I don't have a new side affect with Prednisone but just want to s...

I also was diagnosed with Temporal Artheritus along with Polymyalgia Rheumatica and the pain was intense. I am on 50mg a day and they tried to wean me off and the pain in the head came back and my sed rate shot up. What is really bothering me is the weight gain, even though I have eliminated sugar and all whites, like pasta, bread, potatoes, etc. I am still bloated and swollen. Also, very hungry, can I take an appetite suppressant for this?

Hello
I have temporal arthretis. I only know one other person on another site with this illness. I have polymyalgia and was diagnosised with TA last April. It started with a headache for 21 days after an injection for a heart test. I experienced most of the side affects of predisone. The worse was when my muscles became weak and my knees started to deteriorate. I went from walking and running to a walker. I pray that this well end when I'm off prednisone permanently.
The predisone helped when I went on 60mg. but I became very manic and had to wean myself down after 3 wks. I have been off and on predisone for one year. Is you dosage daily or only when your in pain?
I was never given a biopsy becaue the specialist would not do one because he would not receive monies for it so my doctor recently told me. The diagnosis was made on the sed rate which has always been high. If you don't mind would you share yor experience of TA. The doctors are not sure if I have this after a year on prednisone, it does not seem to be helping anymore.
Right now I experience the pain on the side of my head rotating to the other side after a few hours. I get very dizzy lately. They are not sure if it is from diabetis. My test was hight so I'm going for a fasting test on Friday to confirm diabetis. It would be a result of the prednisone. When I first was diagnosed with TA, I had a headach for 21 days that did not stop for one moment, and then headaches piercing pain in the eyeball as well as at the top side of my head on the right. I could not lay my head down on a pillow and it hurt to comb my hair. These symptoms come and go. Sometimes I'm okay for three weeks then I go back on Prednisone and off for a month or so. I get very ill on prednisone so the doctors have allowed me to monitor my use of prednisone as long as I taper down by 5 mgs. Would you be willing to share your experience with TA? I feel very depressed allot of the time because I'm terrified of blindness. The pain usually starts late at night. Lately I'm not sure what to do because my pain management doctor disagrees with the diagnosis, by the family doctor and the rheumatologist.
I'm confused and depressed allot of the time. I know some of my depression is the prednisone but I feel all alone because no one I know can relate to how I feel. I am in university finishing a master's degree and now I'm to sick to work and can barely finish the last term papers to graduate. The headaches and sideaffects of predisone, as well as chronic pain form Polymyalgia, Fibromyalgia and Arthritis all over my body, and now the pain from TA are unbearable at times. I'm a very strong person but after being diagnosised with TA and taking prednisone I seem to be falling apart. I think its the side affect of predisone.
I hope that you won't mind sharing a bit about your journey with TA.
Take care, I'm glad you don't have many side effects. Take care.

Hi Sandy
In August of 2007, I had such pain that I couldn't get out of bed or when I sat in a Chair, had difficulty getting up. At the time, I was living on Advil and decided after 3 weeks to go to my orthopedic doctor who had done knee surgery on me the previous year. Even though it wasn't his specialty, he suspected PR and sent me to the Hospital for a complete Blood work up. The tests came back conclusive to PR because of the sed rate being 91. By that evening he had me under the care of a Rheumotologist who started me on 20mg daily of cortisone. I then started to get headaches, mainly in the back of the head (right side) and they upped me to 50mg a day with a diagnosis of TA and the pain subsided. They can feel comfortable with their diagnosis based on your sed rate and other blood tests.
My primary Doctor disagreed with the diagnosis and I feel this may be because they never checked the sed rate.
They tried to start bringing me down on the dosage and the pain came back so they upped me again. You can't play around with this as it can cause permanent blindness. I find the pain is worst at night with the TA and the PR pain is gone. I went down to 35mg a day and pain starting to come back with both so I am now at 40mg a day.
One thing that I have found is that it happens at night when I've had a stressful day so it is important to try to stay stress free. My Doctor put me on Fosamax and also .25 (mild dose) of zanax and that is helping. The other day I was dealing with a lot of issues with my business and the pain started about 7PM, pretty intense, eyes felt scratchy and blurry, I took a zanax and 5mg of cortisone and it helped.
My advice to you is to have blood tests done regularly to check your sed rate and stay on the cortisone till the sympthoms go away, I have heard of too many people who have developed loss of sight and it can't be corrected. I went for a consult at Johns Hopkins and they confirmed the diagnosis and said some patients may have to be on this for years, the side effects are not the greatest, but I would be more inclined to take something to help me deal with this then try to manage the pain. It is your life. I am a Decorator and appearance is important, I am puffy, gained weight but I am alive and have my sight.
I went to a nutritionist and am on the Rocky Mountain Green Diet - only good carbs, no sugar, no whites, lots of fiber and 2 glasses of low sodium V8 juice a day. I eat 6 times a day and I've lost weight but not the extreme moon face and back of neck hump.
I take 2-500 mg of Cinnamon Capsules Daily
3-400 mg of Tumeric Daily
1-GTF Chromium Daily
All of the above with meals. Go to Puritan's Pride, great prices and they have helped with inflamation.

I MADE A MISTAKE, I am on PREDNISONE - not Cortisone. DUH, see what pred does to you, jingles your brain.

Pat