april 2011 (start with rheumy) through june 2013 (start of humira),

i was taking methylpredisone for my flares every 10-13 weeks...

since this was too often, we went to Humira.

While taking it, I took 4 mg pills, 6 on day 1 (2 at breakfast, 1 at lunch, 1 at dinner, 2 at bedtime), 5 on day 2, 4 on day 3, etc to 1 on day 6...occassionally I extended the last few days out to 10 days total.

I called them my "magic happy pills"...they immediately stopped the SI joint inflammation, pretty much all my enthesitis, and I was happy (mild depression is a flare symptom of mine, I discovered once I saw what methylpred and then humira did to my mood), full of energy, dry eye gone, mouth sores cleared up, etc.

So yes, for me, methylpred did exactly everything it was supposed to do, stopped my flare in its tracks. For a really bad flare, maybe not so perfect, but really amazing in general.

Now on Humira, I've had to take it maybe yearly for a flare. This past january, my neck flared terribly...I did a combo of Aleve, then Humira, then Aleve, then methylpred, then Aleve, then Humira, etc...instead of it being really bad for 3-6 months like before these meds, it was only really bad for 1 month and only took about 2 months to largely clear up.

I know steroids can make my diabetes and osteopenia worse, so I do use them with care.

But yes, glad that they are a tool in my toolbox.


sue

Spondyloarthropathy, HLAB27 negative
Humira (still methylprednisone for flares, just not as often. Aleve if needed, rarely.)
LDN/zanaflex/flector patches over SI/ice
vits C, D. probiotics. hyaluronic acid. CoQ, Mg, Ca, K.
chiro
walk, bike
no dairy (casein sensitivity), limited eggs, limited yeast (bread)