Prednisone effects

[Josh]

Hi everyone i just started prednisone 3 weeks ago. I was started at 40mg for 2 weeks then told to taper down 5mg every week after that.

So im currently on 30mg a day.

Joint Pain:
Every morning i wake up with pains in my knees and sometimes pains on my elbows. I litterly feel like a zombie untill i take my morning preds.

I have never been a big milk drinker and always been low on calcium and its really starting to worry me now that im on prednisone because my joints are starting to hurt really bad at some points and my elbows sorta crack. Im also getting odd pains in my elbows when i bend my arm sometimes..

Food:
I also have insane food cravings all day and the prednisone is making me eat like 4000 calories a day. Im ALWAYS eating. Non stop and its becoming a problem because i cant control what i eat. Ill stop at mcdonalds and get a mcflurry everyday i drive by.. Its like it takes over my mind. Iv already gained fat weight in
my stomach area.

Facial Hair/Acne/Sleep:

Iv been gaining facial hair alot quicker then i used to. After about 2 weeks on the pred i started to get a bit of acne ( could be from the horrible foods iv been eating ). And it keep me awake till 3am every night and i wake up at 9am wide awake unable to sleep a second more. ( but the sleep is getting better now that im down to 30mg a day and not 40


Is anyone else going threw this? Is this normal? What should i do?

 

[ChefShazzy]

Josh;

I feel your pain. I also am 'cracking' a lot, my hands, ankles, wrists and elbows... I drink a lot of milk and take calcium supplements but even still, I worry about osteoporosis and such...

My appetite is HUGE... like my stomach is a cavern! No matter how much I eat, an hour later I am hungry again! I try to keep healthy snacks on hand, so I can just scarf a banana or some yogurt when I need to... but even if I am taking my dog for a walk, I need to bring a snack with me or I feel like I am going to starve to death! I get cravings for the worst foods, too, but I try to keep it in moderation, and have healthy ready-to-eat things available. We should try to watch our salt and sugar intakes while on prednisone.

Insomnia is another side effect I am experiencing... some nights I can only manage 3 or 4 hours of sleep. I try to take my prednisone as early as possible in the day... like 5 or 6am. You might be able to get a bit more sleep if you try taking your dose earlier...

My skin is definitely affected, too... not badly, but a few more bumps than usual. Being female, a bothersome effect is the amount of extra body hair... it makes me feel so unattractive! It's on my face, and my back; and the hair on my arms/legs is just that much darker... Really a bummer. My face is swollen like a hamster, and my stomach is bloated from water retention... Ugh, I just feel gross and can not stand to look in the mirror! I also get killer heartburn on the steroids, and higher-than-usual anxiety and fidgetiness. (Fidgetyness? can't stop biting my lips, nails, feel like my heart is pounding out of my chest)

I started on 60 mg of prednisone over a month ago, slowly tapering - I'm now down to 45mg/day.
All in all, your side effects (and mine) are pretty common for being on prednisone. I've been on pred before, and I can tell you, these things WILL go away once the drug is tapered and stopped... it's just going to take some time...

 

[Josh]

Thank you very much MsSickAndTired! Im happy to know that im not the only one these things are happening to. I was starting to get really worried! My stomach is also bloating like crazy and its starting to get to my head. I cant stand it! its all i think about.. And my hunger is just as bad! except i fall into bad junk food every time! its just so easy to go upstairs and dig into the cookie car before opening the fridge and making something heathly lol. But i really need to start using this hunger to eat mass amounts of healthy food instead of this never endless sugar diet im stuck on.. and yeah the sleeping it horrible. I take 30MG a day now and my pills are 5mg ea so i take 2 in morning, 2 around lunch and 2 around dinner..

And the hair is getting bad lol. it does come darker and alot quicker lol.. Are you sure all this stomach and weight gain will go back to normal tho.. i have honestly gained alot of weight in my stomach area.. ( or at least seems this way because of the mass bloating )

 

[AmandaC]

Hi Josh.

Sorry to hear you're suffering on Pred. I've been taking pred on varying doses for almost a year now. I've experienced most of the side effects you are at the moment but not quite as bad.

Just wondering, is there any reason why you spread your pred medication over the day? I have only ever taken it in the morning, even on 50mg, just took it all at once. Just curious.

I hope things continue to improve for you and you can finally get off the stuff.

Good luck!

Amanda

 

[ChefShazzy]

Are you sure all this stomach and weight gain will go back to normal tho.. i have honestly gained alot of weight in my stomach area.. ( or at least seems this way because of the mass bloating )

In my experience, I have lost the extra stomach weight once I come down/off of the prednisone... I think the weight gain around the gut is mostly due to water retention.

 

[jed]

Just wondering, is there any reason why you spread your pred medication over the day? I have only ever taken it in the morning, even on 50mg, just took it all at once. Just curious.

i always did this as well, just found it helped with the "manic" symptoms, and also helped on the insomnia side of it.

 

[Josh]

Well i didn't know if i could take all of them at once :S At first i was told to take them throughout the day so i just started doing that.. Wont i feel a stronger effect if i take all 30mg at once in the morning..

 

[AmandaC]

Hi Josh,

I don't feel a stronger effect taking it all in the morning, but I've never spread it out over the day to make a comparison. If you've been told to take it over the day then just keep doing that. If you think it will help with your sleeping taking it in the morning then maybe talk to your doc about it.

Amanda

 

[Josh]

hey amanda,

yeah im gonna continue to take it during the day. Thats what my GI said to do so i should probably stick with it. The sleep thing isnt that much of a problem compaired to when i was at 40mg a day

 

[TooSick]

OMG, I can *totally* relate to the side effects you are having. I started on 40 mg and have tapered down to 20 now...but, I have never eaten so much in my life!! All I want to do is eat CONSTANTLY!!!! So, that's what I've been doing. I have the stomach bloat, too...I can't stand it. I really hope this wanting/needing to eat all the time goes away once I'm off the pred (of course, it will still be a while).

I'm having the insomnia, too. I have trouble with that anyway, but it is definitely worse since going on the prednisone. Another effect I'm having is that I am burning up hot and sweaty and my face gets all red & flushed. Anyone having that as a symptom? I have to have a fan blowing on me all the time.

I've been on prednisone before but I don't remember all these crazy symptoms. This medicine is insane!

 

[Josh]

hey TooSick! It sucks doesnt it. Im still awake right now. 3am. and im starving. but im gonna tough it out. i already ate like 4000 calories today and i feeel like another 2k calorie meal right now lol.

 

[drew_wymore]

Yeah Josh you're not the first one to go through this. I had a Dairy Queen thing going on when I was on Pred and I ate a freakin whole bucket of ice cream one night .. good times indeed.

 

[Josh]

haha alright thanks drew! im gonna attempt to replace the icecream and make home made fruit smoothies or something.

 

[fenway1971]

Josh -
You're not alone. Food cravings, insomnia, facial hair, bloating, etc. all go with the territory while taking prednisone. I found a lot of the side effects dissipated once I got to 20mg but it various from person to person. When at 30, I took 20 in AM and 10 in PM. Now (i'm at 10/day), I take it all in the AM.

I found drinking tons of water helps with bloating. Your body thinks its dehydrated so it retains water and you bloat. If you constantly are drinking, body won't think it'll dehydrate and your bloat will go away. It's amazing - three days of constant chugging of water and you'll see the bloat go away.

 

[Josh]

haha thank u fenway! ill try the water chuggin starting right now lol. i need to get rid of this bloat. i look like i have a child in there

 

[kromom1]

Yep, unfortunately all normal side effects of prednisone, Josh! I have found that with each course of prednisone I've been on, the side effects have lessened. I'm on my fourth course now (since diagnosis in August of 2007) and really haven't had any noticeable side effects (well maybe a little reflux and flushing, but nothing major) from the prednisone at all this time (started at 60 mg, now on 30). I take the whole dose with breakfast. With the first couple of courses I was hungry all the time and couldn't sleep (also had some bloating, leg cramps, reflux, etc.)

 

[Josh]

oh ok thats sorta good to hear for the future kromom. Thank you

 

[TooSick]

hey TooSick! It sucks doesnt it. Im still awake right now. 3am. and im starving. but im gonna tough it out. i already ate like 4000 calories today and i feeel like another 2k calorie meal right now lol.

Yeah, 4k-6k calories a day sounds about right for being on prednisone. Darn Pred!

I was up late last night,too. Ugh.

 

[Josh]

Wow i thought i was the only one over eating to that amount.. and it feels like im gonna die if i dont keep eating. Like if i try and fight it and hold it out i get the worst feeling

 

[TooSick]

I don't know if I'm actually eating that many calories a day, but it sure does seem like it. I'm having the same problem you are...I try not to eat and it's like a force I can't control. It is the craziest thing (and NOT in a good way!). I hate it! I need to lose weight, not gain it!

 

[LeBron]

hello

Hi everyone. well i dont have any answers for any yet , but i will , im determined to get somthing done. but i have suggestions and maybe cures for things u are going through. I also have crohns. i was diagnosed a year ago. it started at six forty five in the morning on a saturday morning. i was never sick like that morning. i had a tommys burger with extra chilly that night. and i woke up running to the restroom. blood and all was there. i thought it was the coloring of the chilly. well a week later i went to urgent care. nothing was gained . so i finaly broke down and called my sister all the things going on in my body. of course everyone thought i was just a baby pretending to be really sick but then i started to cry because just like all of u. this was very scary and never happened to me before . than someone took me seriously. i had 8 percent body fat prior to getting sick. I learned alot in about a year about this horrible disease. but i do know this. going to the gym has canceled out half of the side effects. im actually glad to gain weight but i do know what your talking about. its a bad kind of weight. but if you dedicate your life to the gym. you will turn that around. trust me people . im in the same boat as u. and i would love to help u as well as learn from u. drugs is never good but lets keep our head up and remember. these drugs might get us into remission. then we go hard core. fish , chicken , turkey, vitamin water. calcium. and a multivitamin everyday for the rest of our lives. i think its worth it. i really do. i wheighed 172 the day i ran the restroom for the first time. in seven weeks. i lost thirty two pounds. i hate this disease but from here on out, im going to marry my disease and nourish my body to have a healthy relationship with it. my advice is to try everything. and everything on top of that. i also noticed that ensure helped me with alot of things my body was lacking. as i gain weight again, im sure i will stop drinking it but will have it for a meal replacement. it has health all over and in it. instead of going to carls jr and getting a double western bacon cheese burger with five ranch dressings. i have a ensure. and one more thing. exercise, exercise and more effen exercise cause i do know this. even if exercising doesnt help with our weight or disease. it will keep away cancer that we all now have to be aware of even more. Im glad that i found this forum. i feel alone but i know it will pass . lets all do this together on our own time. research and more research. eats lots of sushi. i mean tons of it. bye everyone.

 

[Josh]

hey Lebron im glad you posted. I have been wanting to go back to the gym for so llong but it just seems everytime i attempt to get back into it i just get so sick and fall right out again. Its gonna be a long road of sticking to a healthy life style but in the end it will be well worth it. Your not alone Lebron. Were all in the same boat! and your in the right place

 

[jessicajoy7]

Hi Josh and everybody else who despritely hates prednisone. I've had countless rounds of the "devil's pill" - prednisone- and it sucks everytime. Just the thought of taking them throws me into an instant panic attack. There's a book that I found to be SOOOOO helpful;it's called "coping with prednisone". It's a MUST read for all Crohnie's.