mine starts wearing off after 2 1/2 months approximately

mine generally last about 6 months

It will depend on your own body how long it lasts same as the pills.

I do not remember ever being given the shot or even known anyone to be given one so take this comment with extreme caution. Some people have differing reactions to the pills. I become the bithc from the deep about two weeks after ending a course of the pills. I spelled that wrong so perhaps it would get posted. You might expect him to be extremely hungry for a while or the exact opposite.

Anybody get a Covid Vaccine with a steroid shot in their system?

I get shots in my knees, seems it doesn’t last nearly long enough. I go every 3 months. Susanwv

For whatever reason you're asking and no matter what your concern, wouldn't the question be best posed to the doctor who gave you the injection? I'd think it matters where, how much was injected, and why.

Elmer--voice of reason--you are correct. I did call a doctor. 2 actually. However, I'm always interested in what folks here say. I'm also calling CDC --on hold now.

CDC doesn't practice clinical medicine. They'll likely tell you to call your doctor.

1-4 weeks for injection? I'm not very science-y. Am I reading that correctly?

I'm shocked that a physician would provide any kind of advice like this to a patient they don't know about a procedure they know nothing about.

Anne, how old is your dad? You sound like a loving daughter but you also sound like maybe you don’t have trust in his medical team? Or maybe I’m reading your posts wrong.

Dad is 89. And yes, I'm not super trustworthy of his doctor. The primary care is older and a little dotty. I've had several things happen that I'm concerned about. 1) The doc kept lowering his mask during our last visit. I had to ask him to cover up his nose more than once. 2) He made out one of my prescriptions to my Dad. 3) When I called him to say his rash had not gone away, he tried to prescribe the same meds we've already tried unsuccessfully--2 rounds of the methylprednisolone tablets and the shot. 4) He talks to much. It's awful. Long winded stories to the point where my Dad is dying to get out of there. He keeps asking me the same questions over and over and then not remembering. Now having said all that, he is kind and caring but I'm just not sure he's a good fit for us. The second doctor is a friend's husband who alerted me that he thought the steroid shot was a covid vaccine problem. The primary care said 6 weeks but I'm concerned that he's dotty. The cardiologist said he couldn't answer the steroid question.

I'm shocked that a physician would provide any kind of advice like this to a patient they don't know about a procedure they know nothing about.

Elmer--are you talking about the CDC?

Any one but mdln's response is what triggered the comment.

Wikipedia has some information and there are plenty of other websites with the same information as Mdln.

Sometimes it doesn't take much to get rid of the pain. To me it's worth a try.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylprednisolone

When I get tense or upset I am an information seeker as well.

It does calm me down to understand what is going to happen to some degree. It's rather like giving informed consent.

Of course you need to listen to your doctor as well.

I'm sorry you're having a difficult time. I hope things smooth out for you soon.

Annegriet, it sounds like it's time for a new doctor. Sometimes it helps to get an opinion from someone new. Perhaps you can find a specialist who can treat the rash ? Is there someone at the "doddy" doctor's office who can refer you to one ?

We ended up getting a new doc. She's excellent. She is a DO. Not "doddy" in any aspect. And, she's close to her home which is a big bonus. She is now my primary as well.

I have always preferred DOs to MDs. In general because of their training, they are much more interested in treating the whole patient rather than the isolated symptom and they are much more open to alternative treatments like acupuncture. And they will work with you to use the least powerful option first, moving up only as necessary to the nuclear one.

(And Elmer, we don't need to hear anything from you about your belief that only students who can't make it into other med schools go to osteopathic schools.)

"And Elmer, we don't need to hear anything from you about your belief that only students who can't make it into other med schools go to osteopathic schools."

I'll share not beliefs but three real world cases. Reach your own conclusions. Anecdotes. Starting pieces of background - most medical schools turn away more than 90% of applicants. They have mountains of apps to go through and most applicants submit applications to dozens of schools. One of several first screens to narrow the field of applications received is quantitative - MCAT (the national entrance exam) scores and qualitatively assessed undergrad GPAs. Both to assess academic aptitude and accomplishments. California statistically has twice as many medical students as available seats in in-state schools, meaning, half of "California" medical students go to med school out of state. So they apply to lots and lots of schools, there's not a state school as in many states where in-state acceptance rates are high.

Applicant #1 was a K-12 classmate of one of my kids but they went to different colleges. #1 was a decent student, above average grades but not by a lot. His MCAT score was mediocre. He applied to a few dozen allopathic medical schools his senior year of college (that's not a high number) and got no interviews. To strengthen his application, he got a job as a lab assistant in a biomedical research lab at a medical school. And he studied hard to improve his MCAT score. He wound up working two years in the lab position, went through two more application cycles with no interview offers, and wound up after the next cycle getting accepted to a DO school in the Midwest.

#2 is the kid of my next door neighbor. Similar story, above average but undistinguished undergrad GPA and so-so MCAT scores. Applied to medical schools, got blanked. Decided to take a one year pre-medical school Post-Bacc program. These are one year college programs designed to strengthen the undergrad academic record, show dedication to the goal of admission, and improve MCAT scores. They completed the program, had a slight MCAT improvement, went through the admission cycle, got no interview offers. The next cycle, applied to DO schools and had multiple acceptances.

Applicant #3 was a classmate of another of my kids. Similar story, unimpressive GPA and MCAT scores, as #1. Went through two application cycles with no interview offers. Applied the third cycle to DO schools and had several acceptances.

My familiarity with the details of the process is that one of my kids. of an age between #1 and #3, also went through the process. A smart and personable kid who worked hard at a competitive college, had an outstanding GPA, diverse activities, and a good MCAT score. Got 5 acceptances and so had a choice of where to go.

When I pick a physician, not only are informed recommendations important (as from other doctors) but so too credentials of education and training. Are there indications that the individual, from his or her past track record, seems to be an 80th percentile type or a 20th percentile type? Does that always describe a great doc or a poor one? No, of course not. Great docs come from mediocre schools and terrible ones from top schools. But as a starting point, past accomplishments and academic achievement can be informative. In selecting a doc as with sorting through medical school applicants, choices of residents by training program directors, choices of applicants for fellowships by program directors. All these processes are competitive and whether the particular doc was successful in past competitive situations are, for me, data points to consider. I want to choose docs who, rather than being mediocre, have excelled and achieved relatively more than their peers.

It's a two tier system. Allopathic (MD) schools take the generally brighter and more accomplished applicants (in general) and the second tier, osteopathic schools, take those who have done less well.

Another factor to consider - the quality of post-doctorate training. Graduates of DO schools can apply for and pursue allopathic (MD) residencies. They need to take the allopathic licensing test - the USMLE. Not that many do so. Selection, as with medical school admissions, often leans as a first pass on academic background and test scores. Also then the nature and pedigree of past academic accomplishments.

Not all newly minted doctors want to do their residency training at medical schools and in fact many don't want to, often preferring instead to be trained at community hospitals without a direct academic relationship. However, if you look at the rosters of residents at the top medical schools (almost all can be accessed online), you'll new doctors who are graduates from similarly top drawer medical schools. These trainees are usually destined for the competitive residencies in their institutions and top fellowships and other specialty programs. And among the rosters in these top schools, you'll find very few osteopaths. At many schools, it's none.

Residency program directors, just like admissions staff at the earlier stage of medical school, get flooded with multiples of applications beyond the number of openings they have. They make their choices based on their experience of which indicators and credentials highlight individuals with the greatest potential for development, who will be positive additions to their programs. Many tend to never choose DO graduates. Especially true in the more competitive, difficult to get into programs and specialties. Most DO grads do DO sponsored residency training and they tend to be less well regarded and less desirable than allopathic residencies. Or, allopathic residencies at less desirable community hospitals where the competition for spots is less.

Ask yourself why and don't think too hard about it, the answer is obvious.

I'm okay with the DO. She is very thorough. She does refer to specialists as needed. My Dad is 90. He needs kind, gentle, realistic, and compassionate. She is all of those things plus she is excellent at managing his meds.

@Annegriet, glad you found a good doc!

I work with several DO's, all are good docs. I would not hesitate to have them care for me, my family, or friends. When seeking a specialist, I pay more attention to where they completed residency/fellowship (not where they went to med school).

Interesting statistic, many (47%) medical students are accepted by only one medical school.

I suspect what may skew this AAMC stat is that a majority (I believe) of US medical schools are state schools that give admission preference to in-state applicants and also charge lower tuition to in-state matriculants. At some of these schools, the in-state percentage of students can be 80% or above. If a majority of schools are of this nature, and the majority of acceptances go to in-state applicants, that makes the process for those in this position much less competitive, acceptance rates much higher, and so solid but less distinguished applicants who nonetheless will apply to many schools, are more likely to be accepted to an in-state school where their advantage is their residence and not their academic and personal accomplishments and less likely to be accepted where those spots are more competitive and go to smaller percentages of applicants. Put more succinctly, a solid but middle of the pack applicant is more likely to get an acceptance from their in-state school that gives them preference, that to an out of state or private school where spots are sought by much greater numbers of applicants, from which they may get no acceptances at all. .

It would be interesting to see what percentage of matriculating DO school students applied to MD schools and got NO acceptances. I think that number is very high, perhaps even >80%.

There are a lot of interesting stats that get released to the public. Another I've looked at from time to time are called NRMP, from the Resident Match Program. It shows matching stats sliced and diced a number of ways, including success rates of DO school grads who apply to allopathic residencies. Not surprisingly, the success numbers for these applicants is considerably lower than MD school grads, especially so outside primary care areas and for residencies in specialties considered to be more competitive and desirable.

https://www.ama-assn.org/residents-students/preparing-medical-school/do-vs-md-how-much-does-medical-school-degree-type

"Single accreditation, residency training

In the past, graduates from osteopathic and allopathic medical schools have generally matched with residency programs through separate processes.

In an effort to simplify the graduate medical education (GME) accreditation system in the United States, the organizations that accredit GME—the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA)—have changed how they do things.

The 2020 Main Residency Match marked the completion of the transition to a single accreditation system and the consolidation to one Match for U.S. DO and MD seniors.

Those changes also affect licensing. Most residency programs will accept the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination taken by DO graduates, as well as the United States Medical Licensure Exam which is taken by MD graduates and can be taken by DO graduates."

IIRC, ~1\2 of medical schools are private, 1/2 are state schools.

Application/Acceptance data:

It being a slow day for me here, I added up the numbers on the AAMC Table A-1. Not for any particular reason, I left out Puerto Rico.

91 medical schools are public (60%), 60 are private (40%). 3 of every 5 are public.

Of the 22665 matriculants, 12964 were entering public medical schools (57%), and 9701 private ones (43%). Nearly the same ratio.

Somewhere there is data comparing state of origin to state of medical school matriculation that showed that as an example (a stat I was interested in when my kid was applying) fully one-half of California resident matriculants would be attending out of state schools. And most of them were private ones. Schools like Georgetown, G. Washington, Chicago area schools Rosalind Franklin, Loyola, and Rush, Miami, Emory, Jefferson, Temple, Drexel, NY Medical, the new one started by Kaiser Permanente which is tuition free, get upwards of 10,000 applications for their few hundred spots. Private schools with high reputations, including the several Ivies, tend to get fewer applicants presumably because there's a self-selection/elimination process among applicants. While most schools of both kinds have classes in the 100-200 range and a few slightly smaller, among the privates, Drexel has 300 (and its Philly neighbor Jefferson 275) while the U of Houston has only 30. That was interesting to see.