[jukebox3]

Hello,

I have just finished my 2nd remicade infusion. Everything seems to be going well, but, the doctor also has me on 10 mg prednisone a day. I have gained weight, and also just found out that I have gastritis(gi dr thinks due to prednisone). I am on 2 different drugs for acid reflux. The gi doc said there is nothing else we can do as long as I'm on the prednisone. So what do I do? Any suggestions?

[musicman48]

Originally Posted by jukebox3

Hello,

I have just finished my 2nd remicade infusion. Everything seems to be going well, but, the doctor also has me on 10 mg prednisone a day. I have gained weight, and also just found out that I have gastritis(gi dr thinks due to prednisone). I am on 2 different drugs for acid reflux. The gi doc said there is nothing else we can do as long as I'm on the prednisone. So what do I do? Any suggestions?

I am assuming you are taking the prednisone and Remicade for RA..I give my wife Humira injections for RA , she has also taken prednisone...She suffers from acid reflux as well..She is taking prevacid for the acid reflux and it has been very successful.She had no problems while taking the prednisone and prevacid at the same time.She has also had to stop the prednisone on occasion...The worst side effect she had was the pain associated with her RA..I know this is not much help but you may consider temporarily stopping your prednisone until your gi doc determines that your Gall Bladder does not need to be removed and get to the main reason for your problem...More than likely it is the prednisone but it could be something else going on...You probably are well aware that predisone causes acid reflux as well as smoking,caffein,high sugar diets etc..Just wanted you to know that stopping the prednisone for awhile was painful but she had no choice and it worked out for her.Your RA doc can give you the best advice on what you need to do and how to stop the prenisone etc....Wish I could help you more..I know this comment is not really helping..You really need to speak yo your RA doc about this..some homeopathic remedies for gastritis are,coconut water,.The herb marigold is also considered beneficial in the treatment too..An infusion of the herb in doses of a tablespoon may be taken twice daily.
'avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco, spices and condiments, meat, red pepper, sour foods, pickles, strong tea and coffee.
.Just a note of support....Good luck...Here is a website for some other home remedies for gastritis.

http://www.natural-homeremedies.com/..._gastritis.htm

[jukebox3]

Thanks for the input. I do have RA. I was taking the humira injections for about 2 months. Was working very well at first. Then went from working the full two weeks, down to maybe a full week. Dr changed me to embrel. My sed rate kept going up,it apparantly wasn't working.
Have been suffering with acid reflux for years. Am taking zegerid in am, and aciphex in pm. (work for gi doc) He said that as long as I'm taking the prednisone, I'll probably have to deal with the gastritis. Talked to my RA doc tnite, she told me to taper off of the prednisone within the next two weeks. She's just not sure how I'm gonna be able to hande the RA. If it's not one thing, it's another. I will check out the website you gave me for natural remedies. Thanks for the help, and also for listening to my complaining.

[musicman48]

Originally Posted by jukebox3

Thanks for the input. I do have RA. I was taking the humira injections for about 2 months. Was working very well at first. Then went from working the full two weeks, down to maybe a full week. Dr changed me to embrel. My sed rate kept going up,it apparantly wasn't working.
Have been suffering with acid reflux for years. Am taking zegerid in am, and aciphex in pm. (work for gi doc) He said that as long as I'm taking the prednisone, I'll probably have to deal with the gastritis. Talked to my RA doc tnite, she told me to taper off of the prednisone within the next two weeks. She's just not sure how I'm gonna be able to hande the RA. If it's not one thing, it's another. I will check out the website you gave me for natural remedies. Thanks for the help, and also for listening to my complaining.

Just wanted to let you know we did Enbrel before the Humira..Enbrel shots were weekly and the Humira shots are bi weekly...Thank God for Insurance..All 3 meds incl Remicade are extremely expensive.The Humira did not really start working well until the 3rd month.We were questioning whether or not the Humira was going to work at all...I am sure you know there is a drug therapy progression and Remicade is one of the last drug therapy's on the list...I just wanted to give you a ray of hope that if the Remicade stops working ,I have actually heard of people stepping back down to Enbrel and Humira and after a period of time it ends up working better in the long run...you may notice more swelling and more RA nodules when you stop the prednisone...the nodules and the pain/swelling associated with them were the worst part of stopping the prednisone ....My wife did not suffer any permanent damage to her joints while off of the prednisone though..looking at the nodules on her hands and feet while off of prednisone we thought there had to be some permanent damage but there was not, and her hands/feet/elbow and a few other joints... actually went back to looking and feeling normal after a while.The nodules disappeared..I just wanted to let you know some things to expect when you stop the prednisone.....this forum has some good people who don't mind to hear you complain...lol...Come back and let everyone know how you are doing....You may help/educate/comfort someone else in your condition with the same questions and issues you have....Good luck

[Robert_325]

I also have RA. I was diagnosed in 1998. I went through the RA nodules as I lowered prednisone doses as well. I couldn't pick up anything. Couldn't even open closet doors or silverware drawers. Had to leave everything open as I could not open anything. My hands were shot and hurt so badly. While I was doing so poorly with RA I was also having a terrible time with my knees and had three surgeries in two years on the knees. Went from being in a wheelchair to playing racquetball today. I don't play daily but I am no longer crippled either. It's like my RA is now in remission. Even my blood work has improved. There is hope with RA today. I don't really have severe joint damage either even though I was a total mess with the nodules on my hands especially. I thought I would be crippled for life.

There are so many side effects of prednisone. I really detest using it even though I have to at times when I have flare ups. I gained so much weight from using prednisone. Thankfully I have knocked off a lot of that. I think it does that to everyone. It also makes us all act totally psychoed out, makes people have wierd personalities. And of course the stomach problems, it goes with the territory. You just have to take another medication to offset the side effects if you need the medication badly enough.

I thought that I read that you were on 10mg of prednisone. I will tell you that I was taking 60mg of prednisone for a long time. I had to do a pretty lengthy taper when I stopped. I doubt you will have any problems getting off at 10mg. I had some problems that I don't see any way that you will have. Keep us posted. God bless.

[jukebox3]

Hello all,
I have been having some side effects, that I think might be from the prednisone. I am having severe anxiety. So severe that my whole body shakes, inside and out. It is scarey how much it is effecting me. I am also having extreme headaches, which could be caused from any of the things I have wrong with me, but they have been worse lately. I am only on 10mg of prednisone, so I'm wondering if getting off will effect anything. Anyone having the same side effects?

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by jukebox3

Hello all,
I have been having some side effects, that I think might be from the prednisone. I am having severe anxiety. So severe that my whole body shakes, inside and out. It is scarey how much it is effecting me. I am also having extreme headaches, which could be caused from any of the things I have wrong with me, but they have been worse lately. I am only on 10mg of prednisone, so I'm wondering if getting off will effect anything. Anyone having the same side effects?

Prednisone adversely affects some more than others. It seems unlikely to me though that all you describe would be from 10mg of prednisone. Don't know for sure how long you've been on that dose but your symptoms seem kind of extreme to me for it to be just from the prednisone.