My Experience with Prednisone and Osteoporosis

Just recently I was in a car accident, my second car accident. This time my daughter and husband were in the car with me. This emotional experience impacted me deeply and I ended up catching a flare-up.

Dealing with the aftermath

My lupus had caught up with me to the point where the pain became unbearable.  I ended up in the hospital right before my vacation. It made me wonder if any good luck was on my side. The skin sores with inflammation kicked in and underneath my breast became red, irritated, and began to peel. My skin was flaring up really bad in moist and covered areas. The headache became unbearable, and my back pain kicked in as well.

Seeking chiropractic treatment

I started to see a chiropractor and he wanted me to get an x-ray because of my previous car accident, which took place in 2016. Ever since that accident, I have been on a strong steroid treatment.

Being diagnosed with osteoporosis

After I completed my x-rays, the doctor called me back into the room. He sat me down and told me he had some devastating news. He pulled up an x-ray of a 27-year-old man and then pulled up mine. He told me to look at the differences between the bones. He said the calcium in my bones is almost non-existent and that I had onset osteoporosis, especially in my lower back. He explained that this is where a lot of my pain is coming from. He told me that I needed to ask my doctor if she could give me something to counteract the prednisone. Sadly, the damage was already done.

Giving my body time to heal

When I got into my first accident I went through a lot of chemotherapy and chiropractor sessions. By the time I closed that case, my lupus was still bad. The chiropractor was concerned and did not want me to end sessions. After seeing this new chiropractor years later, I've realized that my body never fully healed from the first accident. I learned a long time ago that when living with lupus, your body does not heal quickly, so I needed to change some things around. I do not like feeling stagnant which can become an issue when you are living with lupus because your body does not get a chance to rest.

Consulting my rheumatologist

When the chiropractor I recently met with was deciding what medication to prescribe me, he was very careful to not prescribe anything that could potentially interfere with the medication that my rheumatologist prescribed me. He told me that I would need to get in contact with my rheumatologist to make sure it is safe for me to start taking a specific medication, given my current treatment.

I was glad my chiropractor wanted me to check with my rheumatologist first, as my rheumatologist specializes in lupus and knows me well. I felt confident she would know which medications would lead to a flare-up, allergic reaction, or more.

Taking it day by day

In the moment, when I found out about my osteoporosis, I felt sad. I felt like, "here's another condition added to my list." The chiropractor also told me that I do not have rheumatoid arthritis and that I was misdiagnosed. Upon hearing that I felt a little relief, and was glad that I got a second opinion. Now, I am just taking it day by day to make sure I stay healthy.