I hate pred. When will side effects stop!

[guest78]

I hate pred. I hate pred. I hate pred. I hate pred.
Started off on 40mg now on my second day on 10mg.
Still suffering from some horrible side effects.
I am still sweating all through the night, having very disturbed sleep patterns, a very strong, fluttery heart, and feeling agitated. My mood swings. Bing really low - which I hate.
Does anyone know when these will stop? I'd hoped they would have by now as I'm on a lower dose!
I just really don't feel like myself!!

 

[mbishop]

They will only stop slowly. There is a dose-response curve with prednisone, so they should lessen on the lower dose (20mg seems to be a break point for a lot of people) over time. Because it may take the body time to adjust to the lower dose and get the adrenals back into full gear, there may be side effects when dropping the dose for a few extra days.

 

[guest78]

I have notice that some side effects have lessened. But is it still normal to still have them even though I am only on 10mg? Some side effects have gotten worse as I have come off the pred. I don't know if this is normal?
XX

 

[Johnnysmom]

My son had some of these effects while on Pred. Drinking lots of water to help prevent dehydration and making sure you are getting vitamin supplements. We would give him bananas for the leg cramps and we worried at one point if his magnesium was low because of the racing heart. So we made sure he got extra supplements. Gel cap vitamins worked best for him because they didn't upset his stomach. My son's side effects actually got a bit worse when he started to taper but I think it was more about how long he was on Prednisone as oppose to what the dose was. The racing heart was much better by the time he was at 10mg though but we had been doing the vitamins and extra fluids for a while by that point.

Hope that works for you too. Hang in there.

 

[guest78]

Thank you I will definitely try the vitamins and water. I find exercise normally helps to get rid of execess adrenelin, racing heart etc but im still not 100% better and so don't know how much of a good idea it is to start heading to the gym...
I have tried really hard this time round to drink a lot of water, & I did do well at the start; I think I've been less good at it since I have been on a lesser dose. So need to get back on that!!
Thanks guys. I hate this stuff and how it messes with your mind and body.

 

[Mary:)]

I refuse to take prednisone...its just does horrible things to me. Im currently starting a flare and waiting for my new GI to prescribe it cause I will say NO. Good luck

 

[guest78]

Yeah I am really not a fan. It's the psychological/mental side effects that I struggle with just as much as the physical

 

[UnXmas]

I was also surprised to find that the side effects didn't decrease in time with tapering. Even on a low dose I was finding the side effects were just as bad as when I'd been on a high dose. However, I found the side effects didn't come on right away either, so what mbishop says makes sense to me. There seems to be a delay in reaction time rather than immediate effects. I hated the insomnia so much and ending up having to get a prescription for a sleep med from my doctor (which made a fantastic difference - I'm still using it and sleeping so much better).

 

[guest78]

Yup. I didn't have any symptoms whilst in hospital, they were all delayed by about 10days. And some have gotten worse over time too!
I'm hoping once I'm off them completely, it will begin to settle down.