes, it took care of the pain, and my sed rate was up to 119, which the doctor completely flipped out about, and yes I was in the hospital, BUT... the side effects of the prednisone were so bad, that now when I have to take occasional prednisone for something serious (such as breathing etc.), it really messes me up immediately. I have cataracts, osteoporosis, huge amounts of fluid that simply won't dissipate, and I mean 80+ pounds of it. My left side is twice the size of my right side, and I have to wear these awful compression hose daily, which are hot, and uncomfortable by the end of the day. I can't fly, and because of all the fluid in my left side, I have come down with cellulitis twice which put me in the hospital again, and then on bed rest for two more weeks. Need I go on?? Prednisone may be a good drug, but it is a BAD drug when you don't need it.
msfino, Many, many thanks for your advice. I will take stick to 3mg of Prednisone and use ibuprofen, which I started doing recently, and hope I can cope. Good luck to yourself!
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Thanks DzooBaby and Mary for your support. I suffer from PMR (but got TA and had to increase the dosage hence the longterm Predn.) and had a Dexa scan 8 months after starting with Prednisone (when I already had lost too much bone mass) and was put on Fosamax (bisphosphonate). After becoming aware of the danger/side effects with this drug I stopped taking it 7 months later and started on Strontium Citrate (having read all the fantastic good results from research from France regarding Strontium Ranelate). My question is still; is it bad for the body to take the pain, which can be dreadful, instead of increasing the Prednisone for a few months before trying a reduction again? I actually followed your advice and took two ibuprofen this morning with breakfast after having increased my dosage from 2 to 3mg. I feel a little better than yesterday, no doubt, but I refuse to increase it further, will take the pain instead if it's not bad for the body to have a raised ESR and CRP. Just need to know...