PredniSONE and back pain

I was involved in a MVA about 4 years ago. I was prescribed oral prednisone for my back and neck pain. I took the recommended pack but about 3 days into the regimen I began having EXTREME pain in my joints- especially knees, hips, and ankles. I was not even able to walk by myself. My doctor never even suggested that it could be a side effect of the prednisone and told me that I had to finish the rx or it would be possible for me to have major reactions such as heart failure, etc. I was so scared that I finished the rx. My side effects included weight gain, mood swings, increased appetite, etc. but the worst was the joint pain. I survived the treatment and swore that I would never take the drug again. Well, never say never. My back pain continued and I went to a pain management doctor who recommended spinal injections. He said that the prednisone injections should not have the same side effects as the oral med so I received the injections. He said that he used a reduced amount of the prednisone during the procedure. I had great results with a reduction in my back pain for several months. I just this week had another injection and now I am in experiencing the same horrible pain in my joints as I had the first time with my oral rx. Is this normal? I have contacted my dr for pain med but I know that I am just covering up the side effects. Any one else have similar situation? What do you do when the treatment is worse than the ailment?

very bad back pain. very painful to stand or walk. Swelling of the body. I think Drs. are to willing to prescribe this horrible drug. This is the second time in two years with the same results.

My husband has solumedrol IVs for 4 days-500mg every 8 hours due to a MS flare-He could not walk at all before he had the IVs. Now he is home and has used predisone to wean off the IVs. He has diabetes now with severe depression and he is in a fog a lot. I understand this is basically the only way he got through the MS flare, but now he is worse off due to the side effects. It is a shame that so many people have been hurt by this medicine that is suppose to help. My ex husband was so violent when he was on predisone for back pain that it caused us to end up divorcing because he would beat the crap out of me or become so mean, then depressed that it drove us apart after 20+ years of marriage.

I am a 25 year old, who was perfectly healthy prior to recently when I was diagnosed with Nephritic Syndrome and Minimal Change Disease and possibly FSGS (kidney diseases) I was put on 60 mg of Prednisone for 1 month then I was lowered to 40 mg for one month and I am then dropping to 30 mg. I am also taking Fosamax for my bones and a Vitamin D pill because my last lab test showed low vitamin D levels.

I am dizzy constantly and can not live a normal life, I can not drive or do any activities that I had previously done. My chest is so tight and constricted all of the time, my heart rate is so fast and pounds at my chest. I have no energy to do anything, I can barely open a door at times. I am beginning to grow unwanted hair on my face. My abdomen is always bloated. I have pain in my rib cage, and shoulders. I feel very sore throughout my entire body. I do not really sleep at night, so I look very tired all the time.

I have actually lost weight, I have no appetite at all. I am down 10-15lbs.

Now for the Pro- my Kidney Diseases are currently in remission and this has happened much faster than the Nephrologist had thought.

I am very anxious to getting my life back to normal and getting off the Prednisone.

Has any one else experienced increased heart rate, chest tightness, or rib pain?

I wish everyone the best in their roads to recovery!!

I agree, for me this is a horrible drug! This is the 2nd time my allergist prescribed it to me (last time was this past summer and I had severe panic attacks and thought I was losing my mind) this resulted in me returning back to my GP and him putting me back on Paxil (which I had been off of for a year). I was extremely reluctant to use this again but thought i might be able to manage it this time (with the help of Paxil).

My allergist prescribed Prednisone to me 2 weeks ago (5mg 3x's day for 3 days then, 2 2x's day then 1 for 5 days) I made up until the last 3 pills. I had severe brain fog and felt like I was floating through space. I couldn't even remember driving to work and parking my car! Extremely fatigued (I have diabetes (which is under control, but I had to keep checking my bg because I thought my sugar was dropping to low). Now, within the last week of taking the Prednisone I have experienced aching in my kidneys and I think I have a kidney infection.

Can Prednisone do this to you??

I am calling the doctor tomorrow. Today is the first day without Prednisone and I feel like I am totally out of it - really spaced out, dizzy, panicky and a bit nausea.

How long does it take for you to get Prednisone out of your system?

Hello EveryOne out there...OK OK....

Now Why have I been out of touch since Sept 14th.... 2007???

I have been VERY VERY ill.....

Y'See, I went to see this new Doctor (Quack) for continued pain in my chest (sternum) area....that I have been having trouble with all Summer. (Severe Costochondritis/Fibromyalgia) By Sept 14th, this Quack who claims to be a Doctor had given me this prescription for Prednisone pills (20 mg each)....with orders to take mega doses of this toxic poison in order to combat the pain I was suffering. I was so desperate to get out of pain that I went ahead and filled the prescription and started taking the pills that eventful Friday night. I made the fatal mistake of trusting this Doctor!!!

If I had any sense God gave green apples I would have researched this a little before taking this medicine!! I would have run like all heck in the opposite direction!

I had been taking these reccomended large doses for approx two weeks back then per Doctor 'Quack's' order.... I have been hooked after the first week....and now currently desperately trying to get off of it with only marginal success!!

I have been on this Prednisone crap for some 49 days, currently and desperately trying to get off of it....with terrible side effects!! I have experienced every side effect known to the Devil himself and even discovered some new ones that I never knew was possible!? Case in point! I can't sleep night after night without terrible withdrawals all night long!!! I am forced to contend with them every night here. Not to mention I fight the withdrawals all days long too. I have this inept doctor and I am sorry I even went to him in the first place...!

The withdrawals I am now getting are harder to deal with than the original chest pain itself!!! Not to mention even eating the so-called 'wrong' foods sets off even more withdrawals almost immediately. I am now extremely sensitive to light and the sun~ not to mention.....noise....and stress....

I am much sicker from this Quack Doctor's so-called "HELP" than I ever was before....

I don't mind saying his name and trying to steer everyone away from this jerk Doctor here in Las Vegas who takes advantage of people in pain when they are desperate by feeding them toxic poisons and passing the poison off as something harmless thats gonna help them??? Just ask me who he is and I will tell you. I have no qualms about it....

Bottom line is I have spent this last month trying to get off this crap and I just found out that the withdrawals may bother me up to a YEAR after I take my last dose of this crap poison!! I have been going thru H***!!! A nightmare I would LOVE to pass onto this Quack who pretends to be a doctor!

I am down to about 7.5 mg per day now from about 180 mg that he gave me originally Sept 14 2007. Believe me this was not easy thing for me to do. I went "Toxic" on this drug weeks ago and it has affected my ability to process, think and reason properly. I feel like part of my mind is now missing or went on permanent vacation!! Dizziness,feeling like I'm gonna pass out, Brain Fog and Mass Confusion is the order for the day~depending on the time of day???

"The side effects of prednisone include adrenal suppression, which can occur with periods of prednisone use to surpass seven days. Adrenal suppression refers to the body’s inability to synthesize natural corticosteroids, resulting in a dependency on the prednisone taken by the patient. This is why doctors do not recommend the cessation of prednisone when the patient has taken it for longer than seven days. They reduce the dose gradually over a few days in the case of short-term prednisone use, and over weeks or months in the case of long-term treatment. Stopping prednisone treatment abruptly can cause the life-threatening Addison’s disease, in which in the body no longer produces sufficient amounts of adrenal steroid hormones"

I want to SUE this Doctor for making me this sick!!!!!

SDR

GRRRRRRRRRrrrrr!!!!!!!

I have had a severe case of polymyalgia rheumatica and was initially put on 60 mg of prednisone a day. It was wonderful! Within hours my pain level dropped almost in half. From there the pain has gradually improved even more. I went to 40 mg per day to 20 mg per day to 15 mg per day. Have been on the 15 mg for 2 months now and want off as soon as possible. Yes, I too have the moon face, camel hump, slight weight gain, nausea, digestive problems, cramps, depression, etc. Not fun! My question is - does anyone experience burning/stinging in their face, arms and legs from the prednisone? I wonder if it is the polymyalgia rheumatica or if this is a side effect from the steroid. Thanks for your comments.

This is not my experience but my mothers; She's been taking this poison for 8 years. Her doctor finally(though her bagering) has her at 5 mgs. a day but it's already too late, her spine has had disc fractures to the point where she is completely hunched over, when she first started the drug she had normal bone density. Now her doc wants her sed rate to be 19 before he even considers taking her off the drug, which is ridiculous since I read that most women over 50 average s hard. My brother and I help with some shopping and things but both of us have other obligations(he works full-time; I have husband and two kids) so my dad has alot on his plate.

Prednisone destroys the body, eventually, and sometimes it makes the original condition look like a cakewalk.

My doctor prescribed me Prednisone on May 3. I'm on 10 mg. I start out on 3 tabs 2x a day for 4 days, then 2 tabs 2x a day for 3 days, then 1 tab 1x a day for 2 days. I was put on this for a sudden attack of joint pain/stiffness/swelling of my elbows, wrists, hands, knees, ankles and feet. I was in extreme pain. So far this drug has given me no side effects other than needing to urinate a little more often than usual. My pain is gone, as is the swelling. I'm almost scared to go off this b/c of the fear of the pain coming back. My blood tests came back on Friday and my doctor told me that I had Rheumitic (sorry, I know that's spelled wrong) inflammation and if the pain did come back after I stopped the Prednisone that I'd have to do more blood tests. I just turned 30 and I'm scared to death what else might be wrong with me.

In January I was diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica and temporal arteritis (giant cell arteritis). I was put on 60 mg prednisone and an array of other meds to help with pain, inflammation, water retention, and stomach problems from everything. I've lost some vision from the TA. I've experienced the weight gain, the moon face, stomach problems, depression, fatigue, muscle weakness, lack of memory and concentration, and generally feel miserable. The brain fog is awful! I don't trust myself doing much of anything these days!

When I was first put on the prednisone it completely took away all my TA and PMR symptoms. I could walk and get up and down again, didn't have the headaches, and didn't hurt all over.
My doctor tried to taper my dosage about 6 weeks ago and all my symptoms returned and increased as I went down on the prednisone. He upped me back to 60. That time the symptoms didn't go away. They lessened but were still there.

He's trying to taper again, and I'm down to 30 mg now and feel worse and worse. My sed rate has been normal, so the doctor thinks it's from the prednisone. Does it mimic all the TA and PMR symptoms? I also am having a lot of hand and feet cramping.

Does anyone else have these two illnesses? I would be interested in your experience. I want off these meds! Anyone found an alternative approach that's helped?

God bless!

I have been off and on prednisone my entire life as well for asthma and poison ivy. About 5 years ago I was put on it for 3 months due to finding out i had chron's disease. It is the worst drug ever!!! I gained 30 lbs in two weeks, I had severe night sweats and nightmares. My knees hurt constantly and still do to this day. Right now I am sick again with asthma and they want me to take prednisone and I am refusing. I want an alternative. Help me find one please someone!!

This is about my sister who was diagnosed with dermatomyositis about 1 month ago. She has been on prednisone ever since and just a few days ago started experiencing really bad stomach pain and back pain/burning on the left side. we took her to the e.r. where they ran a number of tests and didn't find anything wrong. i have been researching all her meds and can only come up with this: prednisone has to be the culprit. God bless all of you who have to take this drug for anything. I wish you all the best. It has been hard seeing her suffer, but without it her condition would not get better.

I started on a 2 week course of prednisone, 2 weeks after taking the last dose I have had severe abdominal pain, back pain, urinary frequency, very angry and depressed. I woke up one day and weighed ten pound heavier. I was shocked and am anxious to get my life back. It is very frustrating that doctors are not aware that this medicine, even in small doses, can cause severe side effects.

Put on 80 mg a day because of back pain. Did not sleep for 7 days, could not get a hold of a doctor to stop. Finally, got ahold of GP who put me on anti-depressants. This is like throwing gasoline on a fire-did not sleep more than 20 minutes at a time for another 5 days. Now getting back to normal but still have foot and ankle pain. Back feels the same as before I started it. It sounds like reactions are very person and dose specific. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG IF YOU POSSIBLY AVOID IT-If you start, have 3rd party evaluate side effects. You can not self-diagnose that you are in trouble. It is like you are in a fog and you can not think straight enough to gauge what is happening!

hello everyone,
My wife has been on prednisone since 4 weekas ago.She started with three tablets which is 60 mg.After a week they decresed the dosage to 2 1/2 tablets 50 mg and it went down to two tablets 40 mg a week later and so on.Here is her side effects: at first she experienced blurred vision but only for 10-30 minutes but they went away as the dose decresed,moon face(rounded and chubby) week joints in elbows, wrists, knees and feet.She eats a lot more than she used to,anxiety,
her eyes pulsate , irregular heart beats,sharp poking pains in neck legs head feet chest.Mood changes,gets mad at me over little things,back pains , neck pains,back muscle soreness ,cant sleep much,her head feels very big,walks very slow,gets tired fast,swollen feet,sensitive to light sometimes,headiques,feels pulsating through most of her veins,sensitive to noise,dizziness.She has about two more weeks on this medicine which she had to take due to narrowing of her blood vessels on brain(postpartum cerebral angiopathy) very rare complication after she gave birth to a healthy boy.My wife thinks it all happened because the anesthisyologist messed up on the epidural shot which he had to perform it three times on her.If anyone one out there knows how long does it take for her to get better please let me know it will be very appreciated. Thank you all
God Bless

MY HUSBAND WAS RETAINING ALOT OF WATER IN HIS LEGS AND VERY WEAK. THE DOCTOR HAD DONE A NUMBER OF TESTS ON HIM TO FIND OUT THAT HE HAS NEPHRITIS AND WAS LOSING 8,500 MG OF PROTEIN IN URINE A DAY (NORMAL IS 100-200 MG PER DAY), AND COLESTEROL WAS AT 400. HE WAS PUT ON PREDNIZONE AND ALSO HAD A KIDNEY BIOPSY. WE WERE MARRIED 1 WEEK PROIR TO HIM BEING PUT ON PREDNIZONE AND IT HAS BEEN PRETTY TOUGH TO DEAL WITH. HE WOULD COMPLAIN OF ALL THE SAME SYMPTONS, WEAKNESS, BACK PAIN, NAUSEA, BLACK OUTS, MAJOR WEIGHT GAIN, AND CRAMPS THAT WOULD KNOCK HIM ON THE GROUND. I NEVER REALIZED PREDNIZONE WAS SO BAD. I FEEL ALOT OF GUILT BECAUSE I WOULD SAY OH, IT CAN'T BE THAT BAD. I FEEL HORRIBLE NOW READING ALL OF THE OTHER COMPLAINTS. HE HAS ABOUT 1 MONTH TO GO WITH 60 MG OF PREDNIZONE A DAY AND WATER PILLS.

After looking at the listed side effects for Pred. i can say that my wife has expierenced all of them. She has Chrons and was on Pred. for about 9 months. Just so you all dont feel like your crazy, ill post what this "miracle drug" had done for our family. INSOMENIA, she would sleep for about 3 hours a day, man was my house clean! MOOD SWINGS, she would flip out for no reason. She even wanted a devorce! For no particular reason, she " just wanted me out of the house ". WEIGHT GAIN, she went from a size 3 to a size 13.*note* she lost weight in the first month, went down to a size 2. MOON FACE, she kept saying she looked like a jack-o-lantern. BURNING SENSATION, she would just break out in a sweat, and complain of "feeling" hot. ACNE, neck, back, and chest. FATIGUE, she just couldnt move, always felt "drained". EATING LIKE A LINE BACKER, she would polish off a full sized bag of cheese curls, and look for more. DEPRESSION, would just break down and cry, for no reason. I would ask, whats worng, and get " i dont know ...." BACK PAIN, she would wake up with major back pain. We contributed this to the added weight, pressing on her back while asleep. SNORING, agian, do to he added weight.

My question is this, my wife has been off the Pred for almost 50 days now, and she has lost little weight. It kills me that she looks in the mirror and cries now because she still has the added weight. She has lost a little in the face, and in the ankle area, but had yet to loose a majority of the weight gain. Her Dr. told her that it will take another 2 - 3 months to loose her weight and get back to "normal". If some one can varify this; the long gradual weight loss, it would make my wife feel so much better, knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks in advance,

******

This drug down right sucks and I can't wait til the day I can get off of it! I have Crohn's disease and I've been taking Prednisone for 3 months now. And will probably be on it for another 6 months. As soon as I stopped taking it the first time all the pain came back. So now I'm on 40mgs a day again. Moon face,swelling everywhere! Back pain,knee pain,heartburn,sweats,severe hunger(which did subside when my dose was lowered),mood swings... I feel for anyone who has to take this.

I have been on prednisone taper for about five months, starting at 40 mg for six weeks, and then tapering to 30 mg for six weeks, 20 for six weeks, and I am now down to 15 mg for macrodantin induced pulmonary fibrosis. I have had weight gain, bloating moon face, muscle cramping, hair loss, and mood swings. I will be glad to get off this drug, although it has helped me a lot. I also have hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and it does not help much for that. I will just have to move out of the area because I am very allergic to something and cannot find out what it is. The water retention and the moof face are the hardest to take. I also have had back pain since being on this, and I don't know for sure this is a side effect or not. I have heard of others who have had this and when they stopped the prednisone, their back pain went away. I will let you know when I am off in April.