Muscle wasting symptoms and conditions

I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis at the end of 2007 and have been on prednisone since then. I started on about 105mg a week and am currently trying to reduce it but it is really hard as the moment the dosage goes down I lose all mobility and cannot even get out of bed. I am only 23 years old and really feeling the disease to the extent that I cannot even cope with my life. The prednisone has really taken its toll on me and the side effects are crazy! I just want to go back to my old self as I am finding it sooo hard to get through a single day. My side effects include:

Insomnia, tooth sensitivity, depression, anxiety, mood swings, moon face (my face is so swollen that I cant stand looking in the mirror anymore, dizziness, temper, feelings of uselessness, nightmares, night sweats, water retention, and to top it all off the arthritis is getting worse and I am in constant pain. Is there anything anyone can suggest then please help me!

Hi I am a 44 year old asthma patient. I have had asthma since the age 2 and have been on & off prednisone since that time. As a child until age 20 I was on predinsone daily. My question is has anyone experienced nerve problems due to long time use? I do have muscle weakness and spasms, but I am interested in if anyone has had nerve problems. Please email me at ****** and refer to prednisone.

prednisone is wonderful. It helps you feel a little better when you are sick. I have taken 20mg many times and it helps recover from sinus infections and headcolds. You don't miss work when on prednisone as it helps you get back to feeling good quickly. It tends to make me thirsty and almost too energetic. I request prednisone when I get my yearly sinus infection. Helps a quick recovery.

After bith my childrens births I have experienced a enigmatic skin disease / disorder which has been unclassified by dermatologists and specialists. First I experienced blisters on my torso, which crusted over and followed with severe urticaria-like wheels all over my body. Doctors placed me on Prednisone 5mg tablets ( 40mg daily) for 4 months, in which time the symptoms subsided , but the side -effects for this Mother was terrible!!! I experienced a 12kg weight-gain, uncontrollable appetite, excessive sweating, dizziness , shortness of breath and extreme hairloss. My skin thinned and OI bruised very quickly. No diagnosis could be made. After the induced -birth of my second child now, I have the same episode and had been placed on Prednisone for the second time just to cope with the swelling.

I am currently in my 7th week of using 10mg - 15mg daily with an anti-histamine. I hate the re-occuring side-effects and am very scared of all the long-term damage. Does anyone have any idea how to boost your own natural immune-defence system while being bombarded witha immuno-suppressant like Prednisone??!!!!

I believe that your own body ws made to heal itself or be healed by natural means... but how and what?? I am desperate, and have been following a anti-candida like diet ( no yeast + sugars + preserved foods) Thus far I have not been able to kick the symptoms. Any help out there would be much appreciated. Have someone experienced the same sort of symptoms???

Hi, I am 26 year old mail, I received an "injection" of "kenalog" about 5+years ago. I hate to say but the stuff is still affecting me. I am not lying or exaggerating I am telling the truth. I am totally logical and don't imagine stuff plus all the side effects and everything is totally obvious you don't have to be a genius to figure it out.
Insomnia
Depression
Anxiety
Nightmares
Hairloss on head Hairgrowth in nostrils and arms
Tiredness
Muscle wasting and weakness.
Irregular heart beats/ heavy heart beats
Swelling of the throat/ sinus'
Fatigue
Disorientation
Itching on the body especially the neck
Acne
Divets or small holes in face and nose now I look bad.
Slower reflexes.
Stomach problems
Other side effects that I am not willing to list
Discoloration of the skin
Probably others I haven't remembered

I would just like to say I feel bad for ANYBODY who has had this happen
to them. And I think the nurse might have gave me a way higher dose
than normal because the side effects have been so far lasting.
If there was a way to broadcast this to more people I would. Don't get a
kenalog injection whoever you are. I am going to try chlorophyll as another person mentioned. I do believe there is a God and do believe he will wipe out all suffering on earth in the near future. If you are suffering please pray to God his name is Jehovah and pray in the name of his son Jesus and He will hear YOU. Revelation 21:3,4 "  With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them.  And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” "

I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease over thirty-one years ago. I have taken Predisone many times over the period of my illness. My Crohn's Disease has been very aggressive and I have lost all but 250 cm of my bowel. Prednisone has been the only drug that has been able to help but at great cost to me. I am now disabled from the disease and the side effects of the drug. The most devestating side effect is the weight gain. I am now 80lbs heavier than when I was diagnosed. The moon face is very difficult to deal with. Everyone says they know it's from the meds but that doesn't help when I look in the mirror. The fat deposits in my abdomen are very embrassing to me as well.
The sweats, blurred vision, nervousness, hyperactivity, exhaustion, acne, slepplessness, shaking, joint pain (so bad I can hardly walk when I am on the meds), mood swings, depression, swelling (water retention so bad I can hardly bend my legs), the muscle wasting in my thighs, the conective tissue damage making it hard to heal from surgery, difficulty concentrating, bone weakness ( I break ribs very easily) and so many more...all this is too much to pay to control a disease.
They really need to find better drugs now. If you can try something else instead of Prenisone I strongly recomend that you do. It should always be a last resort.

I used Lipitor for 10 months after previously using Lescol and Zetia. I have experienced severe muscled cramps, muscle tremors, loss of strength, slurred speach, tendonitis, and muscle wasting. I stopped Lipitor one month ago but have not yet seen much improvement in my symptoms.

high CK levels, muscle wasting, extreme brusing, after nearly one year off of the drug still have muscle spasms, leg cramps, and arthritis like symptoms attacking different joints intermittenly

Against my wishes and not telling me the truth while I was in the hospital, a doctor was giving me steroids/prednisone. I began to lose weight and find it very frightening as I have never heard of anyone losing weight on prednisone. Everyone complains of weight gain. Even though I am now off the Prednisone I am having a difficultl time maintaining my weight. I just am unable to gain and too frightened to tell the doctor, afraid of what they may find. This weight loss started while on the Prednisone (shots, then pills). I cannot find anywhere where weight loss is a side effect. Has anyone else ever heard of this? I found a few references and they pertained to cancer, which is why I am frightened. I know I did not have this problem until I was given Prednisone.

I've been reading the past postings and so far have seen nothing about adrenal gland failure. My husband was on 60 mg a day since Nov. 05 (for GVHD) and they have been weening him off since. He was down to 5 mg and he just seemed to crash, no energy, panting when going upstairs, just plain tired. They tested his adrenal glands and I have read that prednisone can atrophy them so now they have upped the pred to 7.5mg which is what these glands put out usually.
Has anyone had this or know what drugs they use to kickstart the glands?
He also has the moon face, buffalo hump and budda belly but he exercises every day because of the osteo and muscle wasting.

Hi all:

I was given an injection into the nasal tip about a month after septoplasty, to reduce swelling.

I left the office and midway home, about 20 minutes after leaving,, my vision blurred so completely that I could no longer read the street signs. I did not have a cell phone at the time, and somehow I made it safely home without needing to see totally clearly, likely because I was familiar with the route and could still make out large landmarks. My vision improved somewhat after stopping the injections, but not completely.

Recently, too, a new veterinarian treating my dog switched to triamcinolone injectables, instead of using the dogs normal depo medrol injection for hypo-adrenalism. I was not apprised of the switch and the dog began exhibiting severe muscle wasting, and weakness Finally, I checked the bottle and saw that it was triamcinolone not depo medrol. I was pretty darned upset, and requested that he be switched back

The dog is slowly gaining weight and muscle, but at one point he had lost so much muscle we feared he would die.

I have now been off Lipitor for 3 weeks and am feeling less fatigue and my hips and thighs are not hurting as much. Still pain when walking up stairs. I ask my General Practioner for a CPK test (muscle test). My Cardiologist did not agree with me that Lipitor was causing my hip and thigh pain and weakness. Sure enough the test came back slightly elevated. Because of a heart attack, my doctor wanted me on a statin drug. I tried 2 with the same results. My liver test always came back good so that is all He cared about. Now I have some muscle wasting. I'm not sure if that can be corrected but whatever I will never take Lipitor again.

It shocks me to read all of the issues with this drug. I have only been taking it for two days and it is the best thing I have ever taken (so far). My acne, which I have had since I was 12 and now I am 30, is gone; I have completely shed all of my depression and I feel like a whole different person. My husband loves it! The only side effects that I have noticed that are negative, again I have only been taking it for two days, is sleeplessness and occational headaches. I am able to concentrate, and stay awake in class/at work. I was perscribed this med because I have an allergy to something and broke out into hives. I will only be on the med for five days, but I like the fact that I feel alive.

my husband is dignosied with als and lyme. our dumbss* Dr. had him on lipitor 20mg for a month. my husband has taken a serious dive in condition. how could i be so stupid as to trust a Dr. and this medicine. jon is now having speech problems and extreme lung problems. he was all ready unable to walk and has extreme muscle wasting. help please !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lipitor, Crestor Age 57
Cholesterol 250 Doctor tried me on Lipitor 10 mg first. After one week I experienced the "can't get up out of a chair" that the doc warned me about. I also felt very weak in my legs going up the stairs. I stopped the Lipitor. My husband had the same problem with Zoclor and was angry that his doc did not warn him. My doc also said upset stomach or intestines was a side effect. When Crestor came out, my doc said it was a designer drug that should not cause muscle problems. I took Crestor 10 mg for 6 weeks and had the lab tests. My liver functions were fine and my cholesterol was down to 150.
Just one or two weeks later I experienced severe flu-like aches and pains, especially in my upper back and shoulders and arms. It was an achey, almost burning pain. It got so bad I just stayed in bed. My legs didn't bother me very much, so I did not think of the muscle wasting side effect called rhabdomyolisis. After two weeks in bed, my spouse told me that USA Today reported a death in someone using Crestor. The penny dropped and I stopped using the Crestor. Each day of the next week the pain improved. To me that was proof. I am back to doing my normal activities, but I continue to have intermittent pain in my upper back and shoulders. I sometimes have burning and strange nerve sensations in the back and shoulders. These feel like itching or when the novacaine wears off at the dentist. Several spots on my back have no feeling. After 9 months off Crestor, my back still gets sore or feels numb or gets burning sensations from pressure including lying in bed. A spine x-ray showed nothing. I think it was Crestor. Now I have some numbness that comes and goes in my face, but I don't know if it is related. I will never take another Statin drug again.