Help!!

[lacibug34]

I was in the hospital last week with an obstruction and sent home Wed with meds. I've been on prednisone many times but this is the first in a year or so. I'm doing 40 mg and tapering. I tried to go into work today but felt awful when I was there, flushed face, hot, pounding head, dizziness, tingly mouth.....so I came home. I just checked and my BP is 147/100. Other than Crohn's I'm a healthy 27 yr old so this is very abnormal. Has anyone had this on Prednisone? I'm taking other meds too but I don't think they would affect this. At what point should I go to the hospital or do something? I don't want to go back but it's Sat night so I probably won't be able to reach my doctor....

 

[CDDad]

I never had that reaction from Pred. If I had someone with me to take care of me, I might delay going to the ER. But, if you're alone, listen to your intuition and go to the ER if needed.

I hope you feel better soon.

 

[lacibug34]

Thank you! I just talked to the doc and he said it's probably the pred. Not dangerous, just sucky.... He said to ride it out for tonight and half my dose tomorrow.

 

[Entchen]

Oh, yes, that got me sent to Emerg last summer, and, once there, the medical staff watched to see if I was having a stroke. Isn't Prednisone wild...literally.

 

[Jennifer]

You may feel like crap going from 40mg to 20mg just an fyi. I'm not sure how long you've been taking the Pred (unless its been since Wed of last week or was it this week ~3 days ago) but that's not much of a taper, that's a big jump. The ER doc gave me Pred the last time I was there, I forget the mg but I felt hot and felt like I couldn't breathe and my heart was racing. My heart doc told me to stop taking it after about 3 days of being on it (I was being treated for something other than Crohn's) and those symptoms went away the next day.

I've never heard of taking Pred for such a short time to help with an obstruction and with such a quick taper. It usually takes a few days to a week for the stuff to even start working.

 

[AndiGirl]

I have had the face flushing and increased blood pressure. I didn't notice any headaches, but I also felt pretty lousy when I've tapered off.

 

[lacibug34]

It wasn't originally that quick of a taper. I've had Crohn's for 12 years and this is actually a longer taper than I'll usually agree too lol. I try my best to avoid Pred and have been on Entocort for a while but finally agreed to this. I was on Decadron for 3 days in the hospital, then it was supposed to be 2 wks at 40 mg, 1 wk at 30, 1 wk at 20, then 5mg tapers after that. I know I'll prob feel like crap going to 20, but it's got to be better than feeling like that!

 

[Jennifer]

We shall see then now wont we? I do hope that you feel better though. I know Prednisone can make you feel horrible no matter what dose you're on (higher doses worse by far but you can still feel it in the lower doses).

 

[acg101]

I had horrible experience with Pred. Everything you described above and more.... but sometimes its a life saver.

 

[ThanksP]

I have high blood pressure, mainly due to genetics (thanks Grandpa). This last round of Prednisone, my doc put me on a beta-blocker because my regular blood pressure meds weren't cutting it. Prednisone can raise blood pressure which can also cause headaches (along with pounding in your ears and a thumping chest feeling). The beta-blocker helped me immensely but like any medicine, it too has it's own side effects. High blood pressure is such a scary feeling... hope you are feeling better by now!

 

[Domsmom]

I only had that while I was on prednisone and pregnant....