Corticosteroids: Benefits and Risks
Corticosteroids, often just called steroids, provide quick relief from pain and inflammation. They may be used at high doses in combination with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to quickly tamp down inflammation at the start of treatment. But as DMARDs begin to take effect, steroids are usually tapered down to very low doses and may eventually be discontinued entirely.
Direct corticosteroid injections can relieve acute flare-ups in painful joints, but for safety reasons, injections are generally limited to no more than a few a year.
Risks and Side Effects
People who experience severe side effects from NSAIDs may be given corticosteroids as an alternative, but steroids come with their own set of side effects. In the short term, steroids may cause weight gain, fluid retention, irregular periods, acne, excess facial and body hair, irritability, and insomnia, all of which go away when the drug is discontinued. Long-term use of steroids can cause severe side effects, such as high blood pressure, cataracts, glaucoma, diabetes, psychological problems, and osteoporosis.
Corticosteroids replace hormones that are usually produced by your adrenal glands. Once you become acclimated to artificial steroids, your adrenal glands will not immediately resume hormone production when you stop using steroids. This is a potentially dangerous transition period; therefore, steroids should only be discontinued under a doctor's supervision.
