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Low white blood count/prednisone

Question:

Enbrel., Arava and Vioxx was the combo that actually got me running regularly. Good luck to you. Judy H

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m one of those for who Enbrel won’t work without 20mg of medrol daily. The recent addition of Arava has been amazing!  I only have one swollen joint now and the pain is diminishing in leaps and bounds.  Ready to start the new steroid reduction!  Talk to your dr…..I kept pushing Arava for almost a year and really wish I had pushed harder.  I feel soooo much better. — Cyberhugs, DianeW Prednisone, as I understand, is very hard on internal organs and not good to use high doses for a long period of time..that is why most dr’s want to lower one’s dosage as much as possible….I am finding out that if I stay at 15-20mg daily, my wbc comes up and I dont get so many infections……and that allows me to stay on Enbrel and feel better from the aggressive RA that I have. Hope that makes sense…..altho I am not sure it is good sense to do…. Polly Well said and very true, Polly.  If Enbrel is not quite doing enough to hold your inflam.arth. at bay, maybe a combo with another dmard might. This might let you lower the amount of prednisone you take.  A steroid shot in the muscle(read end for me) might let your body catch up enough to lower the amount of steroid you take each day.  All of this is material for a good discussion with your doctor.  I am sure that most doctors would not be happy letting you stay at 20mg a day.  At 10mg a day or more our body no longer produces its own steroid like prednisone. Bone loss and our degestive track problems are something to keep an eye on also.     Lots of people take more than one dmard and prednisone is not a dmard and we should not think of it as being one.  Good luck with it all. Harv

Response:

I’m one of those for who Enbrel won’t work without 20mg of medrol daily. The recent addition of Arava has been amazing!  I only have one swollen joint now and the pain is diminishing in leaps and bounds.  Ready to start the new steroid reduction!  Talk to your dr…..I kept pushing Arava for almost a year and really wish I had pushed harder.  I feel soooo much better. — Cyberhugs, DianeW

Keep right on tellen em,,Diane.  It was great for me for almost a year.    None of what we have to take is for everyone.  Some work better than others.  A good RD that is working to get control is most important no matter what we take.  It is good to read that you are better. Harv

Response:

Hi Polly, I would go back and ask for more information on this. Usually we are told that there is an increased risk of infection: " In patients on corticosteroid therapy subjected to unusual stress, increased dosage of rapidly acting  corticosteroids before, during, and after the stressful situation is indicated.  Corticosteroids may mask some signs of infection, and new infections may appear during their use.  Infections with any pathogen including viral, bacterial, fungal, protozoan or helminthic infections, in any  location of the body, may be associated with the use of corticosteroids alone or in combination with other  immunosuppressive agents that affect cellular immunity, humoral immunity, or neutrophil function.1  These infections may be mild, but can be severe and at times fatal. With increasing doses of  corticosteroids, the rate of occurrence of infectious complications increases.2 There may be decreased  resistance and inability to localize infection when corticosteroids are used." Be well Paul – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Dear Friends, My dr just told me today that prednisone raises a person’s low white blood count. I didnt know this…did you? I may have to stay at a level with prednisone where I can take the Enbrel and not have so many UTI’S and sinus infections…which may be brought on by the wbc getting so low.  Mine drops to 2.5 and never gets up over 3.5 because of Felty’s syndrome…which I have been told goes along with RA. Polly

Response:

Prednisone, as I understand, is very hard on internal organs and not good to use high doses for a long period of time..that is why most dr’s want to lower one’s dosage as much as possible….I am finding out that if I stay at 15-20mg daily, my wbc comes up and I dont get so many infections……and that allows me to stay on Enbrel and feel better from the aggressive RA that I have. Hope that makes sense…..altho I am not sure it is good sense to do…. Polly

Response:

Prednisone, as I understand, is very hard on internal organs and not good to use high doses for a long period of time..that is why most dr’s want to lower one’s dosage as much as possible….I am finding out that if I stay at 15-20mg daily, my wbc comes up and I dont get so many infections……and that allows me to stay on Enbrel and feel better from the aggressive RA that I have. Hope that makes sense…..altho I am not sure it is good sense to do…. Polly

Well said and very true, Polly.  If Enbrel is not quite doing enough to hold your inflam.arth. at bay, maybe a combo with another dmard might. This might let you lower the amount of prednisone you take.  A steroid shot in the muscle(read end for me) might let your body catch up enough to lower the amount of steroid you take each day.  All of this is material for a good discussion with your doctor.  I am sure that most doctors would not be happy letting you stay at 20mg a day.  At 10mg a day or more our body no longer produces its own steroid like prednisone. Bone loss and our degestive track problems are something to keep an eye on also.     Lots of people take more than one dmard and prednisone is not a dmard and we should not think of it as being one.  Good luck with it all. Harv

Response:

I’m one of those for who Enbrel won’t work without 20mg of medrol daily. The recent addition of Arava has been amazing!  I only have one swollen joint now and the pain is diminishing in leaps and bounds.  Ready to start the new steroid reduction!  Talk to your dr…..I kept pushing Arava for almost a year and really wish I had pushed harder.  I feel soooo much better. — Cyberhugs, DianeW – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Prednisone, as I understand, is very hard on internal organs and not good to use high doses for a long period of time..that is why most dr’s want to lower one’s dosage as much as possible….I am finding out that if I stay at 15-20mg daily, my wbc comes up and I dont get so many infections……and that allows me to stay on Enbrel and feel better from the aggressive RA that I have. Hope that makes sense…..altho I am not sure it is good sense to do…. Polly Well said and very true, Polly.  If Enbrel is not quite doing enough to hold your inflam.arth. at bay, maybe a combo with another dmard might. This might let you lower the amount of prednisone you take.  A steroid shot in the muscle(read end for me) might let your body catch up enough to lower the amount of steroid you take each day.  All of this is material for a good discussion with your doctor.  I am sure that most doctors would not be happy letting you stay at 20mg a day.  At 10mg a day or more our body no longer produces its own steroid like prednisone. Bone loss and our degestive track problems are something to keep an eye on also.     Lots of people take more than one dmard and prednisone is not a dmard and we should not think of it as being one.  Good luck with it all. Harv

Response:

Dear Friends, My dr just told me today that prednisone raises a person’s low white blood count. I didnt know this…did you? I may have to stay at a level with prednisone where I can take the Enbrel and not have so many UTI’S and sinus infections…which may be brought on by the wbc getting so low.  Mine drops to 2.5 and never gets up over 3.5 because of Felty’s syndrome…which I have been told goes along with RA. Polly

Response:

Dear Friends, My dr just told me today that prednisone raises a person’s low white blood count. I didnt know this…did you? I may have to stay at a level with prednisone where I can take the Enbrel and not have so many UTI’S and sinus infections…which may be brought on by the wbc getting so low.  Mine drops to 2.5 and never gets up over 3.5 because of Felty’s syndrome…which I have been told goes along with RA. Polly

Thanks Polly…  NO, I did not know about the low white count.  You may not be able to stop prednisone right away.  I have taken 5mg or 10mg most  days for over 20 years and have been able to completely stop daily prednisone.  Oooh, I take a couple when I have one of those minnnny flares here or there but I have cut wayyy back on the amount of Enbrel I take.  It may be that you cannot stop prednisone but thats OK because you are dealing with, controlling what you have and that is what is important. Harv

Response:

Dear Friends, My dr just told me today that prednisone raises a person’s low white blood count. I didnt know this…did you?

It all depends on what is causing the low white count in the first place. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I may have to stay at a level with prednisone where I can take the Enbrel and not have so many UTI’S and sinus infections…which may be brought on by the wbc getting so low.  Mine drops to 2.5 and never gets up over 3.5 because of Felty’s syndrome…which I have been told goes along with RA. Polly

Response:

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