prednisone?

Question

I took prednisone in doses of 60 mil for 5 days then 50 mil for 5 days down to 10 mil for one day. this was for about a total of 63 pills. I am wondering how long the drug stays in your system. I am feeling pretty good 5 days after stopping them and i am wondering if it takes a while to wear off will the other shoe drop and I will have significant back pain again. Thank you

Answer 1

Prednisone is an anti-inflammatory, so sometimes the swelling that causes the pain is temporarily "cured" for a significant amount of time. Usually, the pain will return because the swelling returns. I take steroids about twice a year for rheumatoid arthritis and migraines. Your body can only handle so much of these types of medicines at a time. Depending on your age, you have to have a break between treatments. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Work with a chiropractor (who uses ultrasound to reduce the pain) and a massage therapist.
Much pain is from muscles below is an example of what may help (based on headaches).
Begin with a couple swigs of molasses or a couple of bananas daily - magnesium (which regulates many things in the body) and potassium (a needed building block for muscles).
Drink at least 1/2 gallons of water per day. Running a body low on water is like running a car low on oil is the analogy the head of neurology at UCDavis told my husband about 10 years ago.

Now to the cause - muscles - your back, neck shoulders and head have tender spots. They are knots in the fibers of the muscles called trigger points. It makes the muscles tight which makes them press on nerves and other things causing the pain.

The cure - start with a professional massage, you will also want to go back over any place you can get to 6-12 times per session up to 6 times per day rubbing (or lightly scratching on your head) every where that is tender until the knots go away. The place where the skull connects to the spine press up under the edge of the skull (to get to those muscles).

For more information read The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Davies. It teaches what to do and where the pain comes from.