Prednisone for Rheumatoid Arthritis User Reviews (Page 2)

• fat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 21, 2016

"Diagnosed with early RA six weeks after onset of symptoms in almost every joint. Put on a 10-day course of decreasing dosage and experience relief within the first 6 hours. No longer on Pred, but take 2 grams sulfazine daily and symptoms, although still painful, are decreasing after 35 days. Assume that when or if a flare-up occurs, Pred will be prescribed."

• San...
• January 30, 2015

"Prednisone is a great medication, but be careful with it. Don't take it for long periods of time. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and my doctors had me on prednisone for two years. In that time, I started taking Humira, which I had no more inflammation in my blood. My hips and shoulder still hurt, even though I had no inflammation. My doctor said, keep taking prednisone, we'll taper it off slow. My doctor and I assumed this pain was normal arthritic pain, and he never did X-rays. The pain in my hips got worse and worse. I went to the emergency room, where they did X-rays. I found out I had end-stage osteonecrosis (bone death) and had to have both my hips replaced three weeks later (second hip six weeks after the first)."

• Anonymous
• September 15, 2019

"Me too... Because of the length of time on prednisone, I now look like a moon-faced pregnant linebacker. BUT it has been the ONLY medicine since diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis that has given me any relief close to being able to function. Since Dec 2018, I have been in the worst painful flares in my wrists and shoulders that WILL NOT go away! How long is a flare supposed to last? The only thing that was working to relieve the pain so I could get to work was 20 mg prednisone. I tried to reduce, flares came back with a vengeance! I have been on Humira, which the only thing it did for me was cause me to have a severe sinus fungus that needed surgery! I was on Xeljanz that did nothing, and now on IV Infusion Actemra going on 3 1/2 months, and that is NOT working. I decided to get on the REAL CBD oil. I take four four times a day. After being on the CBD oil and 800 Motrin, I have been able to reduce to 12.5 prednisone. Why continue to put these poison biologicals into my body when none of them work at all?"

• zoo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 22, 2018

"I was diagnosed with RA in June 2018. Was told by doctors and physical therapists before that it was osteoarthritis. Once I saw a rheumatologist, that got straightened out. She started me on prednisone 20 mg once a day and combined it with methotrexate 10 mg once a week. Just finished my 5th week. Reading all of these reviews about the different drugs is kind of scary. I go back to the rheumatologist this next week for my first follow-up. I have been lucky enough so far to not have any noticeable side effects. So far, I guess I am just looking to learn more about all of this."

• Mar...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 2, 2024

"This is the best medicine for me: I have RA for about 4 years. The doctors and professors gave me a lot of different medicine. I was so sore in my joints and had swelling (my entire body), also got depression about it that I did not want to be alive anymore. Then one GP gave me prednisone, I started with 10 a day, went down to 2 a day. Now I am taking 1 or 2 a day after I had breakfast, depending on the stiffness and pain in the morning. Some days, like maybe 1 a month or in 2 months, I will take 3 or 4 for 1 or 2 days when I have a flare-up. I only take one other medication with it. I am so happy about it and will keep on until I'm not here anymore! I believe, because my daily intake is not high, I am OK for all the other negative side effects. I do not gain weight at all."

• flo...
• December 15, 2016

"I took this before my trip to New England in the wintertime per my Dr. suggestion as it would help prevent the very cold weather up north from making my bones and joints hurt and ache. It took away all my RA pain, but wow, the side effects like eating and puffy face, etc., were yukky. I won't take it again unless I absolutely have to...."

• Jes...
• April 29, 2017

"I have a pre-existing condition (brain injury/seizures). The prednisone works great for my arthritis, however, it made me have 12 seizures. But unfortunately, as soon as the prednisone was out of my system, my symptoms came back immediately."

• Kar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 6, 2018

"I had my 5th dose of Humira 5 days ago. I'm doing horrible. I only had two days of relief after I took the 4th. What am I going to expect for my six? I just don't know if I can keep doing this without knowing something, and my rheumatologist refuses to tell me anything. What should I do? Every morning I wake up with such severe pain in different joints. It's unbelievably hard. I have since also been diagnosed with a condition called calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) crystal deposition disease. I don't know if that is what's making me the pain so much worse, but I need help."

• Anonymous
• December 14, 2016

"I'm 47 years old. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis about four months ago when I was having severe pain in my left hand. I was put on prednisone, which made me feel horrible. I weaned myself off of it, and since then, my arthritic pain has increased by 100%. I also have polycystic kidney disease and hypothyroidism. I'm very leery about starting any kind of biologic because of this. Has anyone found any relief with supplemental treatments."

• Can...
• August 7, 2020

"I started out with sero-negative R/A. It took them 2 years to diagnose it as the rheumatoid factor does not show in your blood. I took methotrexate shots plus Plaquenil and sulfasalazine as an aggressive treatment. Many side effects, but eventually went into remission. A few years ago, I had a quadruple bypass, and soon after, the R/A came back. I have been on prednisone many times while waiting for meds to kick in and for very bad flares. It's been the only drug of all that works to get rid of the inflammation, which causes such extreme pain. I am now on an injection of Cimzia every 10 days and 12.5 mgs of methotrexate, which works way better than Arava for me. I still get bad flares once in a while, so I take a healthy dose (20 to 30 mgs) for a few days until it settles. As little as possible and for as short a duration is the best approach. I am also a type 2 diabetic, so I have to watch my sugar levels."

• mel...
• June 26, 2024

"I'm 21. I got diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at 18. I've been on prednisone on and off, high and low dosages. It works just to be able to work, but be careful, it messes you up mentally. I take 5mg a day, anything higher, my mental health deteriorates and I feel suicidal."

• Ter...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 10, 2024

"I was diagnosed with fairly severe Polymyalgia Rheumatica and immediately started on 25mg Prednisone. The pain and disability resolved within a week, but trying to reduce the dosage a month later was very problematic. I had severe flare-ups and withdrawal symptoms when I tried to drop the dose by 5mg. The withdrawal symptoms were extreme, felt like I was having a heart attack. When the daily dose started to wear off after 16 to 18 hours, pain would ramp up at around 2 am and I was in tears. I split the dose and took a smaller dose in the evening which fixed this problem. The only way I could reduce my dose was to break up my tablets and take 1.25mg less every 10 days. This helped me get down to 5mg without too many issues. Getting off it completely is going to be difficult. My hands are still stiff and painful. Apparently there are 2 types of autoimmune disease patients, Prednisone Sensitive and Prednisone Resistant. I am Prednisone Resistant, probably due to genetics."

• Anonymous
• December 11, 2008

"I started taking prednisone about 3 weeks ago and the swelling in my hands, feet, and knee have gone down. I feel like a new person."

• Anonymous
• March 24, 2009

"I have had swelling in my finger joints for many years. This medicine is the only one that has helped the pain. The joints will always be swollen though, as the damage has been done."

• Aun...
• January 4, 2017

"The best drug... I felt almost normal on 15 milligrams."

• Sie...
• March 24, 2016

"Worked better than infusions and other oral prescriptions. I have seronegative RA."

• Str...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 6, 2016

"If you're getting side effects from taking prednisone, try switching to hydrocortisone tablets and see if that helps."

• old...
• January 22, 2011

"My first prednisone injection was for viral bronchitis. In about 6 hours, my arthritis pain was completely gone."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 24, 2021

"20 mg a day has controlled my rheumatoid arthritis with very predictable results and few, if any, side effects."

• I...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 18, 2020

"I only do bits around because I get very tired and no energy. I have fibromyalgia, so I don't know what effect I get from taking prednisolone. I have a bad chest, plus other medications."