I’m a 41 year old female. I have been taking steriods for 17 years. How can I ween myself from this?? I have RA.

How long can someone be prescribed prednisone for the treatment of arthritis, what dosage would be appropriate, and how is one monitored while on the drug?

I have been taking Prednisone for the past 10 1/2 years for (Juvenile)Systemic Rheumatoid Arthritis. The average dose has been 20mg daily. I recently (over the past 6 months) had gotten the dose down to 15mg (the least I have EVER been on). I had been experiencing stiffness in the mornings, but was able to manage the pain throughout the day. Last week, the pain became so great that I increased the prednisone dose to 20mg. This did not help. Today, I increased it to 25mg. Because of the prednisone usage, I have to monitor my blood sugars and take insulin daily. I called my rheumatologist and he said that he didn’t know what else he could do for me. I know Prednisone is killing my skeleton – the bone denisity reports tell me that. But when I try to get off of it, I have a relapse and have to take more of it! I have tried all kinds of other drugs; I take Arava, Ultram, and Apsirin daily. I have tried Methotrexate, Enbrel, but neither worked. In fact, these drugs seemed to make the pain worse (I had a lot of swelling and joint pain). I currently take 2 fluid pills for the swelling in my legs and ankles, but the swelling doesn’t seem to go down. I’m only 26 years old — what can be done to help me?????

Is there a limit to the number of shots that one should receive and how many if so?

I took steroids for 3 weeks for a very severe case of poison ivy. I finished the medication 5 days ago, but the “round face” side effect still persists. How long can I expect to look like this?