Hi,
Stomach pain is bad and I now have a GI to help me figure out how to help my stomach tolerate the meds I need for the RA. I don't know if the problems are solely due to the prednisone, but last week my GI told me that the combination of prednisone and nsaids can do this damage, and so she did a biopsy of my stomach last Friday to see what could be going on. I find out the results tomorrow. I can tell you that when I started out on 15mg of prednisone it caused me to have chest pressure and difficulty breathing, and so my rheumy stopped it for a month and then put me back on just 2.5mg and now I have the stomach issues. I feel like I am just chasing my tail here. I hope you find an answer. let me know if you do.

Better check with your doc because it sounds like your stomach is getting damage from the aspirin, pred. nsaids. Do you take Nexium? Ask your doc about it.

I am on 2.5 mg and have not had any stomach problems for the past year. I had my blood work done yesterday and will be seeing my doctor in a week and a half. The prednisone seems to help with the pain, along with the MTX. I will see what she says when I see her.

Prednisone gives me a stomache for sure unless I take it with food. I agree with the others that the aspirin and other meds can be causing the problem too. I agree you should check with your doctor as he/she should advise you. I would not put if off as the problem most likely is going to get worse without some kind of treatment.

Hi,

Prednisone, aspirin & most anti-inflammatories are known to cause stomach/intestinal problems. Make sure to tell your Dr. and he should prescribe something like Nexium to protect your tummy. Problems like gastritis & ulcers can develop without some medication that protects tummies.

Unfortunately, this is one of the common side-effects that many of us deal with due to the med's we're on & have to manage.

Wishing you WELL!

Anna

All of those meds can definitely cause stomach issues. I take the same - Motrin 800, a baby aspirin a day and pred (10 mg) but am fine - however I also take Dexilant twice a day (that is a PPI, like prilosec, prevacid, nexium, etc). My GI guy increased the dose to twice a day. It helps tremendously. Dexilant is the newest PPI out there, and my insurance stopped covering prilosec since it's OTC now.

I would definitely check with your rheumy about taking something for your stomach. There is also a prescription medication called cytotec that one can take also, however, a female has to be taking birth control to take it as it will cause miscarriages. (I've had a hysterectomy years ago, so it wasn't an issue with me) . The cytotec worked well but diarrhea was a major side effect, so I chose to stop it.

Thanks gang! I started taking Hyomax, it's what I used to have for stomach pain when I was going thru diverticulitis and it's helping. I also quit the baby asperin. Seeing my Dr. on Monday to start Enbrel. Have a super great weekend!

I had 4 stomach ulcers when I was on oral mthx and prednisone, back a long time ago. My rheumy switched me to injectable, and when I got on a biologic, and off the prednisone, my stomach started improving. I really did not have a problem until the last few months when I had to go on prednisone to tide me through till the Rituxan started working. It reminds me of something I read about stomach ulcers.

There are a number of things which are likely to cause stomach ulcers. The ones I remember were genetic inclination, RA and prednisone. Although would you take prednisone regularly if you didn't have RA? I used to take it in high doses for asthma but only for short times. Long term use is too hard. I think it sounds like you need to up your meds to something that doesn't go through your stomach. Injections are just what everyone needs. LOL