New medication

[Aqua47]

My rheumatologist prescribed a new medicine. It’s called Sudinal. I told him I was struggling at 6 mg of prednisone, and he said he thinks my pain might be coming from arthritis because it seems prednisone is not working. I think it’s because I’m not taking enough. If I had followed his orders, I would be down to 0 pred by now. Has anyone taken Sudinol? The dr says it’s an anti inflammatory and should help.

[piglette]

Are you talking about Sulindac? It is an NSAID.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Can you check spelling [you’ve spelt it 2 different was] pr send a photo of the packet - can’t find anything which seems to match..and if it’s a NSAID as piglette has suggested you should be careful taking with Pred

[Aqua47 in reply to DorsetLady]

Yes it is Sulindac. Sorry I didn’t check my spelling The dr didn’t say anything about combining it with pred.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Aqua47]

Okay thanks..yes it is a NSAID, and the issue is both they and Pred are harsh on stomach .. so most doctors are unhappy if they are taken together.. Do you take a PPI [stomach protection medication] like Omeprazole, Lansoprazole or similar?

Think you need to double check with your doctor or pharmacist.

[Aqua47 in reply to DorsetLady]

he asked if I had a problem with Aleve or ibuprofen and I told him they were bad on my stomach. He told me to take this new medicine with my evening meal. I put my prednisone in empty capsules, but I take that at bedtime. And no I don’t take omeprazole, or anything like that.. I just don’t like them, and do not want to take yet another pill!. I will try breaking that sulindac in half and put it in the empty capsules also. I didn’t do that last night because it was too large. I have had some unusual diarrhea today,and wonder if that is the cause.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Aqua47]

Well you can but try…and hopefully that will stop today’s unfortunate side effects…hope so..

[Aqua47 in reply to DorsetLady]

Thanks, I’ll try a few days more, but if I have the same problem, I probably will stop taking it.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Suldinac is an NSAID - which are not recommended alongside pred.

Pred will only work if you take enough to manage YOUR PMR - you aren't tapering relentlessly to zero, you are titrating the dose to identify the lowest effective dose. At what dose were you last good?

[Aqua47 in reply to PMRpro]

At this point, I’m not really sure what dose really worked for me. I think probably around 8 mg. I’m on 6 right now. Is the reason I shouldn’t take prednisone and Suldinac together because of the stomach issues? Or some other reason?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Aqua47]

NSAIDs are associated with gastric irritation, so is pred so you get a double whammy. And most NSAIDs are now known to have adverse effects on cardiovascular and renal systems

[Aqua47 in reply to PMRpro]

I was worried about those effects also. I decided to stop the suldinac for now. I haven't had any heart problems, but who knows what's lurking around, and I only have one kidney, so I think its better not to take it.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Aqua47]

If you only have one kidney - I would be VERY picky about what medications I took! You can live with one kidney - but there isn't a spare!!

[Aqua47 in reply to PMRpro]

Yes, and doctor who told me to take the suldinac knew that. Most doctors do not think about how medicine will affect the whole body.

[bocccardy]

for stomach, i tried zinc l carnosine... a step above antacids, and a step below ppi. worked for me.