I've been prescribed a two-week course of prednisone starting at 30 mg/day and tapering off to zero. I didn't really want to take it but got talked into it and now worry what I've got myself into.
I'd like to know if anybody has experience with a 30 mg dose and what you experienced. I'm particularly worried about becoming hyper and suffering insomnia as I don't sleep that well to start with and had a very bad bout with insomnia a few years ago and don't think I can deal with that again.
So, if you've taken 30 mg I'd be most interested in hearing your story. I looked through old posts but didn't find one that addressed my questions so I apologize if this is really old hat. Humor me; I'm new.
Prednisone really is the drug I love to hate… it does relieve the inflammation but the side effects are the kicker. I can only take 20 mg for a day or two then I have to taper down. I also have difficulty sleeping at times, so I had to take it first thing in the am, and take a sleeping aid at night. When you are in a tough spot though, it can be a temporary aid. It makes me irritable as well so I can’t take it for very long…
Will you be tapering down by 5mg every 5 days? I have been on 50 and 60mg several times over this past few months not due to PsA, would never get to finish a taper and would be back up to 50mg again. I would be at 50 or 60mgs anywhere from 7-10 days at a time. I was also on a steroid infusion for 4x daily for 5 days I was very fortunate to not have any negative side effects other than some weight gain. It did wonders for my normal PsA pain, pretty much made it disappear. I am one of the few lucky ones I guess. I have read other stories of people having some severe side effects. I understand it can cause adrenal glad problems but fortunately for me I had no negative experiences with this drug. I was on 10mg daily from Jan to Sept of this year for my PsA and am currently on 5mg daily unrelated to PsA.
I am in no way advocating that prednisone is an ok or safe drug to take. I suggest you follow your doctors orders and if you experience any outstanding side effects to contact your doctor right away, ensure you follow the instruction on your medicine bottle for your taper and take your prednisone at the same time each day. I usually take mine when I am not due any other medications 2 hours before and 2 hours after to avoid medicine interactions. Hope this was helpful to you and that you feel better soon
I've only done 10 mg and reduced to 5 mg which I honestly wondered if it was enough. The first time I took it, it didn't help.
It does make me a little jittery at time but nothing too bad. I have found it's best to take first thing in the morning. If I take it too late it will definitely keep me up at night.
I know certain things make me nervous too. You can always try it and if you find a problem call the doc's office. That's what I do. I just finished 2 weeks on prednisone so I hope the low dose did the trick.
I had this dosage last February to stop an exceptionally long lasting, body wide pustular outbreak. It was given to me after a serious incidence of swelling in my ankles and feet. It was very helpful for me and I noticed the relief of symptoms within 24 hrs. The swelling in my entire body reduced and was completely gone in two weeks. It also started to immediately relieve the itch and restlessness. The rash and plaques started clearing and not reappearing immediately.
It really did the trick for me. I felt much better and was able to start getting back into life after being house bound due to the infection risk from the open sores I was so very sore and rashed out I lived in a 100% cotton bed sheet and underclothing that I could tolerate. It was not a fun toga party :)
When I saw my Dermatologist in June ( took long time for referral) he warned me that it could have an adverse effect on the psoriasis and advised me not to go that route if at all possible. Apparently there are some issues with a rebound and worsening of the plaques.
I did not notice any worsening of the insomnia I suffer all of the time anyway. I did notice that when I did sleep it was deep and dream-filled again most likely because I no longer burned and itched. I was filled with energy but I attributed it to feeling so very much more like my old rather hyper self! Wishing you sunny skies, hope this helps you....
After some thought and a lot of researching I've decided not to take the prednisone. Right now I have one wrist that is bad but it's a little better now than last week. I just don't think I can take the side effects and I'm pretty sure just about everybody has them. I've just seen too many comments on numerous forums that said they wish they'd never taken it and it was worse than the disease (althugh it may have "cured" the immediate problem).
A few years ago I had a very bad reaction to an antibiotic (cipro; notorious bad body drug) and the symptoms were just like what most people note for prednisone: racing heart and palpitations, raised blood pressure, anxiety, bad insomnia. I've been there and right now in my life I just can't deal with that. I'll just deal with the inflammation.
I'll be starting methotrexate soon and will just hope that eventually turns things around. We'll see.
If you are in rough shape, prednisone can be the way to go. It is not a drug for me though. I have taken it in the past for severe joint swelling, pain, etc… the side effects for me where pretty awful. Insomnia, huge weight gain, crazy emotional lability… I had them all. Even though my doc tapered me down, I a had severe rebound flare that put me in bed for three days. I have found that it I am in dire straights, I can take it for three days or have an infusion. That will generally get me well enough to function and I don’t get the severe side effects. Usually, just some slight insomnia that I can treat with melatonin; never need to take Ambien too. I was once on a longer course and the doc finally gave me a longer taper; twice the usual. I did not get the rebound symptoms after discontinuing it, but I did have the insomnia and the crazy cat lady.
Things you can do: for swelling, try cold or heat. Use whichever feels better and allows you to get the stiff joints moving. An NSAID like Aleve or ibuprofen. Sometimes simple is better. Many people find that the OTC NSAIDs work as well or better than all of the Rx types. Gentle exercise. Find a warm indoor pool or a facility with a therapy pool. Get in and get moving. If you don’t use it, you will lose it. Compression. Gloves, braces, TED socks can help reduce swelling and improve your movement. Water, and lots of it. If you are overweight, get on a good diet now. Every pound lost equals three pound of weight off of your joints. Topical pain creams or patches. There are some good ones available OTC. Tiger balm, Pain-A-Trate, and Salon Pas Patches are wonderful. Remember to move every hour that you are awake. Don’t sit stagnant for too long, so get up and stretch or take a quick walk. I hope this helps some until your disease is better managed.
Hi there- I'm on a month course of Prednisone starting at 20 mgs. I was told 20 mgs was a "medium to high" dosage for me. I was told to taper off (5mgs less a week). So far, no side effects. After reading these posts, I think I may be lucky. It's helped a bit with that pain (I'm also taking MTX once a week). I was told that MTX was going to take a while to kick in, which is why my rheumatologist has me started on Prednisone (I was just diagnosed a week and a half ago).
I think everyone reacts to these drugs differently. I didn't want to take it at first because I heard all of these horror stories about it. But I decided "what the hell...nothing else has worked. If I feel that awful I'll call my doc". I'm glad I did because I haven't taken a pain pill in over a week.
It is amazing to read all of the different responses. I guess I was very lucky to not have as bad a reaction as other people but I definitely lived up to my name. I will not chose to go that route again but I am grateful it saved my life last time. It is possible that MTX is most likely what will be prescribed for me according to my x-rays and exams.
First of all, thanks to everybody for responding to my post. I do appreciate it.
No, Ninja, how many days are you into your current course ?
SaucepanNinja said:
Hi there- I'm on a month course of Prednisone starting at 20 mgs. I was told 20 mgs was a "medium to high" dosage for me. I was told to taper off (5mgs less a week). So far, no side effects. After reading these posts, I think I may be lucky. It's helped a bit with that pain (I'm also taking MTX once a week). I was told that MTX was going to take a while to kick in, which is why my rheumatologist has me started on Prednisone (I was just diagnosed a week and a half ago).
I think everyone reacts to these drugs differently. I didn't want to take it at first because I heard all of these horror stories about it. But I decided "what the hell...nothing else has worked. If I feel that awful I'll call my doc". I'm glad I did because I haven't taken a pain pill in over a week.
I started my first week last Monday (20mg) every morning. This morning I took 15mgs and will for the next 6 days. Then 10mg, then 5mg, then none.
I also take my MTX today (9mg once a week). So far so good. I've read that one of the side effects of Prednisone are mood swings but I don't think I've been more of a handful than I already am most of the time :) I'm just dreading any weight gain (as if I don't have enough problems). Luckily I'm on it for only a month! And if a few pounds means I'm pain free, bring it on. I've had no problems sleeping or staying awake.
jwm649 said:
First of all, thanks to everybody for responding to my post. I do appreciate it.
No, Ninja, how many days are you into your current course ?
SaucepanNinja said:
Hi there- I'm on a month course of Prednisone starting at 20 mgs. I was told 20 mgs was a "medium to high" dosage for me. I was told to taper off (5mgs less a week). So far, no side effects. After reading these posts, I think I may be lucky. It's helped a bit with that pain (I'm also taking MTX once a week). I was told that MTX was going to take a while to kick in, which is why my rheumatologist has me started on Prednisone (I was just diagnosed a week and a half ago).
I think everyone reacts to these drugs differently. I didn't want to take it at first because I heard all of these horror stories about it. But I decided "what the hell...nothing else has worked. If I feel that awful I'll call my doc". I'm glad I did because I haven't taken a pain pill in over a week.
Thanks for the quick response Ninja ! It does sound like you are one of the lucky ones and I sure hope you continue to be be lucky.
I'm still leaning against the prednisone but am still up for hearing any experiences that might convice me otherwise.
SaucepanNinja said:
I started my first week last Monday (20mg) every morning. This morning I took 15mgs and will for the next 6 days. Then 10mg, then 5mg, then none.
I also take my MTX today (9mg once a week). So far so good. I've read that one of the side effects of Prednisone are mood swings but I don't think I've been more of a handful than I already am most of the time :) I'm just dreading any weight gain (as if I don't have enough problems). Luckily I'm on it for only a month! And if a few pounds means I'm pain free, bring it on. I've had no problems sleeping or staying awake.
jwm649 said:
First of all, thanks to everybody for responding to my post. I do appreciate it.
No, Ninja, how many days are you into your current course ?
SaucepanNinja said:
Hi there- I'm on a month course of Prednisone starting at 20 mgs. I was told 20 mgs was a "medium to high" dosage for me. I was told to taper off (5mgs less a week). So far, no side effects. After reading these posts, I think I may be lucky. It's helped a bit with that pain (I'm also taking MTX once a week). I was told that MTX was going to take a while to kick in, which is why my rheumatologist has me started on Prednisone (I was just diagnosed a week and a half ago).
I think everyone reacts to these drugs differently. I didn't want to take it at first because I heard all of these horror stories about it. But I decided "what the hell...nothing else has worked. If I feel that awful I'll call my doc". I'm glad I did because I haven't taken a pain pill in over a week.
Have you tried any other anti-inflammatories? I was on nabumetone for a while before I got put on Prednisone. FWIW I think you should give it a shot. It sounds like you'll be tapering off them. It really does help with the inflammation...and you don't want that to get too out of hand (pardon the pun) and cause permanent damage. Worst case, after the first couple of days you feel sick, knock it off :) I was VERY hesitant to start. I was super scared and even delayed it (I took my time getting that TB test my doc made me take before I started).
A 14 day taper starting at 30 should NOT be a problem. I wouldn't get in the habit though. This is a fairly new regimen designed to help you get going with other drug treatments have you started either a biologic or DMARD prior? The only likely side effect you will have is a flare of psoriaisis at the end. 30 is a pretty low dose and barely therapeutic for arthritis. You will get more effect from the lower doses as time goes on than the initial dose.
Now if you haven't started a DMARD or Biological, its important for you to keep very close track of your symptoms as his motivation is to find out if your symptoms are in fact inflammation (or something else) if it doesn't work to SOME DEGREE, you will go into a holding pattern for diagnoses and treatment.
We have had members make the huge mistake of not fully and accurately reporting their response hoping for something better. You can not imagine how much this will screw you up for years to come.......
I'll be starting methotrexate soon but had to get labs first and then wait for the doc to get back from vacation.
The prednisone is for my wrist which suddenly became very inflamed a few weeks ago (while on vacation; damn). I definitely have PsA and this is a heads up that it's time to get on long-term treatment to prevent joint damage. My wrist is a lot better now than two weeks ago and seems to continue to improve very gradually (but still also not OK). Reduced range of motion and difficulty/pain with lifting or twisting something. He says it's "way beyond" what other anti-inflammatories will address.
I could put up with some side effects - e.g. increased appetite or excess energy- but can't tolerate insomnia, increased heart rate or palapitations, or anxiety. I've read all I can find on-line and the consesus seems to be that I will have these things and they will persist beyond my last dose. Many, many people comment that they wish they'd never taken prednisone and would never take it again unless their life was on the line. Pretty scary so I'm inclined to just see what happens with my wrist and get started on the long-term treatment.
Do you have personal experience ? If so I'd be interested to hear the details.
Thanks again.
p.s. - I'm U. of M. 1976.
tntlamb said:
A 14 day taper starting at 30 should NOT be a problem. I wouldn't get in the habit though. This is a fairly new regimen designed to help you get going with other drug treatments have you started either a biologic or DMARD prior? The only likely side effect you will have is a flare of psoriaisis at the end. 30 is a pretty low dose and barely therapeutic for arthritis. You will get more effect from the lower doses as time goes on than the initial dose.
Now if you haven't started a DMARD or Biological, its important for you to keep very close track of your symptoms as his motivation is to find out if your symptoms are in fact inflammation (or something else) if it doesn't work to SOME DEGREE, you will go into a holding pattern for diagnoses and treatment.
We have had members make the huge mistake of not fully and accurately reporting their response hoping for something better. You can not imagine how much this will screw you up for years to come.......
I don't want to bore anyone with details of my life, but Yes I have used Predi. In my emergency pack I have some. They only time I would get into it is on the road and I literally couldn't get out of bed from pain. I would take 20mg for 2 days as a burst. I haven't done so in 5 years. A hot towel and TENS machine have gotten me moving in that situation, and one occasion I got a PT to make a hotel call to stretch me out to get up. I haven't taken a pain pill in ten years and will NEVER take one for PsA. (I made up for it with IV pain meds for my Kidney stones - there is a time and place for everything)
All that being said what you read on the internet is mostly bogus and exaggerated circumstances when it relates to Side Effects of meds and sadly has kept far too many people from seeking or taking good treatment.
I understand folks may have a "personal reality" but that doesn't translate to reality.
My first experience HERE was some person whining about how miserable her life was because she was taking these painful shots once a week, and how the pain from the shot was sooooooo bad she couldn't take it any more (we aren't talking site reactions or side effects from the drugs, we are talking pain from the enbrel shot itself) All I could think of was a special needs 6 year old we fostered with nearly out of control type 1 Diabetes. I was poking this sweet child 9 -10 times a day (this was in the old days) testing her blood and giving her insulin shots. Occasionally she would whimper and hold on tight saying "I love you Daddy......." Thought I was telling a neat story. HOW WRONG I was I didn't understand pain (I of course was reading this on one of those odd days where I have to take all three injectable meds I take 2 of which are deep muscle injections. Some people just don't get how lucky they are. My grandfather (who also had this) was convinced anacin was a cure and would put him out of business (he was a pharmacist in the days when pharmacists made the medicine)
Years ago my life was revolving around Predi, and whichever narco was in the mix (I had to rotate to keep from getting dependent and constantly raising the dosages.) I was in a wheel chair at least part time. I decided this really sucks and instead went cold turkey off of everything except an NSAID. I went over to the rhab center made an appointment with a Physiatrist and had him lay out a rehab program for me. Anyone who says exercise shouldn't hurt or you won't get better is full of sh!t. I hurt so bad as they bent me in the warm water pool one day I attacked the PT (not a good thing i used to be one of those guys who jumped out of airplanes and killed people) Fortunatly she was fast and got out of my way.
Now I suppose you are expecting a happy ending where I overcame it all and got better. I didn't. I got off the pain meds, off the predi, got out of the wheel chair, but I still hurt everyday and more importantly felt in control of my life. Finally one of my daughters Jr high friends took a hold of me and started me on MTX and a different NSAID and a few months later I actually DID start to feel less pain. although I was threatening to take her back to the woodshed (she and my daughter had experience there after they started a 10 acre wild fire when experimenting with smoking an organic compound) She eventually started me on a Biologic drug that has made a huge difference. She talked me into a Predi taper when starting it as she said it would speed things up (why i trusted a doctor who I really remembered as a 14 year old smoking pot under my apple tree I don't know) Anyway it helped. I haven't done a taper since. I still have pain most days at some level, but the fact of the matter is I also have a wonderful life that pain is just a part of not the controller. (And that is the difference)
I still workout regularly. its till hurts, but two of the kids who came through our doors are pro athletes, who assure me its normal. My daughter (the pot smoker) left the pro tennis tour because she got tired of pain. Shes a judge, has an insulin pump, (obviously gave up her career as a druggie and arsonist) and still gets some pain from working out.
Yours is an interesting story. I'm glad you feel better these days and that your DMARD experience has been good.
I start MTX (assuming labs come back OK) soon and am apprehensive to say the least but realize if I don't the results will likely be very bad in the long run. Once you get joint damage there's no going back. So, to hear a positive report is assuring.
As to the prednisone, your approach of taking a two-day "burst" of 20 mg sounds close to what I've been thinking I'll try. How did that work for you when you were doing it that way ? Any side effects ?
I was thinking two days at 20 and then taper off by 5 mg/day for a five-day course. My thinking is that I'll likely avoid side effects while maybe taking the edge off of my wrist inflammation. I'm definitely not going to do more than a five-day course, though.
You can think what you want of what is available on the internet but, believe me, I've searched every possible site with actual patient comments and it's pretty obvious that any course longer than seven days or greater than thirty milligrams is going to cause side effects and may be hard to taper off of. The side effects that are most likely are ones I just can't tolerate (e.g. insomnia, increased heart rate, anxiety). As my life is not in danger and my writst pain is manageable I just don't see making my life miserable to treat it.
Now, I'll say that I think you are right that you can't interpret one person's stated experience as significant but I disagree that "most" of what is on the internet is bogus (that is, regarding people's experiences) and everybody who relates a painful experience is exagerated and they are just wimps. I am a staistician type (used it a lot in my work) - and a good poker player - and I think it's a good bet that if one reads a thousand testimonies and nine hundred of them say X amount of drug A caused symptom Z then if you take X amount of drug A you will very likely have symptom Z. And if symtom Z is something you really don't think you can tolerate then don't take X amount of drug A (unless, of course, your life depends on it). The comment I kept seeing and that really jumped out at me was "if I had known what was going to happen I'd never have taken prednisone and I'll never take it again unless my life depends on it." Even the folks who said they were glad they took prednisone in that it fixed whatever their problams was still said something to the effect of "... but it was really hard on me for a long time."
So, I think I've decided to maybe try the burst approach and see if it brings down my inflammation level. If you've got a moment I'd like to hear what your experience of taking two days of 20 mg was.
Thanks again for your time and consideration. tntlamb said:
I don't want to bore anyone with details of my life, but Yes I have used Predi. In my emergency pack I have some. They only time I would get into it is on the road and I literally couldn't get out of bed from pain. I would take 20mg for 2 days as a burst. I haven't done so in 5 years. A hot towel and TENS machine have gotten me moving in that situation, and one occasion I got a PT to make a hotel call to stretch me out to get up. I haven't taken a pain pill in ten years and will NEVER take one for PsA. (I made up for it with IV pain meds for my Kidney stones - there is a time and place for everything)
All that being said what you read on the internet is mostly bogus and exaggerated circumstances when it relates to Side Effects of meds and sadly has kept far too many people from seeking or taking good treatment.
I understand folks may have a "personal reality" but that doesn't translate to reality.
My first experience HERE was some person whining about how miserable her life was because she was taking these painful shots once a week, and how the pain from the shot was sooooooo bad she couldn't take it any more (we aren't talking site reactions or side effects from the drugs, we are talking pain from the enbrel shot itself) All I could think of was a special needs 6 year old we fostered with nearly out of control type 1 Diabetes. I was poking this sweet child 9 -10 times a day (this was in the old days) testing her blood and giving her insulin shots. Occasionally she would whimper and hold on tight saying "I love you Daddy......." Thought I was telling a neat story. HOW WRONG I was I didn't understand pain (I of course was reading this on one of those odd days where I have to take all three injectable meds I take 2 of which are deep muscle injections. Some people just don't get how lucky they are. My grandfather (who also had this) was convinced anacin was a cure and would put him out of business (he was a pharmacist in the days when pharmacists made the medicine)
Years ago my life was revolving around Predi, and whichever narco was in the mix (I had to rotate to keep from getting dependent and constantly raising the dosages.) I was in a wheel chair at least part time. I decided this really sucks and instead went cold turkey off of everything except an NSAID. I went over to the rhab center made an appointment with a Physiatrist and had him lay out a rehab program for me. Anyone who says exercise shouldn't hurt or you won't get better is full of sh!t. I hurt so bad as they bent me in the warm water pool one day I attacked the PT (not a good thing i used to be one of those guys who jumped out of airplanes and killed people) Fortunatly she was fast and got out of my way.
Now I suppose you are expecting a happy ending where I overcame it all and got better. I didn't. I got off the pain meds, off the predi, got out of the wheel chair, but I still hurt everyday and more importantly felt in control of my life. Finally one of my daughters Jr high friends took a hold of me and started me on MTX and a different NSAID and a few months later I actually DID start to feel less pain. although I was threatening to take her back to the woodshed (she and my daughter had experience there after they started a 10 acre wild fire when experimenting with smoking an organic compound) She eventually started me on a Biologic drug that has made a huge difference. She talked me into a Predi taper when starting it as she said it would speed things up (why i trusted a doctor who I really remembered as a 14 year old smoking pot under my apple tree I don't know) Anyway it helped. I haven't done a taper since. I still have pain most days at some level, but the fact of the matter is I also have a wonderful life that pain is just a part of not the controller. (And that is the difference)
I still workout regularly. its till hurts, but two of the kids who came through our doors are pro athletes, who assure me its normal. My daughter (the pot smoker) left the pro tennis tour because she got tired of pain. Shes a judge, has an insulin pump, (obviously gave up her career as a druggie and arsonist) and still gets some pain from working out.
You are a courageous person tntlamb, and being personable and sharing your life makes it more real for everyone around you. It is always so much easier to understand where people are coming from when you have a rare peek into their personal experiences. It makes us all stronger to share those things.
Pain is the great immoralizer for some people... they simply do not have the ability to handle it or the strength to fight through it and they will do anything to get out of it. You know what they say about bitching about the cure hurting too much... then maybe the pain wasn't all that bad in the first place. I always tell people like that to ask a dear friend of mine about a burn graft and to have him describe his pain level post surgery if they want to hear about real pain.
Understand the "bogus experiences" are very real to those who have them. I unfortunately am a statistician of sorts. I am more interested in the frequencey of those experiences than neccesarily the occurrence itself. of all the people taking a 30 mg taper less than once or twice a year how many have actual side effects? Its is but a few in thousands. A couple of advil daily is more risky The only way to truly understand the side effects is to have a very frank discussion with your pharmacist and doctor. If you are not comfortable don't do it. but don't base decisions on reported experiences.
What people report on the internet is always somewhat interesting. My wife has taken prednisone at dosages of 50mgs and more for a week before starting the taper. because of acute asthma without a hint of an issue. people don't normally report positive experiences, nor do they hang around "support sites" for very long once they have their questions answered or are having problems. Fortunately this board has a pretty stable community of folks in different stages of their walk.
Understand from you have said (usually there is more,) it would be a cold day before I would even take a burst for a sore wrist. Taking a systemic drug for a very specific spot just doesn't make sense (to me) Once I knew exactly why my wrist was bothering me and knew it was arthritis. I likley would try a topical patch first salonpas then flector. if neither one of those helped I would likley get it it "shot up" make sense to put the steroids where they belong. Flector is a prescription NSAID that puts 90% of the med where it needs to go (easy on the stomach too) I'd be like you on the oral steroids.
Yeah, I'm with you on taking a systemic heavy-duty med just for one bad joint. It would be nice to get the inflammation down a bit, though, so that's why I'm thinking a burst approach. I did think of the injection option and if things don't clear up I may pursue that. I've had them for rotator cuff problems. Unfortunately, the rhuematologist doesn't do those so I'd have to see my ortho guy and I'm not sure how all the coordination would work out. We'll see. I do have an rx for voltaren topical gel and am using it to some effect.
Don't want to beat a dead horse but I think the frequency of persons having a bad reaction to a 30mg taper is greater than "a few in thousands" but let's not quibble. I do agree that one has to realize that negative reports are more likely than positive ones for just about anything so it is wise to allow for that in one's analysis. Still, if there are thousands of bad reports then it's likely that the frequency of such experiences is more than incidental. Enough said on that.
Your thoughts on taking prednisone for a single sore joint (well, technically probably two) help to put this thing in perspective.
tntlamb said:
I find the burst effective jwm....
Understand the "bogus experiences" are very real to those who have them. I unfortunately am a statistician of sorts. I am more interested in the frequencey of those experiences than neccesarily the occurrence itself. of all the people taking a 30 mg taper less than once or twice a year how many have actual side effects? Its is but a few in thousands. A couple of advil daily is more risky The only way to truly understand the side effects is to have a very frank discussion with your pharmacist and doctor. If you are not comfortable don't do it. but don't base decisions on reported experiences.
What people report on the internet is always somewhat interesting. My wife has taken prednisone at dosages of 50mgs and more for a week before starting the taper. because of acute asthma without a hint of an issue. people don't normally report positive experiences, nor do they hang around "support sites" for very long once they have their questions answered or are having problems. Fortunately this board has a pretty stable community of folks in different stages of their walk.
Understand from you have said (usually there is more,) it would be a cold day before I would even take a burst for a sore wrist. Taking a systemic drug for a very specific spot just doesn't make sense (to me) Once I knew exactly why my wrist was bothering me and knew it was arthritis. I likley would try a topical patch first salonpas then flector. if neither one of those helped I would likley get it it "shot up" make sense to put the steroids where they belong. Flector is a prescription NSAID that puts 90% of the med where it needs to go (easy on the stomach too) I'd be like you on the oral steroids.