Prednisone, best thing since sliced bread or sex (well almost)

[Katie]

I am picturing poison ivy clearing in a bathing suit!!!hmmmmmmmm......

The image was even worse than you can imagine

Well, it was in a big 'flower garden' beside the pool when we first bought this property. The previous owners kindly left it for us. It didn't look like any pictures I had seen in gardening books I'd never seen it in real life before and thought it was just an invasive vine....not a killer one!

I'm sorry the winter has been hard on you Moni. Want to chat? I know other friends out west have had a rough go of it this year. There's still three feet of snow outside Edmonton, but I'm guessing it's not the weather that you're talking about....

Jack, how are you feeling today? I remember the doctor worrying about my hips when I was on that stuff...it can be nasty, but necessary at times.

[Jack-of-all-trades]

Moni,

Until you brought it up, I'd never hear of it. I did a bit of research and it was called the mother of all hormones as it is the precursor of a lot of hormones the body uses. Our bodies metabolize it into other hormones. Some of the ones I would worry about would be progesterone, estrogen and testosterone. It also goes to the mineralocorticoids that are used for inflammation. It is available at health food stores but doesn't seem to be studied enough yet. Concerns have to do with heart arrhythmias, ovarian and breast cancer.

One site said it had been around since the 40's to give factory workers a pick-me-up. Cortisol founded about the same time and pregnenolone fell by the wayside.

Sounds like there are metabolites of the drug that have not been studied. One even suggested it may help promotes myelin formation during nerve regeneration, something important to people with MS.

I would be a little worried with long term use until more is studied.

[Jack-of-all-trades]

Kati,

It has been several months since my taper with Solu-Medrol and Prednisone stopped. It took a while but the same old arthritic pain returned. I had gotten use to doing more and have had to get by with doing less. I had my first dose of Tysabri about 2.5 weeks ago and had no problems. Thankfully, insurance paid all but $40.00 of the $4,000.00 single dose bill. That is $48,000.00 a year for a dose a month. I can't tell it did anything to help with symptoms. The unrelenting fatigue is the worst part. At my last MS doc apt, he gave me 10 mg of Ritalin a day. It might have helped a little but not nearly enough. I'm gonna have a pow-wow with him next week.

I just about have all the necessary CMEs to get my license back. I'm to take a seminar the first of May that is like a refresher for the recertification exam that all PAs have to take every six years. Then the committee who make up the State Board Of Medical Examiners has to pull my fill from the inactive to the active.Then comes the part about trying to find a 63 year old a job if he has a screwed up L-Spine and C-spine can't lift much with Multiple Sclerosis that falls and stumbles from time to time. I'd also need malpractice insurance.

[JK2234]

Moni, thank you for the post about pregnenolone, I might as well try it....

As for Prednisone, best drug i ever took in my life...wish i could take it everyday.

[Justin]

Hi Jack...are you still using this stuff??
Have you researched pregnenolone at all?? Apparently it can give similar relief without all the crazy side effects. Matter of fact it supports fatigued adrenals which I think we probably all have with the constant pain of messed up spines...............
There have been some write ups on it being useful for severe spinal damage recovery....
I just googled it and was amazed at the stuff that came up...It's not pushed much because it is not a pharmaceutical....The cortisone and steroids ( with the scarey side effects) are prescribed but this stuff can be bought at health food stores...
I'm talking with my dr about it tomorrow.....can't hurt any more than the constant opiods I figure.
mg

Moni, thank you for the post about pregnenolone, I might as well try it....

As for Prednisone, best drug i ever took in my life...wish i could take it everyday.

It's wise to consult with a physician regarding the use of hormones.