Posted by Jonathan on November 23, 1998 at 08:59:15:
In Reply to: Re: Prednisone: Is There A Right Way to Use It? / Dean posted by Carlos on November 22, 1998 at 18:24:17:
Hi Guy's,
I would say trust your doctor to tell you how to taper your steroids. I believe the only time that steroid reduction can cause problems is when you have been taking them on and off over a long period of time. The adrenal glands that produce the natural steroids in the body need time to restart their motors.. Obviously the longer they have been resting the longer it will take them to get used to starting again.. In most cases a gentle reduction is adequate for the body to get it's own machine running again, but if you have been taking them for a long time you may wish to ask your doctor to monitor the corticosteroid levels in the blood and urine.
I found that the steroids stopped working as effectively the longer I was taking them, meaning that I had to take them over ever increasing time periods and dropping them less and less often. This caused all kind of problems for my both physically and psychologically.. But my doctor assures me this does not happen to many people so I wouldn't worry about them to much if you only take them on and off occasionally (I mean occasionally).
If your looking for a new drug that might bring some relief . You could ask if your neurologist will prescribe you Sodium Valproate (Eplim). I've been taking them for a few weeks now and haven't had a CH since I started taking them.. I'm not saying they will work for you, but they sure have worked well for me.. I had been chronic for well over a year before I got these and if I last until Christmas without an attack I'll actually have broken my record for pain free spells between CH's since I first went chronic.
Wishing you all pain free days to come.
J.