i have been on pred for 3 years now, but don`t know if anyone remembers, with blurred vision occuring around xmas time,I was put up to 20mg. I have been on this for a month (now have to start lowering) never before have I experienced heartburn like I`m getting in the night. It was so bad the first time, I even wondered if it was a heart attack....but I`m still here!! I take my pred at luchtime with my meal, I get more sleep now, than when taking it in the evening. Any suggestions would be welcome....Thank You....
Linda, have you tried drinking a few squeezes of lemon juice in warm water before your meal? Also do you eat 'live' yoghurt? Both can help with heartburn. In fact, throughout my days on steroids, starting at 40mgs, squeezed lemon juice in warm water was my first drink of the day, followed by a small pot of organic 'live' (probiotic) yoghurt with my breakfast before taking the steroids. I never had any stomach problems throughout my years on steroids, whereas the proton pump inhibitors (Omeprazole and Lansoprazole) which were prescribed alongside my steroid starting dose and which are supposed to help protect the stomach from the steroids caused severe side effects to my stomach and bowel and were stopped within days of starting them.
Sorry don't remember the previous discussion I'm afraid - but why do you wait so late to take your pred? The usual recommended time is early in the morning - gives your body far longer before bed to recover from the pred dose. That might help the heartburn too.
Did they give you anything else new at the same time as upping the dose to 20mg? If MrsO's tried and tested recommendations don't work, one option for the heartburn that has fewer side effects than the PPIs is ranitidine (Zantac).
But if these don't help within a couple of weeks do mention it to your doctor - having PMR/GCA and being on pred don't protect us from other problems! Though I'll bet he'll blame the pred!
I was on a tablet for acid reflux which is also used as a stomache protector while taking tablets .i am on a tablet called lanzoperal and there are many on the market .My type can only prescribed by the doctor but there some that you can get at the chemist .So it is worth talking to a pharmacist.I only take the pred in the morning after my breakfast that helps as well .good luck
I quit the PPI's many years ago due to side effects and have been using Zantac. I found it to be an 8 hour med and not 12 hour med ( my first doses of prednisone ran out in 18hrs and not 24 hrs so the short duration may just be my body metabolism) but I still just take the Zantac twice a day, morning and about 9 pm. My worst heartburn is at night. I have periodically had bad esophageal spasm so I have a "short fuse" if I have "heartburn" or reflux. With reflux I drink some water to dilute the acid in my esophagus and take an antacid (or two). That usually gets my reflux under control.
Charlie44644
I will try taking it again in the morning, like I used to...I tried taking it later because I was wanting to go to the loo every half hour, so got to the point where I cut down on drinks....and I do love my tea! I wasn`nt given anything new to take, just upping my dose (20mg) Will try Mrs O`s suggestion, and get some Zantac.....thank you as usual the answers are always here!
You know - I do wonder of the people it makes pee so much are the lucky ones really! Have you put on weight or have you pee'd it away?
Thank you MrsO, will try your and Charlies suggestions also......I haven`t felt too good on 20mg, having Fibromyalgia as well, med ication toleration, is very difficult, so hope I never have to take a higher dose like you!!.....Thanks everyone.
I tend to suffer a lot from heartburn but I do find that a ginger biscuit helps! Simple but anything is worth a try.
Tricia.
Both Eileen, my weight is on my face and stomach, half stone heavier, (ghastly) and I pee a lot, my husband says I`m like a dog that can`t pass a tree, only I can`t pass a loo, without using it! it`s also thinned my hair....but I`m on my feet, and at 63, vanity dosen`t come into it does it...feeling pain free comes top of the list....I`m thinking these things will ease when I lower (very slowly) the dose anyway....
Had I only gained half a stone due to PMR and pred I'd not have complained believe me! I have lost about 37lb and am not quite back to pre-PMR! Note I say pre-PMR not pre-pred - I gained weight after the PMR started beccause I couldn't exercise. Then that rearranged itself when I went onto pred and then I was switched to a different sort of corticosteroid and ballooned. A third sort of pred has allowed me to lose the weight by cutting carbs and calories drastically but it is slow work. My hair went berserk - frizzy and awful but is now almost back to normal. So is my skin.
I don't know about the vanity bit - I could only cope by not looking at a mirror. The hairdresser was awful - luckily I don't go often!
I am suffering from massive reflux/heartburn from my prednisone and I haven't been able to eat since taking it. I'm currently on a liquid smoothie diet that I make (bananas, protein powder, almond milk). My doctors gave me Omeprazole (max dose) before meal(s) and ranitidine (max dose at bedtime), but that did nothing. So they've now changed the Omeprazole for Pantoprazole, lol, as if that might do something. Still drinking my smoothies.
I do drink ginger tea which eases the burning. I find that tilting my bed at the headboard up a few inches works, though if you need to prop up your feet you feel like you're folded up in a V shape :D. Make sure you don't lie down after eating until 3 hours have passed - it really helps. And take a bit of a pause and eat the blandest food you can in small meals rather than 3 larger meals to let your body recover if it can-it's taking a beating. Heartburn/reflux on Prednisone/Prednisolone is not uncommon according to my doc. hope some of this helps. And I can share my recipe for banana smoothie if you want .
PPIs (omeprazole and co) don't work in about 30% of patients - a minor downside that many GPs don't seem aware off when they hand it out!
Is it possible to get enteric coated prednisolone in the USA? It was used a lot in the uK but a study decided it wasn't any better than ordinary uncoated pred, at the time cost 17x what the ordinary sort did and took far longer to reach peak levels in the blood and doctors were told to stop using it but give ordinary plus a PPI as that was cheaper. Within months GPs had queues of patients with upset stomach and reflux!
Well, of course it takes longer to reach the peak level - the enteric coating is to protect the pred from the stomach acic and it passes through the stomach and is absorbed much further down the gut but other than that it works well for many PMR patients. In fact, that could be an advantage since I (and a research doctor) suspect you could take it at night and it would help with morning stiffness because it takes about 7 hours to get to peak blood level.
However - it does remove the irritation that pred causes and which leads to reflux. It would be worth asking about.
The other option would be Lodotra, Rayos in the USA - this is another coated form of prednisone which is deliberately taken at night to release 4 hours later, which again is further down the gut, past the stomach, and is aimed at reducing morning stiffness. It is definitely available in the USA and is approved for use in PMR there I think.
I am already too heavy (about 2 stone) because of being housebound periodically from ME/Fibromyalgia, so when able 3 years ago to take steroids to help me (PMR) the weight ironically came off! simply because I was able to move around, My family wrere amazed....as was I. i got down to 7mg, but the PMR came back, so went up to 15mg again, but ended up on 20mg because of blurred vision.......now lowering....slowly this time.....
i have lost weight the last 2+ years because of a differnt sort of pred and being able to move - plus I have practically cut out all carbs, just veggies and the very occasional treat. It is possible to lose weight on pred - and there are a few people who lose weight without even trying on pred. They are usually the ones who are thin to start with!
I agree, I am also gluten free, not because of being celiac,(spelling?) but gluten intolerant. I don`t have wheat, but lots if things offered as replacement are too sweet....I have also read that gluten free helps with inflammation....but not convinced on that one. I will cut out carbs, but the one thing I would really miss is rice.....
I'm not gluten-intolerant - specifically something in wheat gives me horrendous eczema. When I realised it was flour-containing food that did it I joined the local coeliac group to get suggestions on how to avoid it since it is in almost everything. At that time much of the gluten-free flour in the UK was made with "washed wheat starch", chemically treated to remove the gluten - and I reacted to that too! So I was effectively gluten-free when the PMR started so I tend to dismiss the idea that gluten-free helps. Definitely NOT convinced there. One of the few gluten-free cakes that was worth it were jaffa cakes - they're better gluten-free than ordinary! Now I live in Italy and although coeliac is very common here and there is loads of gluten-free food available the cakes aren't the sort I would eat! We do get buckwheat cake here as a local speciality - I eat that a couple of times a year ;-)
My husband doesn't like rice (he is the original chips with everything) so I didn't cook with rice very often anyway but if I want a risotto I have one. I don't say "NO carbs" as a religion but any carb or dessert I eat is a treat and it has to be worth it, something special. Our village pizzeria makes me spelt pizza as I can eat spelt and kamut even though they are wheats, he also does gluten-free pizzas for people. It is very easy to eat out here and get gluten-free, they know what they put in most of their food and make a lot from scratch. We spent a week in France a couple of years ago and the (male) friend we were meeting on his canal boat had done the shopping before we got there: heavy reliance on baguettes and pains au raisins! I ate it rather than go totally hungry and had no problems. The French use soft wheat - and the structure is obviously different enough not to have "my" trigger! Just as well I don't spend a lot of time in France...
I am so jealous of you living in Italy!....The spelt thing I will look into, because apparently the "old" type of wheat mixed with spelt, is tolerable to people like me. It`s the gliadin in wheat that I can`t tolerate, and gliadin is in all gluten.......I have tried cooking bread with rice flour, and bought it, it`s disgusting!...I have rice cakes, and when i crack, and want bread, the best I`ve tried and rolls are fron Dr Schur (not sure of spelling!) can live with out potatoes....so will try cutting more carbs out. Now all we hear in the UK is cut out sugar......what will be left to eat....veggies, good job we love them!
Dr Schar has his main factory and research bit about 70 miles as the crow flies from where I live! I've had excellent gluten-free rolls over here, especially in Austria, but all of it is only fit to eat straight out of the oven or rewarmed in a toaster or microwave! In hospital here they send me the roll in the pack - it says quite clearly on it it needs to be baked. So I just tell them not to waste money and don't bother. I got so used to not eating bread in the UK it doesn't bother me!
Do you eat oatcakes? Nairn do gluten-free ones but the gluten in oats is totally different anyway and many people can eat them OK. My friend in Germany who was diagnosed coeliac in his 50s has a bread machine and makes his own bread - German bread is a totally different thing to the UK stuff and his doesn't compare too badly at all.
But I was quite surprised when I found something on the internet recently that said many of us were fine with "old" wheats - if I remember rightly it was an NHS site too! People always look at me as if I'm crackers! I have a lovely Italian recipe for Paradise cake which is made with potato flour, best spongecake I've ever eaten. It is in "The classic food of northern Italy" by Anna del Conte - and her recipe is made with all potato flour unlike many that mix it with wheat flour. The book is worth it just for that, the buckwheat cake recipe and one with chestnut flour!
I decided though that nothing was preferable to rice cakes - they are utterly disgusting and pointless! I don't buy sugar at all - except once every few years I have to buy a new pack of icing sugar for making brandy butter - it comes in 4 plastic bags of 250g, enough for 4 Christmases. I keep the paper packs of sugar in cafes and that is enough for the pancakes we'll be having next Tuesday!
Yes, I do eat oatcakes, just had some (Nairn) for lunch. Will try potato flour, and look up the recipe....The rice cakes I am eating from Waitrose, are with chocolate on, they are my treat! Like you I have to check when to buy sugar, purely for people visiting. You are right about having to toast gluten free rolls/bread etc, infact some bread has to be toasted twice because it won`t brown....I think I need to look more deeply into the "old" wheat thing....I can`t believe in this day and age, they haven`t perfected a better gluten free bread, and it`s always the same, something is taken out, and it costs twice the price!! We have a new gluten free shop with everything available now opened nearby, but the prices are shocking. The only german bread I have seen is Rye, too heavy for me...Will look up the "paradise cake" My mother-in-law used to like "cafe" extras to take home...nobody ever said anything to her...at 93!
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