Due date symptoms and conditions

I'm 15 years old and i've been taking prednisone for a few months, and from what i've read i'm on a really high dose. i was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and another autoimmune disorder concerning my muscles at the same time. my doctor told me prednisone was my only choice; it was either that or i would lose the ability to walk. he told me there'd be side effects, but i had no idea it'd turn out like this or i would have fought harder for another course of action. i started out on 30mg twice a day, and since then was weaned down to 20mg twice a day and now i'm down to 30mg once a day. i've been looking up a bunch of information trying to figure out if there's a way to lessen the side effects or any hope at all that they will get better. apparently there isn't much. after reading a bunch of these stories i gotta say i'm not feeling great about this. i totally understand everything everyone is going through. i'm sure you can imagine what it's like being smack in the middle of high school with a huge puffy face, acne so bad on my face, chest, back, neck, and shoulders that wearing a bra could put me in tears, and mood swings so bad i've lost friends over it. everyone knows how brutal high school can be, where appearance and attitude are everything. and i try to tell my doctor about it and he literally looks at me like i'm a whiny teenager and says "you're just going to have to deal with it." and people like my mom and my closest friends don't get it either. nobody understands how beyond frustrating it is. i'll get into the worst moods and not have a reason for it, but i'll stay angry for hours or burst into tears over someone looking at me the wrong way. it'll get to the point where i have to isolate myself from other people because the abrubt mood changes get so bad. as bad as i hate to admit it, the pain from the arthritis is gone now and supposedly my muscles are doing better too. developing arthritis caused me to have to quit cheerleading, something i've loved doing for 6 years, because the pain got to the point where i couldn't get my arms above my head or bend my knees. however, i'd almost rather deal with the horrible joint pain than deal with the side effects of prednisone. if your doctor gives you and alternative method, take it. i've always been confident in the way i look and really outgoing and happy and now i sometimes catch myself thinking about suicide. that's shocking to me because i've got so much going for me, but this medicine makes me miserable. and when i complain about it, anyone i'm talking to just looks at me like i'm being a cry baby. my mom does too, she'll say things like "you just have to do this. i know it's not what you want but to be honest i'm sick of hearing you bitch about it."
i feel a little better knowing other people feel the same way - like nobody gets whats going on with them. the prednisone does give me days of really great euphoria and days when i feel like i could run a marathon, but waking up in the morning to the acne and huge face puts me to tears every day. i have to pee all the time, usually getting up at 2 or 3 am. i don't sleep well anymore and i do sweat all the time. which also sucks being a teenage girl. i'm always hungry, and when i eat i never feel full so i don't know when to stop. my neck and face have put on so much weight that when people see me in the halls or out and about they ask me what happened. mind you these are people i don't talk to, just ones i know from classes or whatever. and it's pretty bad when teenage boys i've never really talked to ask what happened to your face. kind of a blow to the ego, or whatever is left of it at this point.
i'd like to know if, as my dosage gets lowered, the side effects will diminish and when i'm off the prednisone completely if they will disappear altogether. any help there?
or if there is any way to help the acne or puffy face

my doctor just put me on something called methotrexate or something like that to help wean me off the prednisone, and does anyone know what those side effects will do? or if they'll affect the prednisone side effects?
i'm constantly obsessing over gaining weight and what my skin looks like and what i eat and how heavy my face feels and the occasional pressure in my eyes to the point where i just want to be put out of my misery.
and after reading other people's stories i really don't understand why this drug is still given out as freely as it is. but maybe all doctors are like mine, they just don't get it.
best of luck to anyone who's on prednisone, my heart goes out to you; i'm right there with you
sorry this became like a book it wasn't meant to be this long

Wow, I honest had no idea that the Mirena has so many possible side effects! I personally have not had any problems mine. I had my daughter in September of 04 and had it inserted in November of 04. I had the usually cramping for about a week but after that everything was normal.It made my period very light and sometimes I don't even get one. In January of 07, I had it remove because I wanted another baby and so my son was born in October that same year. I was able to get pregnant right away. I didn't even get my period. My ob had to use the date my IUD was removed to determine my due date. So again after my son was born, I got another iud this one in January of 08. I have gained some weight but we all know that after kids your body is not the same.I also get the occasional cramps here and there but i think its normal and has nothing to do with my iud. Everyone's comments did make me think but you know everyone is different and for me the mirena has worked fine. I feel for those who have had negative experiences and I hope everything works out. I will keep an open mind and will try be more aware of my body. Perhaps I might have some side effects i'm not aware of but as of now my experience has been great and I will continue using the Mirena.

I am a physician. Kenalog is one of several injectable steroids that can cause subcutaneous atrophy or lipoatrophy as a side effect. For those who have this reaction, they will notice a dent or divot. This is not dangerous problem and most of the time the dent or divot will fill back in with time. How much time? The range is 3 to 24 months without treatment. However, for many patients this healing process can be speeded up with weekly saline injections that can be safely performed by almost any Doctor and need not be expensive.

The technique was well described in the Journal of Dermatological Surgery in 2006. If you do a google search for the name of the article as listed below you can find the Abstract and take a copy to your Doctor.

Best to all,

T.

Treatment of Local, Persistent Cutaneous Atrophy Following Corticosteroid Injection with Normal Saline Infiltration

Shumaker Peter R., MD*, Rao Jaggi, MD † , Goldman Mitchel P., MD †

Published in Dermatological Surgery, 21 Mar 2006

ABSTRACT
Background. Injections of corticosteroids are commonly used for a variety a dermatologic conditions but may cause local, persistent cutaneous atrophy, with few therapeutic options.

Objective. To determine the effectiveness of bacteriostatic normal saline infiltration on the improvement of corticosteroid-induced cutaneous atrophy.

Materials and Methods. Four patients with corticosteroid-induced atrophy of the skin, two caused by acneiform cysts and one from intramuscular steroid injection, were treated with weekly injections of normal saline directly into the atrophic site. The patients were seen on weekly follow-up visits, and improvement was documented.

Results. All four patients demonstrated complete resolution of skin atrophy and restoration of surface contour within 4 to 8 weeks of initial presentation. Injected volumes of normal saline ranged from 5 to 20 cm3 per treatment session and three to six weekly treatments. The patients were completely satisfied with these results.

Conclusion. Normal saline infiltration offers a safe, tolerable, relatively rapid, and effective treatment for local, persistent corticosteroid-induced atrophy.

Dermatologic Surgery, Volume 31 Issue 10, Pages 1340 - 1343,

This is unbelievable. Like most of you, I was told there were very few side effects with Mirena. I had a baby girl in May this year and was considering using the depo after birth since I had used it before with no major issues or dislikes (a little weight gain but, I always felt I was too thin before and the depo made me look curvy in all the right places so no complaints at that time which was about 4 years ago.) I did however, stop using the depo when I wanted to try for another baby and while off the depo I gained much more weight. Right before my due date this year, my midwife suggested I consider Mirena because unlike the depo, "it doesn't make you gain weight." Considering I had gained 30 lbs. during pregnancy and wanted to lose a total of about 45 after birth, I agreed to use Mirena as b/c. Well, I had my baby on May 10th, I immediately breastfed and on my two week postnatal visit I had already lost ALL of the pregnancy weight (30 lbs.!) I then scheduled the appt. to have the Mirena inserted on July twenty something. By that visit I had already lost 50 lbs. by breastfeeding alone...I was ecstatic! About four months later and with the Mirena in me, I am gaining weight, so far 8 lbs. and all of it on my belly, I look like I am about 5-6 months preg. This is especially depressing because only a couple months ago my husband was talking about how flat my stomach had gotten. I am also experiencing hair loss and spotting/bleeding after every intercourse. I am also considering having this thing removed! AHHHHHH!

I have had the Mirena since September 22, 2008. Getting it inserted was easy and great. I took a pain pill an hour before having it inserted and there was hardly any pain. I cramped slightly for about a week and spotted in between then and now. My cycle came at its normal due date but it has not gone away. This is the second week. It is much lighter now but it has turned brown and has a very strong odor. The odor is so embarrassing I don't know what it is. I am also experiencing a lot of hair shedding. I have beautiful long hair and I am afraid that I am about to lose it. I have read where others have experienced severe hair loss. I have also started crying a lot lately too. I go to the doctor tomorrow and after reading everyone's comments I am having this thing removed. So much for birth control!! I guess I will go back to the pill.

I am a divorced mother of 5 minor children and I had my Mirena inserted 5.5 years ago due to heavy and painful periods. The thing stopped my periods, stopped the pain and made feel a free person again without worrying about staining my cloths and having to take days off.
I had the most wonderful 5 years physiology wise. My body responded great but.........my mood swings.....oyvei.
When it was due to come out, last August, the doc could not find the string, he poked, and poked and poked. Two docs tried to find it, to no avail. So they scheduled me to do an outpatient removal with the help of an anesthesiologist who would put me under for the few minutes it would take,
I was franctic.
As a last resort, I decided to wait, passed the due date, to see if my periods would return and get my cervix a bit softer or expel the string, or whatever was left of it after 5 years. I did and we tried again, the doctor said he would poke around a bit and it may hurt. He poked for 30 seconds and said 'here is that sucker!!' and he pulled it out. No pain, nothing.
I feel so happy now that I don't have a strange thing inside of me, but I am concerned about side effects post removal. So far, it's been a week and nothing other than a small bleeding that is fading away and a tad of a somewhat recurrent backache.
Should I expect side effects as days go by?

hey worried # 42432.
I can see why you are worried about your girlfriend. I was on yasmin for 4 years and stopped taking it about 4 months ago. My boyfriend and I also had a worry like this but it was after I stopped taking the pill and it was the only form of contraception we had been using while i was taking it. I didnt get my period for two months past its due date and i also had symptoms of an early pregnancy; nausea, feeling sick after meals and even the tender breasts. We did three tests in the space of two weeks and i was so worried that i was extremely irratable also.
But this was after i stopped it, while i was on the pill I never spotted between periods and i also suffer with bad pains for the four days I have it. The one thing I did notice when i was on it was it made me a little paranoid at times, which is not in my nature and then about 10 months ago i started having irregular heart-beats and fainting for no reason. I decided to go off it because i was really worried and i got myself cheched out with my G.P and i am now in the process of having tests done. I cant say that these symptoms are caused by the pill but i can say that I feel much better now that I am off it and my heart rate has returned to normal.

I think the best thing you should do is get your girlfriend checked out by her G.P to make sure everything is o.k.
I dont know if this was any help to you but Best of luck and i hope everything works out for you both.