Moonface

[f_else]

Hi everyone,

I am currently on prednisone to control my flare-ups. I've been trying to cut down but when I go below 25mg I seem to flare up again. (I've only been on it a couple of weeks currently).
I'm just wondering, how long will it be before I end up with a swollen face? Will I get a swollen face at these levels? I'm thinking I will try and cut down really slowly (just a couple of mgs at a time to wean myself off). I know its a silly fear, but I have to face my whole university everyday and would prefer to do that still looking normal.
If anyone has any advice that would be awesome.

 

[hainman]

hi f_else ive been on pred now on and off for 4 years and yes you prob will get gerbil cheeks(but shouldnt be too bad) but from my experience its better than loosing 4 stone and looking like skeletor.i would be carefull how quickly you start tapering as you want to give them a chance to heal the infected area b4 you come of them and they havnt healed your bowel fully.im now on 5 mg and tapering 1mg a week but ive had my scope and thenod from the GI to taper down slowly.fingers crossed i finally get of them.hope all goes well for you...

 

[Joleen23]

I was on that amount and got slightly bigger cheeks but it was only after i was in hospital on a very high dose (every 4 hours IV) that i really got moon faced, i really wouldn't worry

 

[Crohn'sFor Life]

In my case, duration was a bigger factor than dosage.

I've been on 80mg of Prednisone...

 

[ChefShazzy]

You probably won't have the moonface too bad, if at all... 25 mg is a pretty low dose. I got the moonface when I was on 40-60mg of pred, and as I weaned down it went away... Good luck!

 

[vickyhunter]

I was on 40mg when I was 10 and put on sooo much weight which probably contributed to the moonface I got with them! And I was on them recently( I'm also at uni too and was worried about the same thing), 20mg for around a month including tapering, and managed to not get the moonface I resisted the hunger (didn't want to put on weight if I'm honest) and drank tons and tons of water so reduce water retention. I also tried to go jogging every few days so I could give into the hunger every now and then and not feel too guilty
hope everything goes okay
xx
xxxxxxxxx

 

[f_else]

Thanks for all the messages guys, I'm feeling heaps better about it now. I'm really slowly tapering down the prednisone so I'm hoping that it won't be an issue anymore. From what you've all said it seems that the levels I'm on won't automatically make me swell so I should be ok for the moment

 

[Jennifer]

Yep, you should be ok. I didn't get any moonface action until I was on higher doses like 50mg and up and that usually took about a month to start noticing it (it comes on gradually). The longer you're on it and the higher the dose the more it grows (but everyone's face has a limit so it wont get too crazy large). Yet not everyone gets moonface either and certainly not on low doses and for short periods of time. It goes away after a couple of months of being off Pred.

I had to deal with moonface both in elementary school (5th grade) and twice in high school (9th grade and senior year, including my senior year pictures sigh...) so I know what its like for people to not understand or treat you differently or even make fun of you (kids can be soooo mean). You'll be ok.

 

[cheeky]

hey f_else, if it makes you feel any better, when i was on pred in the past, i NEVER got the moonface symptom. perhaps very subtly puffyness? i don't think so though... for sure no chipmunk cheeks (haha don't let my username fool ya ) i was on 40 mg so yeah... everyone is different.
and yes, i've also heard the dose and length of time you're on it, makes a difference when it comes to the side effects

but i feel ya, i'm so not into the idea of the weight gain or moonface, it's like walking around with a sign on your head saying 'look at me, something is going on with my health, come ask me why i ballooned up!'

right now, i'm on day 5 of pred, at a lower dose... no moonface, not sure when i'd expect to have it kick in... i'm at a lower dose now too...at first thought i was gaining water weight from pred, because my weight went up a bit even though i haven't been eating but it turns out it was from the iv, and once i got off the iv, the water weight came off too.


good luck!