Steroids, Cushing syndrome & Enbrel

[Guest guest]

Hi Georgina,

I am CONVINCED, that prednisolone and prednisone doses are NOT equivalent.

Thus, our prednisolone doses are somewhat misleading compared tou your " pred

doses " in America.

In the case of prednisolone, the cushing syndrome in kids normally starts at

a concentration of 5 mg/day. needed 10 mg/day " for years " prior to

starting Enbrel treatment last December. Now she is down to 5.5 mg/day, i.e.

almost 50% reduction. However, she still has full cushing syndrome which is

somewhat surprising, but probably there is some time delay on the reversing

of the syndrome. It is going in the right direction : )

So, if Josh is soon on 12.5 mg, he is nearly as low as , even

without Enbrel. I am glad to hear that.

Cheers

Helge

> Helge, it's wonderful to hear that has made some progress and

> is staying stable with help from Enbrel. I had hoped, by now, that she

> had been able to drop even lower on the steroids but I guess after this

> amount of time it is an extremely gradual process. Especially for these

> children, like your daughter and my son, whose arthritis seems to

> respond well only to the steroids. 40% decrease in about 6 months seems

> successful. What amount of daily steroid was she taking in December? And

> how much is she on now?

>

> I ask because I was surprised to hear that still has some

> Cushingoid symptoms. Josh is currently on 15mgs a day. Soon to be

> lowered to 12.5mgs. Normally, in the past, when he reaches around 10

> -12mgs per day the Cushingoid symptoms have disappeared or decreased a

> lot. I wonder if it may be harder now, and this not the case, because of

> the extension of his using he drug? It's been a very long time since

> Josh was taking a lower dose. Over a year. Thank you, both, for sending

> in the brief updates. Please say hello to both children for me and

> .

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Helge,

You're probably right. I think I asked our doctor about the differences

between prednisone and prednisolone a few years ago and thought he said

there wasn't a very big difference. But if you say that children often

start to get Cushingoid at doses as low as 5mgs then it must be almost

double the potency. Yes, you're right about that: things are going in

the right direction, and that's what matters most

Take care,

Georgina

ps ... have they any leads in that case in your town, yet?

Helge Heitmann wrote:

>

> Hi Georgina,

>

> I am CONVINCED, that prednisolone and prednisone doses are NOT equivalent.

> Thus, our prednisolone doses are somewhat misleading compared tou your " pred

> doses " in America.

> In the case of prednisolone, the cushing syndrome in kids normally starts at

> a concentration of 5 mg/day. needed 10 mg/day " for years " prior to

> starting Enbrel treatment last December. Now she is down to 5.5 mg/day, i.e.

> almost 50% reduction. However, she still has full cushing syndrome which is

> somewhat surprising, but probably there is some time delay on the reversing

> of the syndrome. It is going in the right direction : )

>

> So, if Josh is soon on 12.5 mg, he is nearly as low as , even

> without Enbrel. I am glad to hear that.

>

> Cheers

> Helge

>

> > Helge, it's wonderful to hear that has made some progress and

> > is staying stable with help from Enbrel. I had hoped, by now, that she

> > had been able to drop even lower on the steroids but I guess after this

> > amount of time it is an extremely gradual process. Especially for these

> > children, like your daughter and my son, whose arthritis seems to

> > respond well only to the steroids. 40% decrease in about 6 months seems

> > successful. What amount of daily steroid was she taking in December? And

> > how much is she on now?

> >

> > I ask because I was surprised to hear that still has some

> > Cushingoid symptoms. Josh is currently on 15mgs a day. Soon to be

> > lowered to 12.5mgs. Normally, in the past, when he reaches around 10

> > -12mgs per day the Cushingoid symptoms have disappeared or decreased a

> > lot. I wonder if it may be harder now, and this not the case, because of

> > the extension of his using he drug? It's been a very long time since

> > Josh was taking a lower dose. Over a year. Thank you, both, for sending

> > in the brief updates. Please say hello to both children for me and

> > .