Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
I picked up my new prescription of Medrol and my pharmacist made the comment that the dosage was high. 4mg- 2 in the morning and 1 in the evening. OK- she freaked me out. This med will be a short term thing, maybe 2-3 weeks. Anyone have any experience here? Help.
You are prescribed 12mg methyprednisolone aka medrol a day with the three pills....this would be on an equivalent dose of 15mg prednisone with your script.
This is not a really high dose considering lupus and crohn's sufferers have been known to take 60mg of prednisone a day, which would be like taking 12 of your medrol pills a day I believe if my calculations are correct.
When I was first diagnosed I was on 20mg prednisone, equivelent 16 mg medrol daily, at first, weaned down, back up to 20, back down etc for 7 months or so.
You will have energy to paint the house, may have sleep issues, fast hear rate, increased sweating etc. This is common and known side effects. Your pharmacist was silly to scare you. It really isn't a high dose considering all that I've seen people take out there, myself included!
I wonder if your pharmacist has any experience with steroids. This is not an extraordinarily large dose, especially for such a short term.
When I flare, I start at 20mg or 30mg of Medrol depending on the severity of the pain and how much of my body is affected.
I took Medrol for five years. My current Rheumy switched me to daily Prednisone.
Take care,
TheWino
Take care.