Pain or prednisone? Which would you choose?

I am not yet 40 but was in a very bad car accident. I developed what my doctor calls post traumatic arthritis. Some days my foot is so painful I can barely walk (though I do anyway, I refuse to stop) Thus far I have tried a ton of medications from Celebrex to Naproxin with no relief. Prednisone however takes away the pain. I quickly learned to adjust my eating so as not to gain weight (when I say adjust I mean about 40% fewer calories)however my face appears as if it were blown up with air. Bloating it is called. I retain water in my face in a massive way, a touch in other parts but I can't abide my face in this state, so I eased off the drug. Now I just want to scream from the pain. I went to the gym as usual, came home and slathered myself with Ben Gay after my shower.

• Prednisone makes you look pregnant.

  Beyonce

• Long-term prednisone use is incredibly detrimental to your health. You'll likely end up worse off in the end. I'd rather be addicted to pain meds.

• What about methotrexate?

• R2 if the pain meds helped I would gladly use them.

• R3Though methotrexate for autoimmune diseases is taken in lower doses than it is for cancer, side effects such as hair loss, nausea, headaches, and skin pigmentation are still common

• A prednisone injection in your foot would be OK. An oral course of the same is another matter as stated. What kind of arthritis do you have? Rheumatoid arthritis can benefit from steroids. Never heard of it's use in osteoarthritis. There is also a kind of arthritis that can affect a foot. If it is oral they want to give you they will likely do so only for a short time. They would likely ween you from the dosage given. A short course is worth the smaller risk associated with it's use.

• For acute RA symptoms, they start you on prednisone then add a bit of methotrexate. As they up the M dose, they cut back on the P until they wean you off P and you are on M exclusively. I've never heard of Post-traumatic arthritis, but it sounds like a systemic reaction of some sort that operates in a similar manner as RA. Folic acid helps with M nausea and hair loss.

• Are there any alternative therapies that might help you? Sorry I'm not an expert to suggest anything more than acupuncture. I feel for you, OP, having been in a very bad accident and was in severe pain for many years.

• The problem with prednisone - besides having enough gruesome side effects to fill a newspaper - is that long-term use of it will incinerate your adrenal gland and you'll have to take this poison every day for the rest of your life as long as you wish to stay alive. Other than an immediate emergency, I could never in good conscience recommend that drug to anyone.

• [quote] A prednisone injection in your foot would be OK. okay I'm confused. I thought prednisone was orally administered cortisone.

• I work in a pharmacy, and have been on Prednisone twice in the past. It probably saved my life at one time due to a serious illiness I had,but I would avoid it if at all possible. Horrible side effects, and the weight gain is wicked. I had several friends (?) that used to make fun of the weight I gained. (I have since kicked those "friends" to the curb)

• Prednisone can also give you roid rage.

• How about a cortisone enema?

• Try this link OP, and search for more suggestions on his website:

  http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400637/Improving-Arthritis-Treatment.html

• A 10-day course of Prednisone is okay. Probably saved my life once as well, R11, but I agree with the other posters about avoiding long term use at almost any cost. A close family member took it for two months and literally turned into a monster. The mental and emotional side effects can be even more devastating than the physical ones. IF you can avoid it, OP, then avoid it.

• [quote]okay I'm confused. I thought prednisone was orally administered cortisone. Same here. I never heard of it being used for pain. People I know took it for sinus conditions.

• OP, sorry to hear about your pain. My mom suffers from arthritis and use to swear by Biofreeze. However she started using a homeopathic product with no odor and it's greaseless called Traumeel and she says it is the best. You can order it online and some health food stores carry it. All the athletes at the local university use it for sore muscles too.

  http://www.traumeel.us/

  Lou%20the%20Stew

• R16, the reason why I ask this question is because of intense joint pain and stiffness. I had a serious kidney ailment as a child. It almost killed me. It was treated with cortisone injections (as far as I know, prednisone is the same but administered orally) Decades later I have horrible joint problems

• You should try acupuncture. It really helps.

• [quote] A close family member took it for two months and literally turned into a monster Literally, eh? What did s/he turn into? A werewolf? A big green ogre? A windigo?

• Post-traumatic arthritis? Is this a new name for RSD?

• OP: I know exactly what you are going through. First, prednisone is not orally administered cortisone. Prednisone is an "artificial" corticosteroid whereas cortisone is directly related to the cortisol that our adrenal glands produce naturally. Both have strong anti-inflammatory properties, but essentially no pain-relieving properties. Others here are correct -- long-term use of prednisone for your condition, even when given by a doctor, is no way to live! If you can afford it, immediately get yourself an appointment with a reputable pain management specialist who is preferably board certified in anesthesiology and has a valid FDA C-2 license. He or she will know how to manage your pain with the proper treatments, not just by pushing prednisone and thereby making your life miserable! If you see a pain specialist, chances are almost 100% that doctor is treating or has treated a patient with your condition. In my extensive experience, pain specialists are fully aware of steroid dangers and never use them long-term. If you can't see a pain doctor, please get a second opinion! My layman's guess is that you either have been misdiagnosed or have an undiagnosed problem that is being "masked" by the prednisone -- corticosteroids do exactly that -- they do not cure anything. Chronic pain patients who want to lead as normal lives as possible often have to be proactive and aggressive. Please don't "give in" to prednisone and don't give up. Best of luck and hope your pain subsides!

• The OP reads like an episode of Gays Gone Stupid. He's not worried about the health side effects, he's worried about how he looks. And, idiot, if you're in pain, stop going to the gym because you're only going to make it worse. So stupid.

• Here's the simplest, bottom-line: I've seen in my own sicker relatives that Prednisone is such a toxic, body-rotting poison, it's a seriously much, much, healthier safer lifestyle to get addicted to opiates instead. Like Vicodin, Percodan, Oxycontin, whatever. Those addictive drugs are a picture of health next to what I've seen Prednisone filth do to a human body.

• Forgot to mention (from what I've seen in my sicker, infirm relatives): if you use Prednisone long enough, it'll make you so physically fragile that the tiniest bump, scuff, scratch or jar against your body will tear your skin wide open like toilet paper, gushing blood like "The Shining" elevator scene. This medication fucks up your outer skin & flesh integrity like no other drug effect I've ever witnessed. I'm amazed it's legal.

• Hey Lou, r17, thanks for that suggestion. My mother also suffers from terrible arthritis. What formulation has your mom found to be the most helpful?

  thanks%20in%20advance%2C%20lou

• Wow, I am glad I went off the stuff. Going to the gym typically helps.

• Steroids now = cancer later

• R26. Have her try Zeel which is formulated for arthritis. (The Traumeel is supposed to be for muscular aches). For a double punch I would use the homeopathic tablets they make as well. My mother is anti-medication so she won't take the tablets (she won't even take aspirin). My mother uses the Traumeel when she wakes up in the middle of the night and her hands are hurting and says it provides relief within minutes.

  http://www.vitacost.com/heel-zeel-arthritic-pain-and-stiffness-homeopathic-ointment

  Lou

• As suggested, OP, are there other therapies you could try? Physio, for example? I have arthritis, and I find physio with some yoga and resistance exercises work wonders on my joints. I used to regularly pop T3s and other pain meds, but haven't had so much as an Ibuprofen in about 3 months, already.

• I have been in physio therapy for more than a year.

• Do you know for sure it's arthritis and not a repetitive stress injury? Not that arthritis wouldn't cause pain, but to that degree?

• Arthritis and impact trauma, not repetitive stress.

• Never underestimate the value of a good acupuncturist when looking for ways to lessen pain.

• R34 never underestimate the value of a snake oil salesman either.

• Pain is nothing but discomfort, get used to it.

  Pop%20half%20a%20Vicodin%20once%20in%20a%20while

• Just suffer the pain. NEVER self-medicate.

  Charlie Sheen

• [quote] Some days my foot is so painful I can barely walk (though I do anyway, I refuse to stop) Get a cane

• [quote]R34 never underestimate the value of a snake oil salesman either. Studies have shown that acupuncture administered by genuine practitioners does have a pronounced effect on pain. When I began having back pain due to degenerative disc problems, I went to three different MDs who suggested I either live with the pain, take pain killers or (as one doctor suggested) take valium (!) as a last resort. In contrast, I later went to an acupuncturist who also happens to be one of the first people in the country to be nationally certified in oriental medicine. After only a couple of treatments, the pain lessened immensely. Perhaps only quacks practice in your neck of the woods. . . Or you're an MD.

  R34

• R20, a definition of "monster" -- "something monstrous; especially: a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty." So yes, literally. Thanks for attempting the wry comment. You are not as smart as you think you are, but console yourself with the fact that you are every bit as amusing.

• Today I tried Ben Gay, hate the smell, but it does feel better.

• I was on prednisone off and on for almost two years to control my not-controllable asthma. My pulmonary doctor asked me, "Do you want to die now or lose five years off your life expectancy?" when he put me on it. It did save my life but it took 6 months after I was off it to lose all the bulk & I had to have a little lipo on my chin/neck because no dieting helped my face. Also my skin is still (10 years later) fragile, easily bruised & torn. However, I would have died without it.

• Too bad he did not advise you to reduce your caloric intake by 40%. I did not put on any weight. I bloated in the face but no fat.

• How about prolotherapy?

• I was diagnosed with ITP and have been on prednisone for about 6 months now. I might have been off it earlier but i weaned myself off it to early. I started to bleed out again. It has saved my life despite the bloated face, horrible acne and slight mood change.

• Lou, r29, thanks so much for the Zeel suggestion! My mother is the same way. She hates drugs but has terrible hand and back pain. I will order some tabs and cream for her.

  r26

• Coming off prednisone probably killed my Mom.

• OP, ask your orthopedist about a gel shot. I'm getting one in my ankle later this month. I have arthritis after an ankle fracture and have been in pain for 5 years. I also swim for exercise and do strength training exercises for my ankle in the water. Anything else hurts too much.

• A couple of years ago I was put on a one-week course of methylprednisolone for a severe eczema outbreak on my face. Instant relief when nothing else helped, plus (TMI alert) it gave me some intestinal relief I badly needed at the time. Is that drug as dangerous as prednisone? Because I'd love to do another course of that.

• I have a 2.5mg dose of Predisone for allergies. It's not a consistent dosage, only days when allergies are REALLY bad.

  LuciferTheLightBringer

• Try Apitherapy (Honey Bee Therapy) for the Arthritis. It may seem a bit archaic to some, but it really helps with the pain. I too suffer from RA and take mutiple meds including prednisone with flares and methotrexate as a remittent agent, but when I have a accute onset of a flare with intese pain I go to the Bee man. His "ladies" ,as he calls them, always help tremendously!! Long term use of Prednisone is not good. Look for alternate treatments that help. Good Luck!

• R51 allergic to bees, your therapy would kill me but thanks for playing. I am not a big fan of ben gay, been using it for a couple of days and feel so much better.