This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

My neuro gave me a prescription for dexamethasone 4 mg, 3 tabs daily for 2 days, 2 daily for 2 days, then 1 daily for 2 days. Repeat in 4-6 weeks.

My stomach couldn't handle it and threw it up.

Her office called me and they phoned in a Rx for prednisone 50 mg tabs, to take 500 mg all at once, once a month. I did take prednisone 50 mg in a tapering course in 2007, one tab twice a day for 3 days, 1 tab 4th day, 1/2 tab on 5th day, then off.

The pharmacist refuses to fill the new prednisone prescription and questioned me on why I needed such an incredibly high dose, one a cancer patient might get. They said it could wreck my thyroid and/or kill me at 500 mg in one dose (taking 10 pills at once ?). The pharmacist is sure he heard the office person right and when I called that's what the office manager read back to me.

Does a single oral dose of 500 mg of prednisone (10 50-mg pills) once a month sound like a normal protocol? I'm just not sure my stomach could take it. I have had two rounds of IV Solu-Medrol three days each time.

Wow, Wendigo! If a pharmacist refused to fill the scrip and said "it could wreck my thyroid and/or kill me at 500 mg in one dose" you should absolutely NOT take it. I have little experience with it, but please take the advice of the pharmacist, who should actually be even more knowledgeable about medication dosage than another doctor. You might also ask your GP for a second opinion.

Now my question to you: What was the reason for the prescription? Is the problem worth risking your life to treat it with this med? I'm serious. Maybe that info would help others here understand the situation.

Hoping you get some answers and relief from whatever your current problem is!

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Dx'd with MS & HNPP (hereditary peripheral neuropathy) 7/03 but must have had MS for 30 yrs before that. I've never taken meds for MS or MS symptoms except 1 yr experiment on LDN. (I found diet, exercise, sleep, humor, music help me the most.)

I'm having some new weakness of my left leg, probably some suspicion of a step down in my MS overall and steroids in an effort to beat it back. I know in IV form, the steroids end up being measured in grams, high dose stuff but infused slowly over time.

I'm just really worried about this. I'm having an awful time sleeping at night to begin with and any steroid/prednisone will worsen that. I wondered or wonder if anyone will chime in here and say oh yea, I get that all the time, 500 mg in one dose orally.

The pharmacist refused to give me the prescription and when he told me why it was very upsetting that there could be such an error? or lack of knowledge? on the part of either party?

idk the different effects between oral and IV, but ive done 1000mg for 5days of IV Solumedrol

Yea, I know with IV infusion it's measured in grams.

I remember being told in 2007 that 50 mg of oral prednisone is a pretty high dose. It appears I was prescribed to take ten 50-mg prednisone pills all at once, once a month.

after IV i would take prednisone pills to taper off, its been years but if i remember correctly it was stepping down each week. 50mg a day for a week then 40 then 30 and so on

If yu are concerned, get a second opinion, do not listen to me.

However, I have never had IV Steroids, and a few years ago I herd of someone taking twice your dose of oral prednisone. So I searched on the internet (as my GP said 1mg/kg is the normal dosing, ie 75mg for a 75Kg person), and found that it was used in this dose and higher. Your guy seems conservative in that it is only for 1 day, I think its the chemist who is missing the knowledge/experience and was simply trying to protect you (and correctly so) from something he had not herd of before; actually, I think in these cases he should maybe call someone else to check his understanding.

Here are some links to other people who have been prescribed a large dose of oral steroids.
http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-discussion-f1/topic6870.html
http://www.neurology.org/content/53/9/2093.abstract
http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-discussion-f1/topic8221.html

Cure or bust, thank you so much for finding these references. Waking up this morning after a DECENT NIGHTS' SLEEP seems to be a magic bullet in many ways. I think I remember receiving something with the IV Solu-Medrol for stomach protection. If this once monthly 500 mg prednisone is in fact correct, I will have to have something to protect my stomach from direct contact with the med.

I eat so incredibly well, exercise, which is why I could no longer look at myself in the mirror and continue to smoke two months ago. That process was stressful of course, triggered some depression and sleep problems. Med for depression, Wellbutrin, worsened the sleep problem, but helped with depression. Other symptoms started, bad brain fog, weakening of legs, especially the left (always the worst) but still unable to get more than 2-3 hours sleep at night.

All of this started after quitting smoking, but honestly no one can say these changes would not have happened anyway and are not a reason to go back to smoking. I'm done with that.

I have no one to advocate for me and with brain fog and sleep deficits it is very hard to determine what's going on myself let alone getting several doctors caring for me to operate as a team for my benefit. Perhaps a hospital pharmacy would have been more familiar with instances where high dose oral prednisone is used for MS in lieu of IV therapy.

I FEEL so much better this morning after decent sleep I wonder if there is even need for prednisone. It seems there are some neuros who offer prednisone/Solu-Medrol quicker and more often than others. It's a tough call. I like Jimmylegs' method - helping my body help itself with determining what is missing nutritionally first and optimizing that treatment.

yay!

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my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

Good morning, Jimmy! My breakfast this morning will be salmon, broccoli, half a banana and an ounce of almonds, with a glass of orange juice, wait 20 minutes and go for my bike ride on this beautiful So Cal morning.

There weren't many replies on this board to it but did you ever watch the You Tube video link posted here on the Gerson diet? I think it was called the beautiful truth, easy to find on you tube. Coffee enemas sounded a bit twisted but the rest made sense.

I can't say there is never reason for medical intervention but I would feel better about it if I know all had been done first to help my body work optimally.

hey there wendigo! that sounds like a breakfast a body can love

i have not checked out the gerson diet in much detail, but i agree the coffee enema idea is a bit beyond me too!

i really, *really* agree that we should fine tune our health before going in with other interventions.

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my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

Jimmy, what title does a person have who does what you do, a nutritionist? I try to read and understand the best I can but there are so many factors to consider. Like you said regarding the Mega D I'm taking, it should be taken with other vitamins. What a body needs nutritionally probably changes, too, with age, drugs taken, diet, stress, etc. Lucky are those MSers who have someone to advocate for them.

I prefer to drink my coffee. I'm sure there are some antioxidant properties in coffee but why not green tea? I do wonder how much commercial produce is grown in soil that is depleted and chemically improved. I'd love to have a greenhouse some day and grow my own vegetables.

hey there, i think orthomolecular practitioner is the closest you'd get to accurately describing how i approach health. it's more specific than nutritionist, i think. but more people would understand 'nutritionist' anyway so that's just as good.

here is a list of orthomolecular practitioners from all over the world. you can pick your area and look at the kind of qualifications the various practitioners have. lots of naturopathic doctors but a mix of all kinds of things. i even saw *gasp* an actual MD on the list. glad to know there is one, at least.
http://orthomolecular.org/resources/pract.shtml

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my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

Oh my goodness that (gasp) MD - Abram Hoffer is the man my mother consulted when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She followed his regime of supplements faithfully throughout her rediation therapy, chemo & almost right to the end of her life. Her cancer spread throughout most her body (a PET scan didn't show any hot spots because the cancer had metastisized entirely though her body ) and yet to all appearances she seemed fine until her last few months.
I'm positive that his advice was greatly responsible for the fact that she lived for ten years with this treated but unvanquished cancer.
The provincial government wanted him to retire over ten years ago but they backed off because all the petitions that were signed demanding he be allowed to keep practicing as there was no one who could take his place then.
Linus Pauling was a former colleague of his.
Sadly Dr. Hoffer passed away in 2009.

if you want your body to work optimally among other things, visit the chiropractic treatment forum, chiropractic-treatment-f50/ , and read.

i can only speak about is the benefits i received from it and the few recent studies done

i lost my heat sensitivity, migraines, back pain. improvements leg strength, balance. i know theres a few more things but not having those symptoms for a year already, ive forgotten. ive also got more muscle strength from lifting weights than i ever got before from lifting weights

ive only spent 1600 but ill probably spend another 1200 over the next 5 years, but hopefully less and quicker