Well I definitely have the gastric upset and the fatigue. . .but I  don't
know if that is the Pred. . . Cause that always gives me the heartburn. .
.<Keeping the Pepsid Complete Close> and as far as the fatigue. . .well when
the Blood is acting up. . .that is normal too. . .so I guess it is good to
know I might not be adding any new side affects@ this point. . .lol . . just
dealing with the same 'ol same 'ol. . .I took my second dose yesterday. .
.which seems to be ok @ this point. . . nothing out of the ordinary right
now. . .but LOTS to do today and tomorrow. . .you see I will have tons of
people here on Christmas Eve. . .family. . .& friends . . .even my
neighbors. . .lol. . .so I am going to take advantage of being awake @ this
hr (most likely from the Pred, my sleep gets all goofed up when I go up this
high 40mg) and now I will go and put the Lasagna together. . .lol. . .so I
can get an early start to the store. . .<lat min shopping. . .UUGH> Everyone
have a peaceful day! Merry Christmas~HUGS~Aimee

HI CLOUD,

<snupped> Took almost 9 months for me to feel the benefits of Plaquenil and
around a  month before it's efficacies wore off.  Geez, is efficacies a
word?

I don't think the Plaquenil EVER worked for me. .. All it has ever done is
make me nauseas and leave a constant "Lump" feeling in my throat! I have
been on it for 2 & 1/2 yrs and have never felt it has done anything for me.
. .and Now with the biggest rash I have ever had, I guess I can say it
didn't control the rashes either. . .

<snipped> I am on Methotrexate, 7.5 grams once a week... and around 20
something other prescription meds.

I am taking "The starting dose" of 2.5 mg of Methotrexate. . . but with my
"blood" disease. . .we are not quite sure that will be all I need. . . so we
leave room to increase slowly. . . but like I said we also increased my
Prednisone from 7mg to 40mg. . . which to me is really only a moderate jump
up. . .they have had me on a dose of 80mg before and on top of taking 80mg I
have even been given 100+ during one of my transfusions, so I would have
less chance of rejection. . . Yes they manage my blood mostly with the
Prednisone which the Doc's don't like but with my blood being sooooo tricky
( as I am always building "Antigens")They haven't found anything that works
better in stopping the destruction of my Red Cells. . .and that is always
the PRIORITY when the destruction is going on. . . so unfortunately
Prednisone will be MY main drug probably for a long time. . .or @ least
until someone comes up with something that works JUST LIKE IT!. . . lol

<snipped>I understand there are times when prednisone is used when there is
major organ involvement,

well i have always said the same. . . but my blood being so insistant on
destroying itself is considered MAJOR ORGAN INVOLVEMENT, I guess. . .

<snipped> Still, with shots of pred and pills, over a course of 4+ years, I
do have osteoporosis so seems it is rather a hard
thing to keep from occuring.

Yes Osteo is always a concern. . .as I already have the Rheumatoid
Arthritus. . . I go for "Bone density" tests. .. I will have to go On the
17th of Jan. . . they keep very close eye on my bones with the Pred along
with my eyes...too. . . so I am constantly getting my eyes checked 2x/yr and
a couple times / yr I have to have the bone density and when they "UP" my
dose it is always automatic to be sent for one. . . lol. . .seems like a
pain to some people, but is very necessary when being on the Steroids for
long periods of time even when I am on a small dose of 4mg. . . but I
haven't been able to get lower or even OFF the stuff in almost 3 yrs because
m anemia starts to show it's ugly head again. . .

<Snipped> As far as the plaquenil, you should reep the benefits of it long
after  stopping, but this could depend on the length of time you were taking
it and the amount.  It took me a month or more for it to wane from my system
after taking it for over 3 years with doses between 400-600 daily.  Reason I
stopped on the Plaquenil is it was tearing apart my stomach.

I was on the 400mg dose but SAME for me. . .the stuff just totally did a #
on my stomach too. . . and like I said earlier. . . we never saw any
benifits of the drug for me. . .finally 2 weeks ago my Dr. said "it has had
long enough to work and show us evidence of working if it was going to". . .
so now it is time for the NEXT step to try and manage this disease

<Snipped>I believe the meth has dizziness as one of it's common
side-effects.  Also a good load of other negative ones.  Have you tried a
search on the internet about the side-effects?  I am sure there are a ton of
urls out there.

I have checked some things out on the WEB and have found some helpful info
so I think I am all set on the side effects now. . .haven't experienced any
as of yet but @ least I know what they could be. . .but like I said I am
only taking a 2.5mg dose too. . .

along with the 40mg of Prednisone
B-12 1000mg
Folic acid 1mg~ (which is a tricky one w/ the Metho, but the Dr.s feel it is
necessary because I also have an absorbtion problem, especially when THE
blood acts up. . .lol)

Cakcium 600mg

and I also take an Aspirin 81mg to "Thin" my blood a bit as I have
Anti-phospholipid Syndrome as well as other probs. . .lol. . .

I was also taking Celebrex. . . but NO MORE
I haven't taken it since June (I generally feel better in the summer being
in the POOL and all), but then we were going to start it up again , being
winter and very stiff and sore, but we held off due to the increase in the
Pred and adding the Metho with hopes that they would help with the
Arthritus. . .

and I also take Naproxen 600mg as needed and don't know even if I should
continue that either. . .

HOPE YOU HAD A HAPPY CHRISTMAS TOO!
~HUGS~Aimee