Puffy face symptoms and conditions

I have been on Prednisone 40mg x 5 days and am now reducing to 30mg x 5 days followed by a 10mg reduction q 5 days until I am off the med. I have read your blogs and my heart goes out to you all.

Has anyone lost their sense of taste? I can only taste salty things, but just the salt only. I have the nausea, stomach pains, depression, mood swings, inability to focus and a tremendous amount of 'floaters' in my eyes. In general, I am extremely drug sensitive, but the Prednisone has brought me to a place I don't want to be.

I welcome your input on the sense of taste issue. Thanks in advance for your comments.

I had 3 cervical shots the last 5/28/90.I started side effects. Puffy face, night sweats, increased appetite, weight gain, before the 3rd shot but didn't realize it's connections to the shots until after the 3rd shot. Additional effects: indigestion, hormonal changes (my period stopped since the 1st shot and is spotty), and the worst...horrible migraine headaches daily. It has been significantly hurting my life-mostly the headaches. No one has an answer or any help. The doctor who administered the shots has no insight since these headaches are so long lasting. Any one experience these type of effects and can tell me if they have worn off. It has been 6 weeks since the last shot!

Was in the hospital receiving IV and inhaled steroids for breathing problems. Sent home with 10mg prednisone twice a day. It was even worse. ---puffy face, no sleep,and extreme weakness in my thighs--hard to even walk up stairs. Had a CAT scan of my lungs and my dr. was alarmed---said for a 112 pound woman,my stomach was the size of an obese person! now I'm going to have a stomach emptying test to see if that or the steroids is the problem.

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

Another update:
It has been 16 days off the prednisone and I still have the puffy face and the hives have returned. The Dr. said they could not send me for allergy testing because the prednisone would interfere with the tests for a month or 2. Wow, I had no idea this stuff can stay in your system for such a long time and I only took it for 7 days, so my heart goes out to all of you who have been on this drug for months or years. I can't even imagine what you must be going through. I was put on this drug for hives, but some of you are on it for far more serious conditions so I have no idea if it would be wise or unwise to discontinue this drug for those of you in that situation. Talk with your doctors tell them you want off and to advise another alternative to at least try. I see that the prednisone is no cure for hives it just treats the symptoms and as soon as the prednisone was stopped the hives were still there. In my case the chance of this drug damaging my body for just a moments relief from hives was not worth it. How wonderful for those who are able to tolerate this drug but for most people it seems to have horrible effects on the body. May God help you all to make the right decisions.

UPDATE: This is my third day being off the prednisone, I still have the puffy face and neck and whenever I try to do anything I experience the heaviness and chest discomfort and just a funny feeling in my head. I have to stop and rest and let my heart slow down. This is the weekend so I am going to try and wait this out for a week and if no better then back to the Dr.
How are all of you?

I began prednisone May 20th for hives from a reaction to an antibiotic. After taking it for a few days I started having ringing in the ears, shortness of breath, tightness in the chest and sweating, dry mouth, puffy face and just a strange feeling like my blood pressure is up. I took it for 7 days out of the nine because the nurse told me to stop it after I called in about how I have been feeling. Today is the first day of not taking it but I see hardly no improvements. My husband tells me to drink a lot to flush this medication out of my system. Today I am experiencing some chest discomfort with slight aching. I feel the same as all of you. I wished I knew of this drug beforehand, and I hope to never see this drug again. I just hope it didn't cause much damage. I will be praying for all of you. No one knows any more what can happen after taking such medication. If you are on this call your Dr. to be taken off. This is not good, I have no idea why this is still on the market. Hope you all recover from your symptoms after taking this drug!

I am on prednisone frequently for respiratory infections as I have a chronic lung condition. I was just hospitalized for a week and on 80 mg per day IV. I have tapered by 5 mg every 3rd day. I have a rash in my hairline and actually in my hair. I have blurry vision, insomnia, cravings for food, weight gain, puffy face, swollen stomach, and pain so bad in my left hip joint that I can hardly bear weight.
In Aug, 2008, I had my right hip replaced from avascular necrosis caused by steroid use for my lung condition. I am worried that AVN is now also in my left hip. The steroids take the swelling down in my lungs so I can breathe, however they are destroying my bones. I am so scared of another hip surgery. I realize that I need to be thankful that my joints can be replaced, but it is a horrible side effect of this drug.

I was searching for a site with the side effects of Singulair for my son who is 10 and has been taking Singulair since he was 2. It was a life-saving drug for him and his life has been wonderful since then (as far as asthma goes). He is a very athletic boy who plays every sport he can and he is still a little overweight with cellulite and love handles. I had heard that maybe it might be the Singulair so I decided to check it out. Little did I know about all of these other side effects. He's been taking it for so long that I assumed his depressed personality was just the way he was. He has also had such horrific nightmares and he's convinced he has a ghost in his room that shakes his bed that I was really starting to consider that maybe he might. His brother sleeps in the same room and does not have any of these experiences (also on Singulair). I am SHOCKED! I only read about 20 entries but I'm going to read more. Has anyone had the weight gain problem? Thank you for anything you can share.

i have gained weight while on warfarin telling my doctor just made me feel fat and lazy he didn't believe me when i asked if this was caused by this drug. you can not know how much better i feel reading so many emails from people saying they gained from this drug. I also have the puffy face and big belly and tired feeling

I can't believe that so many doctors don't know about the side effects of Kenalog and/or don't advise their patients about them. It's unbelievable!!! My father was a very well-known rheumatologist in Puerto Rico (he passed away in 1994) and I worked with him for many years. And one of the first things I learned about Kenalog (and all corticosteroids) were its possible side effects, the most common ones being redness or pain at the injection site, headache, menstrual period changes and/or post-menopausal bleeding, easy bruising and/or bleeding, swelling of the ankles/feet, persistent weight gain, puffy face, unusual hair growth and thinning of the skin, among many others. In case you want to learn more about this, you can visit ******.

I myself am post-menopausal although I'm only 51, and haven't had my period for over two years now. Two weeks ago I got a shot of Kenalog for my back pain and about three days later started spotting, and right now I'm having full vaginal bleeding. I don't worry cause I know it was the Kenalog, but since I have an appointment on the 29th with my gynecologist, she'll tell me if anything has to be done.

Anyway, I hope to have helped the soooo many women who have soooo many doubts about Kenalog. Take care, friends! TutiMM from Florida

I was put on Prednisonsone for Uveitis, inflammation of the eye. He started me on 20mg at 9 pills a day, then each week it was lowered to 6 pills then now i'm on 3 pills and then next week it will be 1 1/2 pill and i'll be off. I got the puffy face, my feet swelled, everytime i hate my stomach bloated and hurt, my face and neck turns red, i stayed hungry although i fought the temptation of eating for not wanting to gain a lot of weight, which I don't think I've gained any. But now I wake up in the middle of the night and severe knee pain, it feels like my knees they are in some kind of device that is crushing my bones they hurt so bad. i caught a bad cough and it's been around now for about 2 weeks and won't go away, i told the nurse about it and she says, i probably just got what everyone else has gotten, just a bad cough, well what's if it's some kind of infection? I look like a chipmunk, my face is so puffy. When i get off these prednisone in another week I WON'T BE going back on them, no matter what the case. I'm in more pain being on them and have more side effects while on them than the problem i was having with uveitis. I think some co workers thank I'm over reacting, but they're not here they don't see all the pain and frustration i'm going through while on this drug. The leg pain just started this weekend and i Know i can't deal with waking up everynight like this in severe pain. Everyone just makes me feel like i'm over reactin and it's nice to know that somebody out there is going through the same thing. Any comments will be great.

Has anyone had a High White Blood count due to the Mirena? I was given the Mirena to help with the Progesterone because I'm so young and I didn't want to have a hysterectomy. I haven't had children and want to try even though I've been told it's not possible. I have a 1% chance which is why I want to give it a try, but I'm almost 34 years old, so I only have a little time since I'm already in Pre-Menapause. I have had horrible headaches and also bloating, but I thought it was from my GI problem I've been dealing with for over a year now. I had the Mirena insert on February 11th, but my White Blood Count has skyrocketed to the point they want me to go on to a Hematologist. I was on Seasonable and I almost had a heart attack because my blood pressure went up to high because of the side effects. Just be careful. Now reading this website has me suspicious, so now it maybe hysterectomy time. This was my last chance to try something.

So nice to see that I'm not just imagining the adverse reactions. I've been taking Advair 250/50 for about 3 weeks now after being diagnosed with asthma/chronic bronchitis. I went back to my doctor the following week because I was still having chest pain, back pain, felt as if I still wasn't getting enough oxygen and mentioned that I was having a lot of difficulty with being jittery. He evaluated my breathing with a peak flow meter and since that seemed to be OK, he wanted to do an EKG - which he did and seemed to see something that warranted a referral to a cardiologist. So far the cardiologist has not seen anything out of the ordinary.
I'm thinking more and more that there is nothing wrong with my heart and that this is all being caused by the Advair. Has anyone else been referred to a cardiologist and found out nothing was wrong?

Very few side effects. My father was put on 30 mg of Prednisone to control an inflammation that he was having in his body. It seemed to work well. He had also lost considerable weight, had anemia and was admitted to the hospital prior. So I wasn't worried about the common side effect of Prednisone of weight gain, as post-hospital we were glad he was gaining weight. I don't know if it was a side effect, as he only slowly gained a pound or two each week and then eventually plateaued about about his old weight.

We've now started tapering it, at my recommendation, not the doctor's!, and we are not seeing any return of side effects yet. He did have a bit of the puffy face, and is a bit compulsive, but we don't know if that's because of his Alzheimer's or the Prednisone.

I wanted to let some other know, as I've done a lot of reading/research, looking at the prescribing and pharmakinetics of the drug, it seems important that the taper is most critical when you are nearing 5 mg. This is because 5 mg is about the amount that your body naturally makes, so if your adrenal glands have stopped making it, it would take some time for them to 're-awaken'.

Therefore, the typical recommended tapering schedule is something like 10 mg per week, then slowing it down at 10 mg, and then real slow at 5 mg, eventually going to like 1 mg pills, as you try to continue down to no pills.

While I think Prednisone did put an end to a life-threatening inflammation for my father, I like many others would have liked much more upfront info and options from the docs. We are now on a slow 3 month taper schedule, that nobody realized we'd have to do when we started.

BTW, my dad has mild/moderate swelling in his ankles and toes, but nothing in his hands or abdomen. We don't know if it's because of his loss of weight, muscle and weakening of his heart, and/or some interference with his adrenal-regulation from an ACE inhibitor, Lisinopril, that he is on for his hypertension, or the Prednisone.

Any advice on the swollen ankles would be appreciated.

Had mine from early 2003 and gained 5 to 6 stones (14lb = 1 stone). All other three pregnancies I returned to normal weight, but after the last one, the weight piled on. I had no periods which was great, but could not sleep well, felt 'switched off ' often muddling up words and generally feeling on the outside looking in on situations. Had dry scalp, dry skin,stronger smell down below, and had terrible water retention. Had mine out just before Christmas, cant wait for hormones to get out my system. The Mirena coil has ruined the last four years of my life, was bloated with puffy face, huge breasts and stomach. May work for some, but was worst thing I've ever done... Good luck everyone, its terrible we are all going through this.

I have a herniated disc in lower back.Been dealing with it for about 7 yrs 3 of which have been chronic. I had a series of 3 shots in 3 weeks one year ago and had instant relief for about 2 months. My pain came back after this short pause with a vengeance. I just went back to the doctor for my second series of 3 shots but he really knocked the hell out of me this time. I have had a accelerated heart rate, puffy face, huge weight gain, anxiety, insomnia, incredible appetite, cotton mouth and some digestive problems as well. One good thing about it is that I do not have any pain(for now). I am scheduled for surgery in a month hopeful to get away from all drug treatments.

I have been on prednisone since February. I was giving it in the hospital and
it helped increase my appetite. I was very dizzy but the Dr. in the hospital said it was from not having enough fluid. It was 80 mg and then cut down to 20 mg. I then had a lung biospy and found out that besides the hemolytic anemia I was diagnosed with earlier I had some lymphocyctic intertial pneumonitis. The drug of choice for treatment is prednisone. The prednisone was upped to 80 mg again and I, of course, had to take insulin on a sliding scale. It was okay for a while and then the EYE PAIN began. I never knew my eyes could hurt so much. I went ot see the optometrist who sent me to an opthamalogist and checked the pressure which was high. I told the dr. I was taken back to 40 mg. The eye pain was better and weaned but after a couple of weeks it hurt like nothing else. so they placed me on 20 mg then 10 mg then 5. I don't know if anyone else had a problem with this and it would only relate to female my period is so heavy and so irregular that I get it like 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. I,also, don't know if it's the change. I am 45. I did lose weight and I have a puffy face but I think I always did. I am in pain. I know I cry and try to make myself do things. The one thing I do feel is that my brain is gone. I can't thnk like I used to and I don't care.

I did have to go back up to 80 for a while and then decrease and now on 15. The pressure is good now in my eyes and there is no pain for the most part.
I am going to a dr. who my lung dr. is referring me to to see if they can do another medicine since he worked with some othe pt who had this. I hope so because this prednisone is worse than what I have.

It seems like everytime I get back on a birth control after getting off it, i react differently. I started on ortho, I felt pregnant, bloated, depressed, acne. Switched to aviane 28 after 2 months, at first, weight loss, clear skin, than cystic pimples in the last week. I stopped early that week, then decided it would be better to finish the pack. So i skipped two of the days and finished the pack. TERRIBLE idea. I've never looked or felt more disgusting in my life and I didn't get a period. I went back on ortho to re regulate myself. Acne, but felt wonderful! unfortunately i stopped b/c the price went up. Felt terrible after stopping dramatic weight loss that i didn't need. Went back on ortho lo, felt weird, very manly. like muscular, and weird puffy face and dark spots on the sides of my face. I lost a pack and decided not to pay $50 again, i;m a college student and bought aviane 28. My skin has never been so clear! I got really tired after taking them so I think next month i'll switch to taking them at night. I don't feel physically healthy yet after a dramatic weight loss after getting off ortho (even though I'm at a healthy weight), but I think i'll continue with them, but take them at night intstead. My advice is don't play around with these hormones. I'm afraid what i'll be like getting off them. I feel safer taking the lower dose though. My sister has been taking this for years, and claims to have no side effects and thinks i'm crazy when I start complaining about birth control.

In June I found out I had actue renal failure. One of the many medications I was given was prednisone. After a few weeks I grew so weak, tired and in a lot of pain. I even had to take a medical leave from work(4 months).
I was told to expect the moon face, hunchback, the acne..However, my sypmptoms worsened to point I didn't want to eat(lost 30 lbs) could hardly move and had to be hospitalized(almost went on dialysis). They flushed me out for a week at the hospital and avoided dialysis.
Once out of the hospital I proceeded to keep the weight off, but the side effects just mounted. I had thrush in the mouth(the worst feeling), sleeplessness, I had every side effect listed and I mean all with the exception of hallucinations and depression. The miracle was that what I was expecting weight gain, moon face did not happen.
Around September my doctor started weaning me off prednisone b/c I told him I cant take it anymore. Wouldn't you know it the minute I started getting weaned off the medication I got the moon face and acne. I cant beleive how much acne I have and the moon face and extra chin that came along with it are not cute. In 3 days I gained 10lbs and feel like I'm gainiing everyday. This might bring on the depression that has yet to occur. Why is this happening now that I'm being weaned. I started at 80mg a day and now I'm down to 30mg and next week down to 20mg.
I know this drug did its job and I pray that I dont have to be on it at all once the weaning process is over, but this is hell. I really feel doctors should tell you everything that you can expect. I didnt know enough about this drug(I know there is the internet I should have used it) and had I known then what I know now I seriously might have asked for some alternatives. This drug may be a miracle in the medical community, but for those of us who have to take it, its hell. Does anyone know how long it will take for the moon face, acne, and weight gain to go away?

I'm a 37 year old female and have severe asthma and allergies and have used pregnisone on and off for 30 years. I believe I am the poster child for the long term side effects. My immune system is shot to the point that my normal medicines for asthma (ventolin, advair) and allergies (tylenol sinus, claritan, visine A) and ezcema (elidel, hydrocortisone, etc. - - NOTHING works!

In the past 6 months, I have developed various infections that the doctors have not been able to identify. My eyes are swollen and red with large amount of white/yellow secretions. Vaginal secretions. Face swollen. Skilled covered in a rash with ezcema out of control. Sharp pains in my back and stomach. Constant asthma. Abnormal hair growth. It is to the point that it is impossible to function and each doctor just wants to prescribe more pregnisone. I feel as if my body is a walking time bomb and it is so full of all the cortisone from over the years and has just decided no more.

I admit that I too readily believed in the doctors when they would rapidly prescribe the pregnisone. Only now am I paying attention to the long term side effects.

Has anyone had tests done to test their immune system and other organs for damage? Thanks and best to our pregnisone club.

I've took a very high dosage of prednisone for 6 years, from the age of ten years old. 17 years later, i still have an extreme moon face. The only thing that has ever helped me was a facial exerciser (a microcurrent devise), but those results can be hard an expensive to maintain. As anyone else ever had a moon face that wouldnt go away even after stopping their prednisone usage after a long period of time? Does anyone have any advice for me, on how i can finally get rid of this horrible extreme moonface? my face and all my facial features are swollen, including my eyelids, this has been goin on for years. I also have suffered for years from severe chronic diarrhea from an illeostomy reversal. Please help me.

I took Prednisone for 14 days for fluid build-up in my sinsus. I gained lots of weight, puffy face, racing heart, and after I came off of it in the prescribed manner I have a a continuous headache for two weeks straight - day and night. Very nasty stuff! I would not recommend taking it unless it is a last resort.

nausea, tiredness, weight gain but gets full easily and am eating less than usual, sunburn, yellowy eyes - my skin looks tired. puffy face. tight throat

Wow! I've spent so much time and money at Dr's, specialists for tests to end up with absolutely no idea what is going on with me.
On my own, I decided to look into the medication I was taking ... and ta da!!! Here it is in big bold print! Thank you everyone ... and for this site!
I'd like to go back and just say a few words to all those Dr's that just laughed me out of their office and back in to my own world of frustration.
AND IF ANYONE KNOWS WHEN YOU STOP TAKING ADVAIR (WHICH I DID) ... DO THE SYMPTOMS GO AWAY, DO YOU GAIN YOUR NICE FIGURE BACK AND HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE???

Advair 500 DID relieve my asthma symptoms, excellent!
But with that....
Huge bloated stomach almost painful sometimes
Aching joints/stiffness
Severe Fatigue
Heartburn and reflux (on meds for that now!)
Significant weight gain, especially across the abdomen
Pain/ache across my upper chest area
Puffy face
Slow healing for something as simple as a scratch.