Finally Off Prednisone & Minocycline

[Guest guest]

Hi all.

I was finally able to taper off of my Prednisone after being on it for 8

months. Everytime I tried to get off of it, my joints would swell up and I

ended up in terrible pain. It's as though my body had become

dependent on the Prednisone and could not function without it. I started

tapering a few weeks ago and just stuck out the flare that started up.

After a few days, it subsided.....and things have gotten better.

After much research and consideration, I also decided to stop using my

Minocycline as well. I had been using it for years off and on prior to

being diagnosed with RA, and had read some study that may suggest

that it can trigger auto-immune disorders in people who use it long-

term. I read up on everything I could find and made a decision to stop

using it and see if things would improve or not. Well, after the second

day of being off the Minocycline - the swelling and pain in my joints had

gone down quite a bit. I am shocked at how much improvement there

has been. I am going to re-introduce the Minocycline again sometime

soon to see if it triggers pain/swelling in my joints, so I can determine if

it's part of why I am not getting better despite the meds I am taking.

While I am still very much aware of the fact that I have RA and

Sjogren's Syndrome, the symptoms and pain have diminished quite a

bit. I am still weak, and feel pain in my joints from time to time, but it's

a drastic improvement from being confined to my bed 75% of the time.

I've been doing so well that I've only needed a pain med at bedtime.

Take care,