Trying to stay off Prednisone for my Psoriasis

[gopens16]

i'm new and having Psoriasis on hands and feet I have been on a Prednisone roller coaster for 5 years. Sometimes being off for as long as 5 months and then having such an awful flare I'd dig up what i had at home and use it. Virtually every dr has cautioned me about staying away from it. My doses had to be increased each time to stop the flare and the flare last year was the worst! My lower legs/feet swelled so much and were bright red - Couldn't fit in a shoe and my pants were so tight! Trouble was it was in January and I could only fit my feet in slippers. During all this time I was trying different biologics that you see on tv - Humira, Stelara, Cosentyx, Taltz and also Otezla which is a pill. Dr. are thinking now that my results with these drugs were skewed by the Prednisone i took.

Right now I am back to only using steroid cream when hands and feet are bad. Feet are worse than hands but I am able to walk and go to work. I use compression stockings on my legs and that helps with swelling too. Dr. is thinking of again trying Methotrexate.

Bottom line is that if 5mg of Prednisone would have helped I would take it but as if was the last time i took it 40mg was not helping me. It kills me to know that if I took a high dose right now my whole body would feel better, no aches or pains, no swollen legs or psoriatic feet and would not have to wear gloves at work as my hands would heal up like magic. I equate it with quitting smoking which i did 3 years ago. I thought smoking calmed my nerves and was okay as long as i only smoked a little. It was hard to quit but I did it for the greater good of my health. Now I am trying to keep off Prednisone. That is a little harder. Good luck to you and I know how good it is to feel better. Many blessings!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

This forum is for people with PMR and GCA (polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis) - two forms of vasculitis which basically can only be managed with corticosteroids. In the case of GCA, it is the only way to quickly reduce the risk of permanent loss of sight - once the sight is gone in one eye, there is a 50/50 chance of the sight in the other going within a couple of weeks. Unmanaged PMR is much more likley to progress to GCA with its attendant risks. So anyone looking at the whole picture would be well advised to choose a low to moderate dose of pred for PMR to improve their quality of life and reduce the risk of developing GCA which will lead to a choice of high doses of pred (up to 100mg/day in rare cases) or risking blindness.

If you have any symptoms of PMR then, given your history, I think it is much more likely you don't have "just" PMR but psoriatric arthritis and there are other drugs that deal with it and prevent ongoing damage far better than pred would. I suggest you discuss that aspect with your doctors.

[Blearyeyed]

I think you might have come to the wrong forum group , unless you have unfortunately been newly diagnosed with GCA or PMR too ( if so , hello and welcome friend).

If you don't have PMR I guess you might have found your way here via internet search and seen that we discuss one of your drugs ( Pred ) too because it is the steroid used for PMR inflammation as well as your Psoriasis and many other inflammatory conditions.

Although there may be people in our gang that may also suffer from Psoriatic arthritis , whom may be able to help , I assume they will also suggest that you might get the most help and advice from fellow sufferers of Psoriasis , like yourself , by looking for the Arthritis and Psoriasis Forum groups that are on Health Unlocked too and taking advantage of the support by joining them.

We all need support from people who understand exactly what we are going through and can give accurate advice based on experience of our specific illnesses.

If you do have PMR , and have questions on that as well, then I'm sure everyone will be waiting to help you on posts for that in the future , we love to help.

In the meantime , find those useful groups and good luck with getting some psoriasis support from folks just like you.