Anyone on long term prednisone?

I know it sucks but anyone else on long term prednisone at a moderate dose? Like 7.5?

My son has been on Prednisone for 19 out of 23 years since he was diagnosed with AHA and ITP at age seven. He would relapse within two weeks of stopping it every time. He spent much of that time on 5 mg every other day with minimal side effects. I am very grateful it works for him. You may want to discuss taking it every other day with your doctor. We would go from 7.5 a day to 10 every other day so the dose would be decreased by 1/3 instead of 1/2. It is supposed to cause less side effects that way. Good luck. Joan

Hi

I was on Prednisone for about 8 years - usually about 20 mgs a day. In time, i developed diabetes from that. The diabetes reversed when I stopped prednisone - I had a splenectomy that resulted, so far, in remission (13 months, last blood work 278).

Also, I believe daily prednisone is still given to organ transplant recipients, so there you have lots of experience with long term dosing-

Mark

I'm on 5 mg every other day, also with minimal side effects so far. I've been doing this for about 8 years. My hematologist swears that it's OK at any dose under about 15 mg/day, but I'm not sure that I believe him. I do worry about my bones.

Lily

I've been on Prednisone for the past 7 1/2 years. I am on 15+ mg's a day, but not for ITP. The side effects have finally caught up to me. I have the full face, some weight gain, and have had a stress fracture in my foot and spinal stenosis from disk deterioration. I would not take a maintenance dose for ITP.

I've been on Prednisone since I was first diagnosed with Lupus 25 years ago. Started out at 40mg./day, but it was gradually decreased. I've been on 15 mg./day for a year now, but my dosage has been as low as 7.5 mg/day. I haven't had any bad side effects. I take calcium and vitamin D to offset the bone deterioration. It definitely has helped me. Good luck to you, hope this helps!

I've been on prednisone for most of the past 12+ years. My dosage varies--we try to keep it as low as possible to keep my platelets in the 20s. I probably have averaged 5-7 mg. day for most of my ITP life, but sometimes I have had no prednisone or almost no prednisone, and sometimes (like three weeks ago to prepare for knee replacement surgery) I have had to have 20-40 mg/day, though that is always short term. Soooo far, I have been very lucky with side-effects. I have a bone density test fairly frequently. I was on Fosamax for years, but the endocrinologist and PCP advised against staying on that, so now I take vitamin D, a relatively small amount of Calcium, try to keep physically active. I don't yet have osteoporosis, though I know I am a good candidate for that. I have osteopoenia, like a lot of women my age (71). I have been very lucky about weight gain, Cushings syndrome, etc., though bigger doses increase my insomnia and make me feel somewhat hyper. I'm always aware that my good luck could change, but prednisone has also helped me in the arthritis area, and since I can't take NSAIDs, I'm grateful for that help.