Iritis symptoms and conditions

I was giving prednisone for only 5 days (not sure about dose, but it tapered to one pill on the last day) for a bronchitis induced severe asthma attack. I have only had asthma twice in my 50 years, both times associated with a bad case of bronchitis. The "doc in the box" reduced his original dosage due to the 3 corisone injections I recently had in my spine. After reading these posts I feel grateful I wasn't on a higher, longer term dose. I have some of the same side effects listed here including uncontrollable appetite, fat gain around the middle, water weight gain, constantly having to urinate, superhuman energy, heart palpitations, and approximately two weeks after finishing, I began to get a mustache (hairs that were previously white became brown over a two week period). I have read on the internet and been told by my pharmacist that this is temporary. I have also read and been told that the 2mg estradiol I take every day since my hysterectomy causes the body to retain and not rid itself of the steroids as it normally would (estrogen is actually listed as drug interaction with prednisone). The doctor in the box apparently just ignored this interaction and prescribed it anyway. However the main reason I am posting is a very strange possible side effect that occurred approximately 1 week after my final dose. I was awakened in the middle of the night with SEVERE pain (felt like bone pain, not muscle) in my right knee that lasted until morning. By mid morning it was gone. The next night I had the same experience but in both knees. It lasted about 5 more days, gradually tapering in intensity, and then just went away. I do have severe arthritis in my lumbar and cervical spine, having had surgeries to repair injuries from a snowmobiling accident. I have normal arthritis elsewhere for a 50 year old, but have NEVER had issues with my knees. Has anyone had this strange symptom? None of my doctors (internist, rheumatologist, physiatrist - who gave me the injections and prescribed physical therapy for my spine) had any explanation. The only explanation I have is the prednisone because I had taken the Z-pac (antibiotic) with no side effects several times in the past. Weird!

Incidentally, I am off the prednisone for about 5 weeks, am still hungry all the time, still fat, still bloated. Unfortunately the extra energy is gone. Best of luck to everyone on this strange drug. My heart sincerely goes out to all of you on long term therapy. God bless.

To guest #12650 who inquired if Prednisone or withdrawal from Prednisone can affect your eyesight - YES!! While on Prednisone my eyesight deteriorated and when I came off it totally my vision became very blurry and I developed iritis. I have been off it for nearly three months now and have been checked every 2 - 3 weeks by my opthomologist. My eyesight is gradually getting better. I can now read a newspaper - I couldn't before and I can read my computer screen.

After having done a lot of reading on the possible reasons people develop many of these auto-immune conditions that lead to taking Prednisone, I am wondering if anyone here has had any results from taking anti-inflammatory supplements such as fish oil, ginger, turmeric, etc. Many sites say that diet is at the bottom of these diseases - in my case, iritis - and I want to stop taking Prednisone. I have been changing my diet in the last few weeks, upped the Fish Oil and am planning to take other supplements.

Any experiences out there????

Avascular Necrosis - Beware!

I have been taking Prednisone off and on for about threee years now for reoccuring iritis. Have been up to 60 mgs./day a few times, and many of the times I taper, no matter how slowly, the iritis comes back. Since you can go blind from iritis, I guess Prednisone is the lesser evil.

Anyway, during my first longer period of taking it, I had many of the common side effects - weight gain, double chin, facial hair, hyperactivity, moon face, etc. After visiting a classic homeopath, he gave me a remedy which kept the iritis away for a few months. Subsequent attacks did not respond to the remedy though. I have been back on Prednisone for about 8 - 9 months now, and have a drastic side effect to report, which I haven't seen before here.

After a long road trip (10 hours) I began to have strange pains in my upper right hand thigh, which seemed to eminate from the leg joint. No matter what I did, they didn't go away and not even 2 Lortabs could help the pain. I went to the orthopedic doctor and he diagnosed avascular necrosis. The is a condition where the blood flow has been cut off to the bone, in this case, the femur, and the bone begins to die off. If it can be detected in an X-ray, it is already pretty far along. An MRI, which I had yesterday, shows best what is going on.

This is a DIRECT side effect of long-term prednisone use which no one ever told me about! So if you have joint pain, especially at the end of a longer bone, BE SURE and talk to a doctor about it. It is going to be a serious deal to get rid of this.