Archive for the ‘Corticosteroid’ Category
Beware of Gaining Weight
This article is part of a series about managing the side effects of corticosteroids for treating knee osteoarthritis.
Steroids affect how your body deposits fat and your metabolism. Bad news. This can result in an increase in appetite and extra fat deposits around your mid-section.
So watch your calories and exercise regularly.
Walking is Good Exercise
This article is part of a series about corticosteroid side effects. When treating osteoarthritis of the knee with steroids these tips can help.
Steroid treatments can result in the thinning of bones with an increased risk of fractures. Many doctors require their patients have a bone density test before beginning steroid therapy.
To help prevent osteoporosis patients should consider:
- Taking calcium supplements
- Taking multivitamins
- Quitting smoking and drinking
- Exercising
- Taking bone preserving medications
- Assessing your risks of falling
Take Medications With a Meal
This blog post is part of a series about dealing with the side effects of managing your knee osteoarthritis with corticosteroids.
Ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding can become more prevalent when taking corticosteroids. This is especially true if you take steroids with non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory medications.
Always make sure that medications of this nature are taken after a full meal or with antacids. If you experience heartburn talk to your doctor about prescribing an acid-reducing medication.
Get a flu shot
This post is one in a series of articles about managing the side effects of corticosteroids when using the anti-inflammatories to treat knee osteoarthritis.
Using steroids for long periods of time can increase your risk of infection. Corticosteroids can suppress your immune system.
If you are on steroids get a flu shot. Also, you can discuss getting a vaccination against pneumonia. Do not ignore possible signs of infection like: large boils, high fever, a productive cough, or pain while urinating. Also make sure to tell your doctor if you have a history or tuberculosis.
No Cold Turkey
This post is one in a series about managing the side effects of corticosteroids when treating osteoarthritis.
Corticosteroid treatments should never be suddenly stopped. Usage should be slowly tapered down over time. Rapid withdrawal may cause joint pain, fatigue, muscle stiffness, fever, and tenderness. This condition is called “Steroid Withdrawal Syndrome”.
So don’t stop taking steroids cold turkey. Talk to your doctor about gradually decreasing your dose, and discuss any symptoms you notice.
stress
This is a continuation of a series of blog posts about managing the side effects of corticosteroids used for treating knee osteoarthritis.
Taking steroids for more than two weeks can reduce your body’s ability to react to physical stress. Corticosteroids can affect your adrenal glands for up to one year! ”Adrenal Insufficiency” as this condition is called can cause problems if your body is put to the test. If you have surgery, or get into a car accident, even if you get sick your body may not respond as it should.
If you are currently taking steroids or if you have recently stopped taking them, be sure to tell your doctor or dentist if you are going to have any type of procedure. Also talk to your doctor about “stress dose steroids” to compliment your sluggish adrenal glands.
corticosteroid
Cortisone is a hormone that is made in the adrenal glands. Corticosteroids are synthetic forms of cortisone used as anti-inflammatory drugs. These include: hydrocortisone, prednisone, methylprednisolone, and dexamethasone.
Corticosteroids used to treat osteoarthritis can be taken orally, inhaled, injected, or used as a skin cream.
Steroids are effective at relieving pain but there are side effects. The risk of the side effects depends largely on the size of the dose and for how long the steroids are being taken. This is the first in a series of articles about reducing the side effects of corticosteroids for treating osteoarthritis of the knee.
corticosteroid
This article is one in a series of blog posts about the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons’ (AAOS) Full Treatment Guideline for Knee Osteoarthritis.
Recommendation 15 – The AAOS suggests intra-articular corticosteroidsfor short-term pain relief for patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee.
The research team looked at three systematic reviews that conclude intra-articular corticosteroids are effective for relieving pain in the short term, (1-3 weeks). When it comes to long-term pain relief the evidence suggests that corticosteroids have little benefit.
OARSI – Recommendation XVI: Corticosteroids Should Be Considered For Moderate to Severe OA
This is a continuation of our series on the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) recommendations for the management of hip and knee osteoarthritis published in the Journal of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage.
corticosteroid
Recommendation XVI
Intra-articular injections with corticosteroids should be considered to treat hip and knee osteoarthritis when patients have moderate to severe pain and they are not responding to oral pain relievers and/or anti-inflmmatory agents.
Corticosteroid injections have been used to treat knee osteoarthritis for over 50 years. It was recommended in 11 out of 13 existing guidelines. The efficacy of intra-articular injections is well documented as a treatment for knee osteoarthritis. Patients with knee OA were studied in 28 controlled trials and rarely were negative side effects reported.
Most experts do not recommend more than 4 corticosteroid injections per year.
The research team gave this osteoarthritis treatment option a Strength of Recommendation score of 78%.
W. Zhang Ph.D., Moskowitz M.D., et al. OARSI recommendations for the management of hip and knee osteoarthritis, Part II: OARSI evidence-based, expert consensus guidelines. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. (2008) 16, 137-162.