Hi! I am a 36 year old female and have been on this HORRIBLE HORR...

I have been on a regimine of prednisone for a badly spraine ankle with torn ligaments. The prednisone has made me jumpy and bloated--especally my stomach and abdomen. I finished all of the medication this Wednesday and then on Thursday I started having bad abdomenal pains. On Friday the pain got worse (reminded me of bad mentrual cramps, but since I am in menopause, that's not an option) and then spread to my lower back. Just awful. When I tried to take Ibuprophen last night to deal with the pain and a low grade fever I had also developed, it made me sick and I vomited the pills back up. This morning, the stomach and back pain is still bad. Do these sound like any of the symptoms you have had while taking prednisone? I don't think I have the flu, and since I have had this painful bloating, abdomenal pain and lower back pain for three days now, I was wondering if maybe they could be side effects from stopping the prednisone.... After reading your post, however, I feel as though I should just shut up and bare the pain--I can't even imagine what you are going through. Good luck with your treatment....

My prayers are with you indeed.
Bob, in San Jacinto

Hello, I'm on 30mg Prednisone & 20mg Methotrexate (now weaning down to 20mg Prednisone) because after a only a month it has given me secondary glaucoma with the real attractive round moon chubby check face. I was just diag. with Sarcoidosis which is an inflammation disease that can produce granulomas (lesions) anywhere in or on your body. Like any organ including your skin. It took forever to get that diag. but I finally had a muscle biopsy, (3 inch stitch on my thigh, ouch!) Worth doing it, to finally know what's wrong with me! So I was wondering since your Drs. don't seem to know what you have maybe you should research it and question them about it. Your symptoms sound similar to mine, which I'm so sorry because I can't stand to think of anybody suffering in pain like I have been. Sarcoidosis is a disease that never goes away, you basicly have to take meds. the rest of your life to surpress your immune system. They say you can have a remission period when your feeling better and can come down off your meds. And then there are times your in a flare. I wouldn't know the difference because my body feels like its FLARED all the time. What I hate about this disease is that people look at me like I'm just fine and can keep doing everything that I have always done before. I just don't have the strength. Anyway, I hope your MRI results came back good and my prayers are with you that you will get some answers and feel better. Teresa in Texas

Awwww thank you so much!!!!! =) That means so much to me! I cant tell you how happy i am that i posted my illness on this site because of your reply as well as others. =) Not that i would wish any desease on anyone but it is nice to know that im not alone =) Wow...... i can TOTALLY relate to how you feel...... my prayers are with you. Well my MRI showed improvement WHICH IS GREAT NEWS but they now are recommending ANOTHER CT scan because they show more in depth detail of the lesions and ones that an MRI can't see. I dont know how to feel about the results cause last time this happened i thought they would be finally gone for good and then came back even worse than before..... I go to Hopkins on the 11th of July so will definately ask him about the possibility and if he indeed did already test me for Sarcoidosis. I believe he already has though. When i first got sick that following summer my doctor went to Switzerland to a 2 week medical seminar which was with the top liver specialists in the country and i was the topic of the seminar. Nobody seemed to know what i have.... Anyway i am happy that your doctor is weaning you off this CRAP!!! I hope you feel better to and stay strong!!!! =)

Sue in Baltimore

Hi, Sue36:

I'm actually writing this about my 18-year-old daughter. She was started on prednisone when she was first diagnosed with lupus in 2004. She 5' 3" and at that time weight approximately 110. She was on a maintenance dose of the drug at 10 mg for about 6 months and then began seeing a nurse practitioner who felt her dosage should be increased because she felt her lupus was out of control. When she was diagnosed with lupus her sedmentation rate - a blood test to measure how quickly red blood cells (erythrocytes) settle in a test tube in one hour - was over 300. At the time the nurse practitioner increased her dosage it was around the mid-50s. Normal is 20 or less. I really did not feel this increase was warranted because lupus is not a curable disease. It's terminal. The description for this disease is similar to the symptoms you described in your posting in that the body attacks itself. I did not feel at that time an increase was necessary because she was doing well on the 10-mg dose and maintaining her health and weight. The nurse practitioner increased her dosage to 30 mg in 2 weeks and wanted to go to 40 mg, but I later found out my daughter was not taking this amount because she said it made her feel "weird." In a matter of 9 months following this increase to 30 mg, my daughter had ballooned to 170 pds. Again, she's only 5' 3". She gained so much weight so rapidly she now has stretch marks practically covering her entire body, not to mention she had the camel's hump on the back her neck, bushy eyebrows, hair on her chin and upper lip, etc., and this is the light side of the effects this drug had on her. She got pregnant while on this drug and, of course, the OB took her off abruptly because of the health risks to the baby. The baby came about 2 months early a couple of weeks ago because she was severely dehydrated and vomited for 3 weeks straight. It was a natural birth. What hurts me the most, and I'm more than positive it has affected her too, is the effects this weight gain had on her breasts. She is 18 years old, and her breasts literally hang down to her waist. I took her to buy a bra last week, and it took everything in me not to cry in front of her because I know she's not happy with the way her body has become so distorted behind the use of this drug. If I had the money, I would definitely get her an augmentation. She has lost pretty much all of the weight she put on with the prednisone but now has lots of hanging skin. The sad part is the nurse practitioner and rheumatologist who had been treating her the past 3 years said they would no longer see her because she became pregnant. I wish I could sue and make them pay for her reconstructive surgeries.

PS: The nurse practitioner also tried to put her on methotrexate, but I would not let her because she could not explain the purpose or side effects. This is the main reason I don't like doctors or taking any type medication...the side effects can be horrific.