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Long term use of prednisolone

hello my name is kevin age 52 crohns past 26 years two resections. can not ever get off the steroids <i dont mind this> as they allow me to have a normal life. Unfortunatley my doctors keep telling me my esr levels are fine, so i lowered them felt fine and got a pr bleed. why do my esr levels show normal.
regards kevin
 

DJW

Forum Monitor
Hi Kevin and welcome

Sorry, I have. No answers. Hopefully someone will be along soon who can help.
 
Kevin sorry to hear about the long term steroid use. The reason your esr levels are fine is because of the prednisone, not because there isn't inflammation. My kid has this issue too and have recently had to go up on the prednisone to make her more comfortable before surgery in a few months. To get a true ESR reading you have to be off steriods to know what is happening. For many of us that isn't advisable. Long term treatment with steroids isnt managing the disease, but if you have had CD this long you probably already know that. What other meds are you taking? Can the doc test you to adjust those to get you off steroids?
 

guest20

ellazmeanie
im confused here was on prednisone as docs think i may have a condition called temporal artiries esr levels are up n down having a temporal biopsy on tuesday but is pred also a treatment for bowel issues ?
 
Prednisone is given for reduction of inflammation. It can be used for 100s of things, one being IBD. It is not for treatment, but used to manage symptoms.
 

guest20

ellazmeanie
ok i have bowel symptoms and body symptoms ranging from abdominal distention gerd pain stiffness nausea sweating vertigo dizziness balance issues trouble sleeping just wonder after searching for a long time if all these things are related to whats going on in my guts
 
Hard to know without a scope. There are only 2 ways to determine you have crohns disease. 1. Endoscopy with biopsy 2. Promethus blood test. #2 is expensive and sometimes not covered by insurance. #1 is most accurate from what I understand. Has your doc ever suggested a scope?
 

Tony H

Well-known member
hey kevin , I'm a bit older than you 54:eek: and have been on pred on and off for over 30 years ,mostly predsol ,predfoam and colifoam ,
I started taking oral pred about 3 years to deal with a really bad flare and have used it about 6 times since tapering off as quick as I can ,
I did not think I had any really bad side effects until i recently had a bone density test , which showed my bone density level was very low , bordering on osteoporosis which to be honest with you has really shocked me ,
If you are on long term pred insist on getting a bone density test , I wish I had , pred is great for short term use but only that in my opinion , hope you feel better ,
Tony
 
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