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...

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Predisone & Bone Loss

deleted_user
deleted_user
I have been on predisone off & on for years. For the last year I have only had a few days off & my dosage goes anywhere from 10 to 60 mg a day the average is usally 20mg. Went to the rhuemy today & he is putting my on a monthly 15 minute infusion because of the severe bone loss this much predisone causes. I can't for the life of me remember the name of the drug. Has anyone else ever heard of this. I guess I was clueless about the bone loss I know predisone does a lot of nasty things, but this suprised me. He also mentioned predisone can bring on diebetes. How can such a drug that works such wonders cause so many other problems????
JillyT
JillyT
I am really surprised that you are experiencing this problem. The first time my rheumy handed me an rx for prednisone, she also gave me scripts for Fossamax to prevent bone loss due to prednisone and additional Calcium 1500 mg and Vitamin D 800 mg to add the Fossamax. Prednisone while amazingly helpful is also not good for us because it duplicates a natural hormone in our systems but at incredibly high levels. I have put on a ton of weight in the last year because of it. I hope that the drug the doc gives you can combat the bone loss, but I would want to know why no one ever prescribed something for you before. good luck with this issue...hugs jilly
deleted_user
deleted_user
While very effective, it has all kinds of side issues. From tumors to bone loss. I too have been told to make sure I am getting enough calcium and Vit D. I have been on and off the prednisone going on about 4+ years. At first it was just the Prednisone Pushes. the 4-4 days, 2-4 days, 1-6 days. But now I take it everyday.

you really with all treatments have to weigh the treatment vs what it will do for you. When I was young, I took 16 aspirian a day from the time I was 4-16. That was the treatment for JRA at that time. Now I have terrible ulcer problems. But in the long run....It was the best treatment at the time for the problem. It all has to be weighed against what is going to be best for you long term, with the problems the drugs can cause.
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