Hi! Has anyone been given prednisone to treat fibromyalgia? I used a medrol dose pack a month ago and for about three days I felt terrific! So when I mentioned it to my psychiatrist who is also an internist, he gave me a medrol dose pack. This is day two and again I’m starting to feel a lot better. Then he said you must have something rheumatalogic because fibromyalgia does not respond to prednisone. Now I’m confused. Has anyone been on prednisone for fibromyalgia? By the way, all my blood tests have come back negative for this or autoimmune diseases.
I was given a Medrol dose pack and it also helped me. They do not know the root cause of fibro so it’s possible it does help the root cause. Steroids can make just about anyone feel better, so I don’t want your hopes to get too high that you have something else. It’s too bad we are not allowed to take steroids long term like other autoimmune conditions.
Prednisone works by weakening your immune system. This action blocks chemicals that normally cause inflammation as part of your body’s immune response, and can help decrease inflammation in many parts of your body.
Fibro is known to cause random, often low level inflammation so it makes sense that prednisone works on it to some extent.
Steroids in general have the side effect of causing mental status changes. Along with the 'roid rage we’ve all heard about they also cause “a false sense of well being.” So in the short term steroids always make you feel great. Long term use can cause issues.
It’s a matter of picking your poison, I guess. Do the benefits outweigh the risks? That’s your personal decision. I know someone with lupus and someone else with chron’s and they have each made the decision to stay on steroid therapy semi-long term at this point. Quality of life became the critical factor.
azurelle
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I also have found relief from pain and tiredness with prednisone. This confused my doctor. I agree that it shouldn’t help, but also agree that we have small amounts of inflammation in our bodies. It’s pretty darn possible that I now have Sjogren’s too. Maybe, maybe not. But I have some of the symptoms. Once my anemia is better, my doc wants to try prednisone or another type of anti-inflammatory to see if I feel better. One thing at a time.
i posted this in another thread some time ago. short version: rheumatologist said cortisone (prednisone) cannot help fibro. when I saw doc I was unable to walk or lift anything. she said she would prove it to me by giving an injection. the following month I nearly danced into her office. I never did like her, so my GP began to give me the shot every 90 days for 8-9 years. I had to choose quality of life vs quantity.
I now am paying the price with chronic pain and osteoporosis but would not change a thing. the cortisone gave me 8-9 wonderful years of working and traveling and doing family things. Thankfully the GP was truthful with me, so the osteo and chronic pain now without the cortisone were NOT a surprise. Choose wisely carolyn
I have been taking large doses of prednisone for the treatment of Vasculitis that developed after I was diagnosed with FM. I have to say that once the steroids kicked in my FM did feel much better. Long time steroids is NOT good for any one. When the doctor started to ween me off the prednisone many of the FM pains came back with a vengence. When I was finally down to 2.5 mg every other day, I had to see the doctor and he did increase the prednisone to 4 mg daily. We will see if the bad FM pain goes away.
this is ocfober, don’t know if you will see this… but i was on cortisone injections for 10 years and had much relief from pain, but it absolutely causes osteoporosis. cymbalta, savella, and topomax give me hallucinations. gained 19 pounds in 10 days on Lyrica so quit. morphine has no effect on me. have taken narcotics 10 a day for years, last spring cut it to 4…saw a new doc wed and he took it all away. i have to have all meds out of my system for 10 days and then start LDN. in the meantime i am living in Hell… I honestly don’t know if I can stay alive during the 10 days. This is day 2 and i have cryed all day.
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I’d like to chime in here as A.) a person who also gets huge relief from prednisone and B.) a nurse who throughout her career transcribed scripts for Drs. prescribing prednisone for everything from poison ivy to end of life care-comfort measures to a thrown out back or tennis elbow.
Prednisone works on any of all these things because what it does essentially is SHUT DOWN THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE within our complex(and amazing) immune systems. It is dangerous for you or your Dr to assume you must not have fibromyalgia because you felt better temporarily during a course of prednisone.
Even an acne breakout will temporarily clear up while on this wonder drug. It IS a wonder drug! I’ve joked with my own doc that I’d like to just STAY on this please…
But I can’t. You can’t. There was a time when prednisone was used long term for arthritis sufferers- and it REALLY helped them. ( And lung disease patients) But these same poor folks eventually developed brittle bones that broke easily, a “ moon face appearance and oddly placed weight gain, increased rate of infection…and by then taking these folks off the drug was also detrimental (and maybe impossible to do) to their health. Our bodies have an immune system to protect us, and we can’t go closing that store down permanently without great danger.
Everybody has an inflammatory response. Everybody. People with fibromyalgia have an even more heightened response; if only from the huge stress of dealing with this “syndrome”
And that’s my 5 cent talk on pred… I look forward to the next bad case of poison ivy so I can have a prednisone induced vacation from FMS, arthritis and all the rest of my joint and back aches😂
( ps: any docs or RpH’s here I won’t be offended if you correct my watered down explanation ( trying to make it regular person useful 
).
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