I was given 20 mg of Prednisone for 10 days for a rash and joint ...

I have done alot and I mean alot of research on Prednisone and I do not understand why it is being prescribed. OK, it has been proven to reduce inflammation but other than that it is useless. The list of side effects is a mile-long, but most doctors don't go into that. As far as tapering, I think it is the best way to get off this poision.

The same thing just happened to me tonite. I am tapering off my prednisone, went from 60mg to 40 to 20mg.
I was diagnosed w/vocal cord nodules and loss of voice. Sinusitis/pharyngitus. I think the initial dose of 60mg for 4 days was quite extreme and this doctor gave me not a single warning of what was to come.
Are they laughing in the back ground?? ARE they trying to kill us? I took one pill this morning (10mg) and was fine. As soon as I took the one before bed I started feeling numbness in my legs and pain in my spine.
I couldn't sleep and got up to go to the bathroom and had excruciating pain and swelling in my knees. I could not walk, it was like polio. I fell to the ground and could not get to the phone. I was horrified!! I dragged my butt to the phone and called my neighbor but could not get down the stairs to unlock the door to let him in. I tried dragging my butt to stairs and started getting the sharp pains in my hands and wrists-all systems had shut off. I was crying and scared and never exprerienced anything like this in my life. All for voice loss and a couple of vocal cord nodules??
These should all have their licenses revoked for putting us through this and no warning. I dragged my butt to the stairs to let my neighbor in and we called an ambulance. They came and checked my stats, heart rate fine, blood pressure fine, heart skan fine. They asked what i wanted them to do. i said I can't walk or move my limbs. They said stats were fine and they had never heard of a reactions like this to prednisone that I must have bad knees or something. They left. I have never had bad bones or knees in my life. And from what i am hearing this is not going away after stopping the medication either. People are still having symptoms of leg weakness and numbness for months after. I am so scared and don't know what to do. I am still up at 6:41 am cause every time I lay down chest pain and limbs go numb then get excruciatingly painful. I called my jerko doctor who prescribed it and he seemed to not give a rat's butt. He told me to stop taking it. IT SAYS ALL OVER THE INTERNET IF YOU STOP ABRUBTLY YOU COULD DIE HELLO?? AND HE'S A FRIGGIN DOCTOR???? I DONT WANNA DIE. I don't know what to do. I have 7 pills left. supposed to take two a day for 3 more days. can someone please help me? i am hearing that it is only going to get worse as I'm tapering and even worse when i stop. But I feel like i have polio and am afraid to walk it hurts and feels like my bones will break. when i can walk again i am walking all crooked like i have severe arthritis. how will i go to work on monday? God Bless all of you who are going through this with me, it helps to not be alone. But what will we do? Are we doomed to these side effects for a long time or what? Thanks for listening.

I was given prednisone to help clear up an acute case of sinusitus, the antibiotics alone could not 'OPEN THE SINUS PASSAGES" the prednisone did provide that reduction in inflammation so they could could work. However, I was on 60 mg for 14 days and on the 7th day I woke with terrible knee pain and swelling, I got out of bed and fell down, I commando crawled to the bathroom for aleve, and took it w/ orange juice, within 15-20 minutes I felt immense relief. Two days later it happened again, I took the aleve but no help, I then drank OJ thinking perhaps it was the high potassium content that somehow helped. It worked again. I never thought it was the prednisone b/c it is an anti-inflammatory, why would my knees be swollen? I also know that it is prescribed for arthritis, again my line of thought was the same, not the prednisone. I was looking up ways to help get rid of the water I am still retaining when I came across your posts. For some reason the potassium helps my knee pain {and ankle} pain, it has happened a total of 5 times, but apparently it actually thwarts the return of normal adrenal function. which is the swelling, moonface, 15 lb weight gain, etc and I am experiencing sweating, headaches etc. I'm calling my MD tomorrow am and will let you know his advice.

Hi .. I have just been prescribed 25mg Prednisone (2 per day for 5 days, 1 1/2 next 5 days, 1 for next 5 days, 1/2 for last 5 days) for itching arms that have been driving me crazy for months now. I took my first 2 this morning and have been wondering why my legs are aching like crazy all afternoon. After reading posts on this website, I am also wondering WHY the doctor did NOT TELL ME about all these side effects??? There wasn't even an 'information leaflet' that came with the medication which would be very handy in helping people to make 'informed' choices about which medications they take! I am tempted to just not take any more, but it sounds like I may be doing more harm than good in stopping abruptly? HELP!!!! Any advice you could give me would be helpful . . Deb.

I feel for all of you. I just started taking prednisone 20 mg. last night, and luckily, I haven't experienced any side effects yet. You have raised my concern though......not only about the knee pain, but also stopping abruptly. I'm only supposed to take 20 mg. for 10 days (no tapering), and then stop. WOW, is this going to really hurt me by stopping so suddenly? Now I'm getting a little scared. I'm also a little worried because my doctor gave me the prednisone because I have bronchiectasis and emphysema, and I came down with a nasty cold/flu. I tried antibiotics but it didn't help the infection in my lungs (and I still had a little pain left in my ear and face from a sinus infection caused by this cold)......but now I'm ONLY taking prednisone....NO ANTIBIOTICS. This worries me because I know prednisone can make infections WORSE. I'm confused why my doctor didn't prescribe another antibiotic WITH the prednisone. YIKES!!!!

Kappy

Yeah, my mom experience something worse, she was prescribed prednisone 20 mg.... she's been having the swalowing in the face and neck, felt like she's gaining weight, blury vision, knees pain. To night we had to take her to the drs becasue her face got numb and her whole left side too, she just wanted to scream and cry. When we went to the dr's they told us it was the drug.
What kind of doctor will do that?.... why will they give my mother that drug over a simple COLD!!! What shoukld i do? should i call her stupid doctor and let her have it? HELP please

I was prescribed Prednisone today 20 MG X 2 daily for five days for my nerves that are inflammed, but i was also prescribed IBUprofen 800MG. I was about to take my prednisone a few minutes ago and i read these posts so i dont think i am going to start and get a second opinion from my family doctor. I will however take my IBUprofen because it will help with the inflammation as well. I went to visit my chiropractor and his xrays concurred with my doctor and they completely refused me to take predisone and ibuprofen.

My Sister was reading the pamflet that was given to me by my pharmacist, and the pamflet clearly says dont take prednisone if you are taking ibuprofen; so this is a very scary thought, i am glad i read all these posts before taking this medication.

I urge everyone to read about prednisone before attempting to take it.

I need some advice on this Prednisone issue. I was just prescribed Prednisone 10MG. I am supposed to take 2 a day for 5 days and then 1 a day for 5 more days. This was prescribed to kick out a sinus / nasal infection. A few days prior, I was prescribed Naproxen 500 MG to be taken twice a day for an inflamed knee due to injury. My ENT said that I dont need to take the Naproxen since the Prednisone will not only clear up the sinus infection, but heal the knee as well. Of course after reading all of these postings, I am totally freaked out, yet, this sinus infection has developed from an acute situation to a chronic one. Any feedback would be most appreciated. Thanks.

I have had severe asthma my entire life. Even after leaving the hospital after a particularly bad attack, the MOST prednisone/methylprednisolone dosage I have EVER been on is a 50mg taper. It is usually a 4mg/blister pack. I would seriously call the doctors office and ask WHY the dosage is SO high or see if they have a mix of a short term/quick acting and long term steroid injection they could give you. My weight fluctuates a good 20 pounds on and off the steroid rounds. (which is also very harmful) I wish these doctors would get to the SOURCE of these problems (GERD, asthma, sinusitis, pharyngitis, RA joint issues) rather than taking the quick fix and killing our immune systems. Maybe I should go back to med school and be a pioneer in patient advocacy. I hope everyone on here gets relief.... Thx BB Dallas, TX

On the original question, I have read that you can't stop COLD TURKEY with this stuff, it can throw your body into shock...So I would be careful coming off... talk to your doctor about your concerns as well...
For my story....
I was prescribe Prednisone on Monday March 31, 2008, and I have taken it 3x's so far... It is for CIDP, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropahty... I was just diagnosed... I am only 24, so this is all new to me, I am on 10mg of Prednisone a day... I don't know how long I will be on this medication either... I am just hoping that someone out there can help prepare me for whatever future side-effects I will have...(if any)-here's to hope!
On a more positvie note for the Prednisone, I can do more, I can walk better, have more energy, and it has really helped me in just 3 days... I couldn't believe how quickly it kicked in... Before the meds, I could barely get around, my legs would tire quickly, and I was having a ton of other problems as well... I am just praying that I will stay on the 10mg only... I don't want it increased!!!

prednisone is NOT like this for everyone - ive used it for inflammatory eczemaon on my face at doses around 20-30mg, tapered. and it worked great. no weight gain. no mood swings. no moon face. im sorry for everyone that it delivers adverse affects too, and its the nature of forums such as these that negatives are the drivers behind a lot of postings. but i have to put this counterbalance in here - its worked fine for me.

For some people such as myself who suffers from chronic severe asthma, prednisone is a life saver. Without this drug I would have died a long time ago. It is very true that the drug has horrible side effects; I myself have experienced mood swings, terrible painful muscle cramps, joint pain, acid reflux and terrilble hot flashes and night sweets.
However you are supposed to have your doses lowered gradually before coming off and your doctor should have done that. My doctor always gives me a prescription with no refills with directions on the dosage to be taken each day i'm on prednisone.
I make sure I take calcium supplements and priolec when I'm on the drug to protect my joints and stomach.
Be careful of long term use because it can cause joint problems. I have a friend who was no the drug for years for an acne problem. He had two hip replacements, all before he was 30 years old and now sometime has to use a walker to get around.

Hey you all. Look, as much as Prednisone sucks, it's the best stuff out there for inflammation. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis a few months ago... and for me, it's either take the Pred or get a perforated colon and die. The Pred effects suck, yes, I've had many of them. But the point is that you're given Pred b/c the benefits outweigh the costs; they should, anyway. Some of you sound like you just have awful doctors; in which case, I advise you to FIND A NEW DOCTOR THAT YOU CAN TRUST. Your health is way too important, expensive or not! BUT, keep in mind that doctors don't tell you everything right off the bat b/c there is no reason in scaring you if they don't need you. There are SO many possible effects to Pred but not everyone has those effects; it affects everyone individually so the doctors can't really know how it will affect you until the effects start and you get pissed off b/c of it. So, we need to cut them some slack. They don't know our individual bodies; only we know our own bodies. The doctors have the initial medical knowledge but we should always trust our bodily instincts first... that being said, I'll emphasize the importance again of finding/having a doctor you can TRUST. I just found this site b/c I randomly started having severe knee pain today and was wondering if it's from the Pred. I think it is. Lymph nodes in my neck are swollen too. But I'll deal. The Pred is worth it for me!

Oh, and one more thing, I agree with the person above and whoever else said this; YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO TAPER OFF OF PREDNISONE. OTHERWISE, YOU COULD GO INTO ADRENAL SHOCK.

If your doctor didn't taper you off... you possibly need to find a new doctor. Because that's sketchy.

Hi i was looking for true answeres from real people that have truly experianced takeing this HORRIBLE drug. alot of you that explain the problems side effect of the body after taking this drug. is almost the exact same my dog experianced takeing the Prednisone 20mg. see she had athritis in her legs , Congestive Heart failure and was prescribed this horrible drug to believe it would help her. it Killed Her and i am just throwing a warning to everbody who has a pet that goes the Vet. Dr and they prescribe this drug please do not. it killed my precious Susie. She was on this for only a about a week and started to notice her looking plain (moon face) like her lower body was limp she always ended up wableing having to make herself lay down exssesive water drinking. diffuculty Breatheing this all started only being very noticeible just the other day i was scared for her and kept close to her. praying whats wrong with my Susie asking GOD TO HELP her. when i pick her up her lower body was completeley limp i got up to check on her from my bed @ 2AM to check on her she was laying under the didning room table sitting up looked like she was trying to stay sitting up. i cryed and picker her up and in my arms she was haveing a very hard to time breatheing then she died in my arms withing 5 seconds after i picker her up. i am going through a Very Hard time. i was in a Truama like feeling from being in disbelief that she gone. and i believe now looking up about this medicine truly explains what all the had experianced. i wished i knew about these HORRIBLE DEADLY SIDE EFFECTS FROM THIS 1 ALONE DRUG! i found a going to list the side effects that i cam up with to this drug on the intenet.

Possible Side Effects
Side effects of prednisone and other corticosteroids range from mild annoyances to serious, irreversible damage, and they occur more frequently with higher doses and more prolonged treatment. Side effects include retention of sodium (salt) and fluid, weight gain, high blood pressure, loss of potassium, headache and muscle weakness. Prednisone also causes puffiness of the face (moon face), growth of facial hair, thinning and easy bruising of the skin, impaired wound-healing, glaucoma, cataracts, ulcers in the stomach and duodenum, worsening of diabetes, irregular menses, rounding of the upper back ("buffalo hump"), obesity, retardation of growth in children, convulsions, and psychiatric disturbances. The psychiatric disturbances include depression, euphoria, insomnia, mood swings, personality changes, and even psychotic behavior.Prednisone suppresses the immune system and, therefore, increases the frequency or severity of infections and decreases the effectiveness of vaccines and antibiotics. Prednisone may cause osteoporosis that results in fractures of bones. Patients taking long-term prednisone often receive supplements of calcium and vitamin D to counteract the effects on bones. Calcium and vitamin D probably are not enough, however, and treatment with bisphosphonates such as alendronate (Fosamax) and risedronate (Actonel) may be necessary. Calcitonin (Miacalcin) also is effective. The development of osteoporosis and the need for treatment can be monitored, using bone density scans.

my friend prednisome for a sinus infection she is only 20yrs old and she died,please anybody outthere if u r prescribe this medication please stop dont take it,some of these doctors dont care they just want our money.stop while u can if your doctor prescribe that to you please run for your life i seen what that medicine could do to a healthy person,my friend was crawling around like and animal in severe pain she couldnt work or go to school so she move in with her parents and then died 6 days later

dont believe anything good other people r saying about this medicine is bad and is deadly please dont take this medice u would feel fine for a minute but after is about u and death

How long does the withdrawl last? I ended my dosing five days ago and still can't sleep due to severe muscle cramping at night? How much longer will this persist?

January 20th, 2009. I must say that I am very concerned about taking "Prednisone" after reading all these postings. I have several (5) bulging disks in my neck and two in my lower back and after visiting with a Pain Specialist and "Steroid" shots prescribed at a cost of $7,000.00 each and needing 3 injections it was breaking the bank. My first injection didn't do much for the pain and then my insurance changed and now I have a pre-existing condition and my new insurance does not cover my injections. I decided to try a new process called "Airprosti" which is done by a Chiropractor. I had a positive attitude and was really excited because my provider really believed he could help me. I am not allergic to band-ade or any type of laytex and he taped me with a tape that Kerri Walsh used in the olympics (women's volleyball). The tape is called "Kinesio Tape", a special elastic material designed to support muscles while offering an unimpeded range of motion. The tape, and taping method, help stabilize the shoulder during the match and aids in circulation, which is similar to the pain and problems I was experiencing. Unfortunately for me, I had a terrible reaction. Horrible red itching rash with large blisters. I called my Chiropractor and he said to take Benadryl and apply Milk of Magenisium. I tried but nothing was working.

The rash and blisters were spreading so I finally had to see an MD two days ago and he gave me a steroid injection and prescribed 60mg of Prednisone for three days, then 40mg for three days, antibiotics, and pain medication. I would rather take pain medication and antinflamatory drugs. I am scared that I will experience some of the symptoms some of you are describing, since my emotional state is already deteriorating, which my MD warned me about as well as the weight gain, mood swings and insomnia. I have to stay home and cannot work because the areas affected are in areas that prevent me from wearing a bra and only laying flat on my back with cold compasses brings me some relief. I do believe the Prednisone is working on my rash and it's also affecting my state of mind. My hope is that someone out there has some words of comfort that there is a light at the end of this black tunnel.

I am sorry for those who have lost family or friends with this medication and hope that all of you with these horrible symptoms have overcome them or will some day. I will pray for all of us.

hopeful

Prednisone has been a miracle cure for me..unfortunately i get a serious reaction every month when i use hair dye to color my hair(to dye the 'greys'which i cant stand to see)please dont tell me to accept this & grow old gracefully i'm just not ready yet!!!.I break out in itchy scabs & lumps in my head feel like my head is going to explode & the only cure i have is by taking 2 x 10 mg preds in the morning for 5 days only,after the 2nd dosage wallah,like instant relief so far havent had any side effects..I have been taking these for nearly a year.Ive used dyes with no ammonia,peroxide etc but to no avail,still get same reaction.....So this is a thumbs up for Prednisone...Has anyone experienced this??

Prednisone is the only med that makes my hives disappear. I take 10 mg and have tried to stop but since I get the hives everyday and at all times, the itch drives me crazy. I take all kinds of antihistamines daily, like 2 zyrtec, 2 allegras, 4 atarax, 4 benadryl, 2 zantac and 1 singulair. I take all these on a daily basis and nothing stops the hives. The swelling of the hives on my body hurt and I want to scratch until I get bruised. I tried Maalox because an aunt told me that when she was young she used to get hives on a daily basis and went to see an allergist in Mexico who told her to drink Maalox every time before she ate something and this worked for her. After two bottles of Maalox, she never got hives again. Yes, I've gained some weight but I have not experienced joint pain at all.
My sister used to suffer from same condition about 20 years ago and used to get cortinsone from a dr in Monterrey Mex. Finally the hives stopped and 20 yrs later she does suffer from hand joint pain.
Yesterday, I went to see a "doctor" that looks at your eye and tells you what's wrong. Well, he said my body was over medicated and that my digestive system was a mess. He told me not to stop taking all the antihistamines or the prednisone cold turkey. I am now taking a whole bunch of Natural medications/pills and still had to take the prednisone today because I was in big pain from the hives that feel "hot and swollen". They were everywhere and even though I try not to take the prednisone, I end up taking it or I feel I am going to go crazy. I hope the natural meds work because the allergist does not know why I get them. I have been tested for everything there is, and apparently I am not allergic to anything!! I have been off of the 8 foods that are more likely to cause hives and I still got them. I was off of can food, cold cuts and everything I thought could cause the hives, but I would still get them. So lately, I have been eating everything. Now the Iridiologist told me to stay away from sodas, coffee, cold cuts, milk and milk components, so I will wait several days and hopefully start cutting off on the antihistamines and of course on the prednisone which is what I am mostly interested on cutting off.

I had the same thing happen to me. Last Monday I went to see my Dr. for a rash I had attained over the weekend. She prescribed Predizone but she had me taking 20mg twice a day...by Friday I was so ill at work with indegistion I didn't know how I would finish out the day at work... Saturday I woke up and had facial swelling, and my neck, shoulders, chest and the backs of my arms felt like someone had beaten me, but I had no bruises. I couldn't even wear my bra. I ended up going to the ER. At that time they drew blood and tested me for Lyme Disiese...But the test came back negative...at that time they told me that they were sure it was the Prednizone, and that I should have never been given such a high dosage, and I should have been tapered off the drug instead of quiting all at once...I was told this puts your body into shock. I am still recovering from this, I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else...Best of luck.

I have a sad story to tell about Prednisone. Several years ago my wife became ill with a rare and painful condition called Temporal Arteritis (Google it); an immune system disease. She was treated by an immunologist with a long course of prednisone who told us that steroids were the only thing that would reduce the inflammation. She was on 60 mg per day for weeks. It did take away the dread effects of Temporal Arteritis, but it caused diverticulitis which became infected. Long story short, she required two surgeries for this problem and several hospitalization stays. During the last surgery, her surgeon was trying to reverse a colonoscopy (that had to be done because of the diverticulitis, and he told me that her bowels came apart in his hands because the prednisone weakens cell walls. Following that surgery, she was hospitalized in the ICU with her gut wide open and her bowels exposed for five months Then she died of a nosocomial infection.

Even after this experience I have to say there are some conditions where only prednisone works. My feeling is that the short 10 day tapered course is safe, but the long-term effects of this drug are very dangerous (and dreadful).

my mother had Temporal Arteritis too! my dad caught it early because he noticed small bumps running along her temporal arteries. she was on high dose prednisone for ages and her spinal column collapsed in 3 places. she went from being 5'5" to 4'11" in a matter of months! she was racked with pain and her chart read "medically induced osteoporosis."
i got her some hand weights and my dad bought her a treadmill and she was able to rebuild some bone and straighten out a bit.
it was horrible and really went a long way to cementing my already deep seated suspicions of western medicine.
the irony is my mother still went blind from her congenital rentinitous pigmentosa but the doctors still claimed her as a "victory" since she didn't go blind from Temporal Arteritis. my point was that she was going to lose her sight anyway but she could have at least kept her height and not had all that pain.
it was so bad that at one point she couldn't get up the stairs to sleep with my father and she didn't have the strength to get out of bed. she slept in a reclining chair in the living room so she could "eject" herself.

they use this drug for anything and everything and it makes me mad that they aren't even tryong to come up with something better or less damaging. they gloss over the side effects- no one ever told my mother about bone loss