I wanted to post for those going through a short course of predni...

I wanted to post for those going through a short course of prednisone and report that things will get better. I was prescribed prednisone at the ER for poison oak that had been getting worse over the course of 2 weeks; it looked like one knee was in the process of dissolving (soaked through 9 of those triple-layer 3x3 gauze pads in under an hour). I took 60mg for 3 days, 40mg for 3 days, and 20mg for 3 days. During that time I don't think I slept more than an hour total per night, I broke out in hives and cystic acne, and my face and stomach bloated. Then I had panic attacks as I was tapering off of the prednisone. At the end of a week after my last 20mg pill, I was almost euphoric at feeling like I was in my right mind again. All the other side-effects receded within 2 weeks and it does not seem to have had any lasting effects on my blood glucose (I'm part of a clinical trial for a vaccine). When I got reinfected with poison oak (that oil will hang around on anything it touches) I got a presciption for a topical corticosteroid from my GP and nipped it in the bud this time.