Autoimmune hepatitis symptoms and conditions

Prednisone is horrific! I went on it 10 months ago for autoimmune hepatitis which now I realize was a major mistake. I was to take 40 a day but only agreed to 20. Now I have very high blood pressure and am on Bystolic and Vasotec. I have gained 30 lbs and am seeing a shrink!. I have tapered the dose down to 5mg much to the docs dislike but I am depressed, anxious and a bit suicidal. Also, my lovely head of hair is at least halved and I look 7 months pregnant. Soon I'll become anorexic cuz I refuse to live any longer like this. Anyone else feel the same?

I have been on prednisone since I was two years old (I am now sixteen) because I have Autoimmune Hepatitis IIa. I would like to point out that there is still a life worth living being on prednisone, maybe I say this because I do not know life without it, but at least we're alive! Last year I had a flare up of the AIH and had to 6x my dose of prednisone. It sent me into a spiraling depression of constant sleep, crying, hopelessness etc....but I made it through. Just PLEASE keep hope that things would get better, because I know what it's like being on the dreaded drug better than most.

DIDN'T WORK AT ALL & HAD BAD SIDE EFFECTS! This didn't help my severe 'painful red bumps' kind of acne. In January 08 the dermatologist put me on solodyn 1x daily, Rosaderm face wash, & Atralin topical gel, both 2x daily. Eventually she switched me from atralin to RetinA, b/c the atralin wasn't strong enough. I have many health problems, but the last few years I have been feeling absolutely awful- constant body & joint aches, constant fatigue, & mood swings due to the pain. It got so much worse in Jan 08. My doctor & I had been talking fibro for a long time, but she diagnosed me in early March 08. She suspected fibro, as well as an autoimmune disease (when your body attacks your own tissues by mistake) due to a massively high ANA (anti-nuclear antibody) count on a blood test, so she referred me to a pediatric rheumatologist (there aren't many) b/c I was under 21 at the time. The rheumatologist diagnosed me with myofascial pain, which is very similar to fibro. She explained, "It's the exact same pain as fibromyalgia, except it moves all around instead of staying in certain points." Then she told me something shocking: SOLODYN CAN CREATE CONSTANT FATIGUE, BODY PAIN, AND OTHER FIBROMYALGIA-LIKE SYMPTOMS!!! IT ALSO MAKES A PERSONS ANA COUNT SOAR, WHICH CAN BE SEEN IN BLOOD TESTS!!! So she told me to go off the Solodyn right away, which I did gladly because it had been weeks & it hadn't helped my acne. She told me to watch for changes in my myofascial pain/fibro symptoms. After about 1 week my muscle & joint aches started to lessen. Obviously the Solodyn had increased this pain. The weird thing is, after about 3 days after stopping Solodyn, my acne improved. It was almost like Solodyn was preventing my acne from going away! When the results from my next blood test came back, my ANA (anti nuclear antibody) count had dropped but it was still high, indicating an autoimmune disease. It appeared Solodyn had raised my ANA count to a level even higher then it normally was!! It turned out I did have an autoimmune disease, but my rheumatologist told me she's seen teens who take Solodyn & have an elevated ANA count b/c of it. Then they have to run hundreds of tests b/c they think they have some disease that they actually don't have. When they stop taking Solodyn, their blood tests normalize, & then it proves don't really have an autoimmune disease. But by that time they've gone thru dozens of unnecessary tests, not to mention the stress & worry of thinking they might have a disease that may potentially be life threatening. They wasted time, money, and sleepless nights, all because solodyn screwed up their blood tests!!

Hi...Am 33 years and had been on prednisone for 4 months till about a month ago. It was in June last year that I was down with Viral hepatitis along with pyelonephritis. I was eventually diagnosed with Autoimmune hepatitis and therefore administered this drug with an high of 40mg for two and gradually tapered subsequently.
Two months of medicines and I had this pain in my thighs especially when I had to get up after lying sedentary. After 1.5 months subsequently the pain worsened to now include all my joints including the leg muscles. Things have really become more painful now. The gastroentorologist who put me on this drug has advised me to see a rheumatologist. Now I am torn between trying to understand whether this is a part of my treatment or my ailment (rheumatoid arthritis is also an auto immune disorder) and only praying that it is a part of the treatment.
The Doctor's have not been clear on how long this pain will persist. Regular walking, getting up, getting out of the car, turning the cap of a bottle is painful and getting worse with my ankles and knees swelling.
The moon face, the hump, the acne are all ebbing. However this pain is killing. Anybody has any idea how long the pain will last?
Thank you and best wishes to you.

I've been on Lipitor for 1 year and have all the side affects that you all are describing.
I've also developed an inflamed liver.
Any one else?
if I get more response, I'm seriously considering a lawsuit against the pharmacy company.

Tom

I have been diagnosed with Autoimmune Hapatitis and put on a low dosage of Prednizone. 20mg a day for 2 weeks, 15mg a day for 2 weeks and then 10mg a day for an unspecified asmount of time. I have been on the drug for 2 weeks and have just begun to feel side affects mentioned by others. Primarily night sweats accompanied by uncontrolable shaking, pain in lower joints and pain at the base of the neck. Has anyone else with Autoimmune Hepatitis been put on prednizone and what side affects have been experienced. I am alos on Azathioprine (generic ofr Imuran). Apparently even low doses of prednizonee can produce the symptome others have described.