Posts by Mark Lopez3

I’ve been diagnosed with SLE and hyperthyroidism. It’s a good thing you brought up the Vitamin B deficiency; otherwise, I almost certainly would have overlooked it. As for the ophthalmologist, I’ve decided to go private—I am frankly exhausted from the endless waiting rooms and the bureaucratic runaround at the local clinics.
Leeloo27, what kind of alternative approach were you advocating for, and how long did you stick with it?

melloworca6 said:Peptoran isn't "better." It just lowers stomach acid. PPIs—which includes stuff like Controloc—actually coat the stomach lining to protect it. If you're taking steroids and just using Peptoran (some doctors suggested Gastal 😁, but honestly, if they want to push steroids alongside Gastal, let them see how I feel in a month), it's no wonder your stomach is getting destroyed. Ask for Controloc, Nexium, or something similar. Tell them what you're taking isn't cutting it.

I wasn't aware of that distinction. I had assumed the difference lay in the duration—that Controloc provides 24-hour coverage through its mechanism while Peptoran lasts maybe 12 hours? Given that I am currently battling issues with both my thyroid and my stomach, I figured Peptoran might be the more logical choice.

I find it impossible to accept a "treatment" model where the only way to fix one issue is to systematically dismantle every other vital organ—take the stomach or vision, for instance. Furthermore, it seems fundamentally wrong that a doctor wouldn't mandate a vision check before starting someone on Medrol or antimalarials; it feels like a massive oversight that no one is held accountable for. There has to be an alternative that doesn't involve such collateral damage.

Drew Scott20 said:I’m taking prednisone myself, and it’s essentially the same story. To manage it, I take Controloc, calcium, Vitamin D, and magnesium, while also keeping a very close eye on my blood sugar and blood pressure. I’ve cut out salt entirely, which has been my saving grace in avoiding massive weight gain, but the "moon face" is still there and my body has definitely changed; I never dealt with cellulite in my life, yet now I see it even on my arms. I seem to have a bit of a resistance to it, so I suspect they'll be tapering me down soon—I'm at 60mg currently and taking a different immunosuppressant alongside it.
I don't buy into alternative medicine.

Peptoran might actually be a superior choice compared to Controloc, though I suspect you're already well aware of that...
As for me, Medrol has absolutely wrecked my stomach, and I’ve only been on it for twenty days. If one were to weigh the benefits against the fallout, the damage done to my system is currently winning by a landslide.

To those currently on Medrol or anyone who has successfully transitioned off it, I have two questions:

While you were taking Medrol, did you supplement with anything else to mitigate its side effects? For instance, something like an antacid?

Has anyone discovered a viable way to pivot from Medrol toward alternative treatments that actually hold weight when managing autoimmune conditions? I’ve been digging through literature on homeopathy, curcumin, and MMS, but I’m feeling a bit lost in the noise. My current takeaway is simply that relying on Medrol isn't a sustainable long-term strategy.