Are all these symptoms caused by prednisone??

[Shelley327]

Hi everyone! I’ve been on 40 mg of prednisone since the beginning of July and have just started my taper (today I’m down to 10mg). But after a month or so of being on 40mg I began having bouts of light headedness, dizziness, and shakiness. I’ve noticed the dizziness more now that I’m tapering and it’s rather annoying. The best way to describe how I feel is like being drunk without the high lol. :wine:

But other than that I of course have developed the dreaded moon face, severe acne, rapid weight gain around the abdomen, a buffalo hump, thin flakey skin (especially on the feet) and a tendency to bruise easily.

Also my hair has been falling out very badly. I would say I’ve lost at LEAST 50% of my hair. I used to have extremely thick hair and now the thinning is pretty noticeable. I used to complain about my thick hair all the time and now I want it back! Haha

I also just started remicade about a month ago and it’s worked wonders! I went from intense stomach pain every day to virtually none! …I wonder if the hair loss could be a side effect from that?

Prednisone was like my best friend at first and now it’s become my worst enemy, thankfully I’m tapering! Hopefully these symptoms subside soon :/

 

[Johnnysmom]

For my son, once he began tapering that was when the side effects became more noticeable. He defiantly had the dizziness, shakiness, and headaches. It helped a lot for him to drink extra water, cut down on salt in his diet and take vitamins.

He lost a little hair but not as much as you are describing. He also had rapid weight gain but was eating more, and was very underweight before so that was somewhat natural. He had the bruising and flaky skin but I thought that was more from his 6mp than his Prednisone.

The side effects started to lesson around 10mg on his taper but they didn't go away until several weeks after he was completely done with the prednisone. He did have major headaches once he was down to 5 mg. I think it was just his body adjusting to the changes.

Hang in there, sounds like you will be done with the Prednisone very soon. My son's hair thickened back up and the side effects went away. (Even the moon face) I am glad your symptoms are so much better. ((((Hugs))))

 

[Shelley327]

Thank you so much for the advice!! I'm glad to hear your son is doing better and that his prednisone side effects have subsided. I'll be looking forward to getting off steroids, even if it's going to be several more weeks...it's a relief to hear that the dizziness will come to an end!

 

[sickofcrohns]

Yup, classic symptoms of prednisone. I also tell my friends who ask what it's like about feeling "drunk without the buzz." Totally normal. You're not alone here -- not that it's fun -- but what you're going through is normal at least with this crowd. :hug:

Oh yes, tapering is also the same kind of "fun." I hope you don't get much in the way of withdrawal symptoms. The good news is that when you are on a lower dose, the hair loss, moon face and buffalo hump will all go away. Depending on how high a dose you were on and for how long, it could take weeks to months, but they will go away eventually.

 

[Shelley327]

It's unfortunate that anyone has to undergo these symptoms, but It's a relief to know that I'm not alone! Gosh, this prednisone stuff is awful haha

 

[zilla7777]

It sure can be awful can't it! I'm in the same boat as you, minus the dizziness. Hope you're doing well coming off of it, and that the side effects subside soon!

 

[Shelley327]

thanks!! going down from 15 to 10 was hard but now I'm just tapering 1mg at a time....however this morning I had another bout of bleeding that I haven't seen in months :/ ...no pain though....I'm just going to assume it's from thinning of the intestinal wall caused by predisone :X fingers crossed it doesn't happen again!

 

[Johnnysmom]

My son had 3 bouts of blood in his stool while on Prednisone. We let the nurse know, she said it was probably his body adjusting. They were on 3 separate occasions and didn't continue. It is hard to know what is normal and what indicates your disease coming back. Sounds like you are making the right call for now, keeping my xxx fingers crossed xxx the rest of your taper goes well.

 

[Shelley327]

oh wow, yeah I never actually had any bleeding with my crohns until after I had been on prednisone for about two months..I think I had about 6 instances..all on separate occasions as well..the doctor said it was only a concern if it didn't stop. They also said I may encounter blood again while tapering...it's still very frustrating though...thanks for the support

 

[cmccormack5]

yes yes and yes hahaha. i have all 3 things when tapering off. the only thing that really helped me was tapering slower. but i guess its quicker to get it out of your system and so your body can start making it on its own quicker. but headaches are the worst for me. good luck

 

[Shelley327]

thanks! it's such an awful drug necessary, but awful haha no headaches as of yet though *knock on wood*