What steroid can I take that won't flare the hell out of my IC?

[Im_Using_The_Internet]

Everything flares my IC. The only antibiotic I can take that doesn't feel like battery acid is Keflex. Every NSAID I have tried feels like battery acid (ibuprophen, mobic). My doc put me on methylprednisolone as a last ditch effort and EVEN THAT feels like battery acid, but unlike with all the others.. after the medication left my system I felt 100% like a normal, pain free, human being. I desperately, desperately want to continue with steroid therapy but I don't know what to try next. I took half a pill (2 mg) and even that hurt, but it was bearable but it still flared me.

Any ideas of anything with anti-inflammatory properties that is hopefully safe would be a huge help.. I'm so close to losing my job over this pain. I'm already on all of the supplements and Elmiron. Steroids are usually used in instills or to inject into the bladder for IC so I don't understand how this is even flaring me when its used as a regular treatment.

[Barb135]

The steroids that are used as injections or instills for IC have different ingredients than pill forms of steroids.  It could be a filler/binder or dye that's causing the burning feeling.

Are you doing the steroid therapy for your IC or another condition?

I'm not sure if it will work, but you could try taking something like Prelief with the steroid medication to see if that would help - talk to your doctor first to make sure the Prelief wouldn't block the action of the steroid or cause some adverse reaction.  

You could also try drinking marshmallow root tea, which helps a lot of us with flares/irritation.

Some also get relief with Desert Harvest Aloe.  I've never tried that, but I understand it's quite expensive.