hi there

Im currently experiencing my worst cycle for several years. i uaually get hit every 14-16 months but am now on my 3rd cycle in 12. I use the pred taper, which is usually succesful in my case, but this time, i've been constantly hit twice a day for the last 2 1/2 weeks. always in the early hours the 1st time, and then roughly 6 hrs later the 2nd time. I'm using Imigran as my abortive, its my godsend, fights the beast of within 10 minutes thankfully. I've been wondering this time though, is the pred inefective because its my 3rd taper in a short space of time? I've religiously followed the dosage to the letter, (I'm not very good at taking tablets, I tend to forget)' Or, is the cycle so bad this time because of the hours I've been doing at work? I've done alot of extra hours recently due to it being busy at work, but I also work part time at the weekends. Alot, you might think, but I live alone and have a mortgage, bills to pay and a car to run. needs must, but am I making it worse for myself? I'm considering going back to the docs to see if there is anything else they would prescribe, or even get back to the hospital to see the neuro again. Your comments would be appreciated, especially on the work issue.
Thanks for reading, and heres hoping for pfd's & n's for not just me, but all of us

Paula

Like guiseppie said, I have had meeds suddenly stop working or change how they work for me. Topomax worked for one cycle but didn't the next cycle. This cycle I am finding that I can use o2 and DHE but the migranal version is making me sick when I take it. Pred never aborted a cycle, only kept the CHs at bay while I was on it. I can never take red again due to a side effect I developed, so a few pf days l.just isn't worth it's use for me.

I tend to get rogue hits throughout the year if I am stressed in some way, but it doesn't drastically alter my cycle. I'm not sure about others here though. My average is 2-4 CHs a day depending on the cycle, so maybe your cycle is just changing.

Thanks for the input folks, have been on the phone to the doc this morning after my 2nd fight with the beast in 5hrs, and have an appointment in a couple of hours time, he also mentioned a referral back to the neuro, so fingers crossed...............

It would be helpful if you would give dosing information when you ask a question about a specific med.

Entirely possible that you will have to do another taper cycle but with a higher starting dose.

Your experience is not unusual and may be linked to a doc who is too cautious in dosing. Usual starting dose ranges from 60mg. to 100mg.

I hadthe same thing happen with pred. in 2008 it stopped the cycle within 3 days, this time we tried twice with two diff doses,no luck at all.  ????

In my case Prednisone has just slightly better than a 50% success rate.  520mg tapers over 3 weeks or 690mg tapers over 4 weeks yield very similar results.  Prednisone provides some value just over half the time and the rest of the time it has no apparent benefit.

Prednisone is utilized in treating a number of disorders/ailments but long-term use can have some severe side effects.  Exercise caution and avoid stacking tapers in rapid succession.       

Good luck with your Doctor visit.

burnt-toast
(Tom)   

well judging by whats been said here about the pred, then yes, i must have a cautious gp. My taper starts at only 30mg for 5 days, 20mg for 5 days them 15 for 5 days followed by 10 & 5 for 7 days each. I'm now at the end of these and have been hit 4 times today! I have a neuro appointment, but not until the 25th of next month, tho the doc did say to ring him once I'd made the appointment and he would try and get it bought forward, I'm ringing 1st thing in the morning!!
Tom, I did query wether I would be ok to have another taper when i started this cycle, being that it was my 3rd cycle in 12 months, and they didnt seem to think it would be a problem. Think this time I will go armed with questions and info to the hospital and see what i come away with.

Did I miss it...or are you NOT taking a preventative medication?

Some very important advice right there, especially since the severe side effects can be permanent.

coach_bill wrote on Sep 22^nd, 2010 at 6:34pm:

There are a whole host of long term side effects from using steroids for extended periods of time. A good selection of these can be found from Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or .

From the Wikipedia entry - Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or

Long-term side effects include Cushing's syndrome, truncal weight gain, osteoporosis, glaucoma and cataracts, type II diabetes mellitus and depression upon dose reduction or cessation.

I personally am happy to use prednisone for short term tapers but unless convinced by a doctor I'd be reluctant to use them long term unless it was medically necessary.

As always with anything like this talk to your medical professional before changing doses, stopping, etc.

I'd speak to your doctor and your pharmacist. Both will be able to give much better information about how long is long and the relative risks / benefits.

Virtually no medicine is side effect free, although oxygen is pretty close.