Chronic urticaria symptoms and conditions

So basically this is my story.. I am 19 and have had severe asthma every\ since I can remember. I took prednisone up until I was 14, and from what I can remember I just stopped taking it around then. Then when I was about 18 I started up again because my asthma got worse. Between the time period of 14-18 I still had asthma, but started working out and became very active and healthy.I lost alot of weight had VERY THICK long hair. Then at 18 I got very sick and my doctor put me on prednisone knowing my asthma history. After being on it for a month my hair has become thin, I have gained weight, my face has rounded, my skin used to get tan very easily but now just flushes. I have headaches all the time, can't sleep at all during the night, then crash during the day. I am constantly depressed. I always have to pee. I can't be at the gym for more than 30 mins and then I just die im so tired. I can go on and on. I have tried so many time to get off but like I have read from the above comments,I become very sick and lazy I literally can't move. But what I need answers for, and what I was wondering, has anyone started to get hives/rash after coming off or being on prednisone. Every time I try to wean off of it I get them all over my legs!! NOTHING and I mean NOTHING makes them go away except when I start up prednisone again. My doctor thinks its okay and no other doctor can figure out why im getting these hives but its so obvious its from that because when I go back on it goes away. This is not a good medication to be on. I haven't seen hair loss as one of the major side effects but has that happened to anyone else. im praying to god i can wean of this drug if anyone knows anything pleaaaase let me knowwwwwww

i have been on celexa 60 mg . i don't believe that it helps. well my doctor put me on it for depression and anxiety because i have chronic urticaria which is a unknown allergy which causes me to have chronic hives and severe swelling of the hands, feet,fingers etc.my doctor believes that it is caused by stress and if she treat the stress i shouldn't brake out. but she's wrong. Well to get to the point i have been on celexa for about 4 months now. i still brake out with the hives that caused me to get back on the worst drug ever prednisone. but since i've been on celexa i suffer with nervousness, night sweats, shaking,blurriness, and it makes me tired and makes me feel like I'm going crazy. i just stopped taking celexa because i think it is a waste of time and it just gives my doctor something to believe that she has cured my problems with the hives well shes wrong. i have seen over a dozen different doctors and they all told me that they will never find out what is causing me to brake out. but this doctor i have now is determined to prescribe me celexa that does solve any of my problems. celexa sucks

Hi everyone,

I am a 25 year old female who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease one year ago. I stumbled on this website and wanted to share my experiences to let others know they are not alone and that their side effects due to Prednisone are completely normal.

In Nov of 2007, I was in the hospital for a Crohn's flare up and was put on prednisone through IV (240mg/day). After a three days I was released, but one week later, had another flare up and was back in the hospital in December of 2007. This time, I stayed for 6 days and was on 240mg/day again through IV, along with taking Flagyl and fluids for my flare up and infection.

At first, I lost about 10 lbs due to the flare up and all of the medication I was on. However, within 3 weeks time, I gained 28 lbs and was a complete mess. I looked different, felt different and was emotionally and mentally drained.

My side effects included: Severe moon face, buffalo hump, increased appetite, hair thinning and severe hair loss, night sweats where I would have to change pajamas 3-4x a night, OCD to the point where I would have to clean my entire apartment (even if it was already clean), restlessness, anxiety, no sleep and sometimes I would go days without sleeping, increased thirst and dehydration, swollen eyes and headaches, depression and mood swings, upper and lower abdomen swelling and weight gain (28 lbs in 3 weeks), suicidal thoughts, unbearable muscle and joint swelling and aching, forgetfulness and memory loss, blurred vision and dark hair growth on my face near my sideburns and underneath my chin and on the bottom portion of my face. Bottom line: it was unbearable and nobody warned me about the harsh side effects of the drug.

When I left the hospital, I was put on 60mg/day and eventually weaned off Prednisone over the course of 2 1/2 months and took my last 5mg dose in mid- February 2008.

It is now 2 months since I have been off Prednisone and as of now, I have only lost 7 lbs, but much of the moon face has gone away and I don't seem as swollen in my chest. My appetite returned to normal the day I stopped taking the drug and my mood swings subsided one week after stopping Prednisone. I still have the buffalo hump, but it stopped hurting and I am now able to sleep through the night. The fluid retention seems to have moved south towards my legs, arms, and lower abdomen. My doctors say that within about 6 months after stopping Prednisone, most of the fluid retention should go away and they recommend walking for 45-60 minutes/day to help with the fluid/weight gain.

Overall, prednisone helped to save my life and put my Crohn's into remission, but is one of the WORST drugs I have ever taken. My heart goes out to anyone who has had to take this drug and trust that you are not alone--and the side effects are real and they are harsh. I am slowly seeing that it takes time for the prednisone to leave your system and my doctors say that every day there is less and less in my body.

Stay positive, stay active & stay Healthy!!

I have been taking prednisone for severe chronic urticaria (hives) for 14 years. The good outwieghs the bad here because I would be dead by now if I was not on it. I would have killed myself. Before I was on it, my face would swell up so that I could not see, barely breathe and definitely not talk. On top of this I had hives on every inch of me, my hands so badly swollen that I could not close them, my feet so swollen even standing hurt and walking was like treading on knives. If that was not bad enough I had extreme nausea and could not keep even water down. Sleeping was completely out of the question and trying to do anything at all but sit and scratch was also out of the question. The only side effects I have had are extreme weight gain (60 the first year and in the additional years it has become a grand total of 150 lbs) I have doubled my weight since I started the medication. By the way I excercised like a hamster on crack and it did not help. I have pitting edema, an ulcer and I now bruise very easily. Over the years I have taken every antihistimine ever conceived as well as tried many other remedies. I have been on anti rejection medications, asthma medicine and even arthritis medication. At one point I was on Zantac and Proventil to see if that might do it. Unfortunately prednisone is the only thing that has worked for me. I have even tried some herbal remedies. I would wrap myself in aluminum foil if it would make my hives disappear, unfortunately it ended up being fat and pitting edema in which I have been wrapped. I can handle it. Getting fat is not the end of the world, not living my life is the end of everything! So take the vitamins and the detoxifiers and suck it up!

I have been on effexor for about three yrs. I am experiencing chronic urticaria and am wondering if anyone else has. I also have excessive sweating,hot most of the time, weight gain, and many other side effects. I looking for anyone with similiar side effects.