Lower back pack and prednisone

I need a steroid pack to clear up my lungs after an infection. I absolutely couldn’t handle prednisone so my pulmonologist gave me methylprednisolone that is similar and told me some people do better with one than the other. He was so right. I feel fine with no heart palpitations, no tremors and I can sleep. I still do have more energy and stamina when taking that so I always get a lot of housework done that week. That’s a plus! It’s worth a try to see if that works better for you. Best of luck.

@maryi
Do you take Tylenol for pain and is your pain muscular or due to spinal stenosis/degenerative disc disease and arthritis? Have you had a MRI of your lumbar spine? Have you ever had spinal injections for pain and to reduce inflammation?

Have you tried massage, pain patches, pain creams/roll ons, heating pads, ice, etc.?

@maryi
I was prescribed methylprendisolone recently for low back pain (I had lumbar surgery in 2024) but did not take it because I am afraid of the side effects. My pain is localized and not systemic so taking this medication seems excessive and can cause side effects. I had a bad reaction to taking prednisone so so didn’t want a repeat. It made me like a zombie and I could not get out of bed or off the couch due to extreme fatigue. The minute I stopped taking it (day 2), my body’s immune system went into overdrive and my face erupted in painful welts/sores (I was prescribed it when I had my eye and lip swell and they thought it was an allergic reaction to something and that prednisone would calm my immune system down). Not sure if this episode cause me to get Hashimoto’s thyroiditis years later which is my own immune system attacking my thyroid cells. I am now hypothyroid and need medication after having thyroid lobe removed due to suspicious nodule.

Thanks for asking. Went for an mri about 2 years ago. Disc herniation in L4 and L5. After some therapy and cortisone injection I eventually recovered but just recently it flared up. Very frustrating. About 2 weeks ago I tried another cortisone injection and not much happened. Not a fan of taking medication. Do take supplements. Omega, turmeric, magnesium. Ice packs seem to work the best along with some lidocaine cream. It's been a few weeks now. I understand it can take weeks to heal. Thank you for asking.