What to expect with Prednisone?

[sidney88]

Starting Prednisone for the first time tomorrow, 60mg. I'm curious about what side effects to expect.

So I've done a bunch of reading, and this is what I've come up with so far:

Insomnia
Acne
Bloating
Depression/Anxiety/Irritability
Joint Pain (if tapered too fast)

So I know about the part about not tapering too fast, but what else should I know (doc didn't really tell me anything). What side effects/issues did you experience? What made them better?

Thanks for the info everyone!

 

[fenway1971]

How many mg are you starting on?

I started at 40, tapered to 5, then back to 20. My experiences are:

1. Insomnia at >20mg. Crazy insomnia.
2. Not much acne.
3. I've always had bloating. But moon face developed a few weeks after I started but went away once I got down to <20mg and never returned even when i increased it back to 20.
4. Irritability - all the time! Worst side effect as I'm fidgety, short attention span, etc. No depression.
5. No joint pain.

My recommendation is don't overdo it when you start taking these meds. They give you false sense of energy but physically your body will be fatigued even though mind says go do ever home renovation project known to man.

Also, don't get discouraged when moon face develops. It sucks - you'll feel ugly - but it will go away.

 

[My Butt Hurts]

I have never taken 60mg, but started many times at 40.
The side effects are different for everyone. Pred made me very hungry, but I needed to gain weight most times I have been on it, so that was good. Be careful not to overdo it on the eating if you don't need to gain. I didn't have any insomnia. I had a LOT of energy, and never felt exhausted at any time on it. I had a teeny bit of acne. I loved being on pred.
I hope it works well for you!

 

[Colt]

The main problem is long term side-effects. Try not to be on it very long. You can get osteoporosis, diabetes, hypertension, etc.

So far a big one that hasn't been mentioned is hair. I sprung up with crazy body hair and looked like a werewolf. Your regular hair grows rapidly too. Expect more hair cuts, and if you're female you may need to start shaving or waxing your new facial hair. I shaved a lot of my extra body hair right as I was finishing my prednisone and luckily it's not growing back like it was.

 

[jamie2462]

On the higher amounts (60 mg - 40mg):

Lack of sleep (I mean like 40 min to 2 hrs tops a night)
HUNGER LIKE YOU COULD EAT A COW. (not even joking wish I was)
Irritability is a mild way of putting it ( I would go into a rage at times and could not control myself....)
Depression (Boy those tears sneak up on you..you could be happy as anything and then BAMN all of a sudden you are crying enough to float the ark.)
Joint Pain
Restlessness / Anxiety

But really once they started tapering and I got down to 35 mg I started to feel somewhat human again...(Still ate like a pig but could sleep an hour or two a night and didnt kill anyone during that time frame)

 

[cheeky]

i started at 40 mg.... and tapered off... i am finishing today, but i made changes to my course of the med, i decided to begin tapering a couple weeks earlier.

anyway, my side effect haven't been bad.

i did not have insomnia....or moon face.... i did not have acne, although the last 2 days i've noticed new zits, but it may be hormonal and not the pred. nothing serious though. and today is my last day on pred so i'm not worried.

ummm i did have a lot of water retention and bloating...increased appetite (oh man, it's awful i'm always hungry/eating)....weight gain (gained 10-15 pounds but only towards the end of my course on the pred, when i exercised i was able to maintain with slight fluctuations here and there).... also, recently joint pain in my knee as i've been tapering off... not severe pain though.
umm... i'd say i've had a bit of anxiety at night, but i always have.

overall, i'd say i've been lucky... i didn't get any of the worst symptoms. and the pred has helped me. been eating like a champ lol

 

[mandy]

hi, the worst side affect for me is that i cant seem to get off them,have been on them for 6 months now and every time i try and reduce i get crohns back, so was put on imuran to help get off them, i got down to n5mgs but have had to go up to settel crohns ,also i had hair loss, weight gain, hunger, shakes,heart palpatations,dizzy, spots round my chin, moon face, swelling of hands and feet.
So u can see why i dont like them!!!!
take care
mandy

 

[sidney88]

when do you guys start seeing results with Pred?

I'm only on day three and all my bleeding (the only symptom i had) has stopped. i'm assuming the pred did it.

i know i can't stop taking it right away, but i'm not sure i understand the necessity of taking them for 6 weeks if i'm already showing results.

whats been your experience with Pred taking care of flare ups? How long did it take for you? how much longer did you continue your cycle?

 

[My Butt Hurts]

Pred has always helped control my flares almost right away. The problem with tapering too quickly is that the symptoms may come right back. A slow taper is the best way to go. Usually I tapered from 40 mg down to 0 at 5 mg decreases every week. The last time, I was way bad so it took longer to kick in, and I stayed at each level 2 weeks instead of just one.

 

[BillthePill]

Usually Pred kicks in fairly quicky for me, I can usually see positive effects within a week, this was especially true the first half dozen or so times I used it. Being this is your first time on pred and your at 60mg It should work quickly and sounds like it already is.

As far as side effects, short-term anyways, I'm very lucky that I dont really experience any other than a bearish appetite lol.

I hope u feel better, and make sure you follow the prescribed taper

 

[cheeky]

yeah pred does work quickly, i think i started feeling better right away, with a bit of stomach discomfort here and there, then it settled down and definitely was all good within 4 days.

it's amazing... i really feel normal again on it (though today i am officially finished the pred)... it was nice to not have any pain, and to have energy... but i just hate the water retention/weight gain...and eating like a pig lol

since i tapered to 10 mg, i began getting a slight discomfort in my right knee... and then on 5 mg, i noticed that i am more tired again....but other than that, i'm still eating well and no cramping.

good luck to you!

 

[Jax]

Aaah pred...it made me pain free almost instantly which was great. When I got out of hosptial I was on 60mg. Then the eating began. I would be eating something and planning the next thing I was going to eat. i had energy to burn. It came on about 20 minutes after taking it. I could talk for about 4 hours straight while disco dancing with a roast chicken hanging out of my mouth... it was interesting. On high doses I got a false sense of well being. Like everything was absolutely sweet in life (i guess it really wasn't). When I started to taper I became slightly psychotic. I would reprimand strangers for littering and attack people for no apparent reason. This was well out of character for me and luckily most people knew it wasn't really me. For me roid rage was by far the worst sympom. And insomnia. I barely slept for the first month but the upside was I was never really tired until I started to get down to low doses. I didn't get a massive moonface or acne which was good i guess. Even so as much as it made me feel HEAPS better I'm not looking forward to being on it again. My GI and I have discussed it- apparently I get more side effects than most but she still says it is probably gonna happen. I can say now I won't take it again but if I am ever in pain I doubt I will hesitate if I have a relapse. The energy is good (I became a clean freak) but I get really itchy and had crazy calf cramps. Side effects are different for everyone though. Good luck with it and I hope you are feeling better already!