Prednisone side effects

[Sharon]

Thanks for your input everybody.

Strangely eneough, my rheumy does not see the point of tapering because there are no benefits to maintain in my case, but I agree the adrenal issue definitely warrants tapering.

The fact that my symptoms did not respond to the Prednisone surprised my doctor as well.
There is definite inflammation going on as my finger joints are beoming deformed and I do respond well to a specific NSAID that contains Piroxicam. It's the only thing that controls the pain. Fibromyalgia was ruled out long ago as my symptoms became more specific. I can barely use my hands some days. My tears are also inflammatory but the Prednisone hasn't helped my eyes either.
What has it perhaps helped with? The itching and rashes and I seem to be able to tolerate eating a bit more than before. I can't say it hasn't helped at all with the arthritic pain, but definitely not nearly enough. I can't justify continuing it with such minute benefits, especially since it's drying me out even more and giving me strong stomach pains which I did not have before.
I may actually need a much higher dose of Prednisone to reap the full benefits, but the doctor doesn't want me on a higher dosage and I don't want to go any higher either.