PredniSONE and diuretic

I am a 34 year old male. I have been on 80mg of Prednisone 7 days a week for 2 months now. I will be getting my dosage lowered to 60mg tomorrow but am having a difficult time dealing with the Moon face, eye bags, acne, and sleepless nights. I go to the gym 4 times a week and am in shape other than this freak fake head it looks like I have now. Has anyone been able to find a way to make the effects not so noticable..as in diurex or diet pills. I would like to try anything but want to be safe at the same time. Thanks for any help and god bless. David

I'm a 34 year old petite 110 lb female and have been on Prednisone for 7 weeks now for a kidney disease (Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis). The treatment is supposed to be 3-4 months to see if I go into remission. If not, then I'm "steroid resistant" and they will have to move to a more aggressive treatment (a type of chemo). So I'm praying that this prednisone works!!

The first 2 weeks were a peice of case, then I developed many side effects, but the following being the most troublesome:

- 2 weeks - Edema. I got really bad fluid retention in my lower body and was put on a diuretic. A few days later my heart started pounding so hard I thought it would pop right out of my chest. Well turns out I was totally dehydrated from the diuretic so I'm off that now but the edema seems to be under control anyway (following a low-sodium/low carb diet). At the same time as the edema my skin dried right up too, and I need to put moisturizer on all the time. Even when I bend over I feel the skin on my back stretching.
- 2 weeks - Bloating. Really bad bloating. I'm bloated constantly now. Eating a low sodium diet helps, but not much. At night I weigh 5 lbs more than I do in the morning. I have terrible gas (burping mostly) all of the time. Sometimes it looks like I'm 6 months pregnant! And I'm sure people think I am because as I mentioned I'm normally thin and now I have to wear looser clothing to hide my belly, which doesn't really work and just looks obvious.
- 3 weeks - Sore knees. It feels like there's something growing in between my kneecaps that make it very difficult to climb stairs and it feels spongy when I walk. I can not put any pressure on my knees, I can't squat down, bend to pick something up, kneel, anything. And it gets worse at night.
- 4 week - Moonface. And my face has been blowing up like a balloon ever since. As I sit here and type I can actually feel it throbbing and growing still. I've got fat on my neck under my chin now that actually feels like it's choking me if I sit hunched over. I'm finding the moonface very difficult to cope with. I do not like to look in the mirror any more. I feel like a candy apple.
- 4 weeks - Cramps. Terrible terrible hand and feet cramps. Sometimes if I'm using my hands to chop vegetables or write or even use a fork, my hand cramps up like a lobster claw. I try to use the other hand then the same thing. And then almost every day, my feet. First one, then the other. Excruitiating cramps that seem to go in 15 minute intervals that make it impossible to walk, stand, sit, anything.
- 4 weeks - Very moody and aggitated. I am usually very easy going, now i have patience for nothing. I will be in a good mood one minute, the next I feel like I can kill someone. My boyfirend and our dogs are being very patient with me... I just hope they know it's the drugs not me! I just don't seem to have any control over my emotions.
- 5 weeks - Extreme fatigue. I used to have lots of energy, especially at the beginning of my Prednisone journey. But now I'm just wasted all of the time. I walk to and from work and the last couple weeks I want to just lay down on the side of the road and have a nap as I walk home. I used to do pilates (as much as possible with the sore knees) but it's too hard now. And forget about any elliptical training or cycling. It's enough just to get to and from work and I'm just exhausted.

There are more issues and I could go on forever, but those are the most troublesome. I just try so hard to stay positive but it's very hard sometimes. I pray that this is working, and that it is not all for not. I can't wait to be off these drugs, and my heart goes out to each and every one of you enduring the same thing and pray that it works for your too.

Good luck everyone.

:)J

Wow. To all the valid contributors and site owners, top posts and site!

I have SLE and have been found to have Lupus Nephritis (kidney). I was on 60mg, now down to 40mg of Prednisone.

After Pericarditis, I presented with terrible SLE headaches. I'm now also on Cyclophosphamide (Chemo treatment) for my Kidney and other meds for that, as well as the Prednisone, but my side effect I am having which I think is from the Prednisone is SWELLING in the face some, but especially from knees downwards getting worse throughout the day.

After reading a bunch of pages here, I suspect that it could also be not just the Prednisone but because my Kidney functioning poorly. I can't get rid of the water fast enough. I do not have anything diuretic normally because I am also diagnosed with Raynauds Phenomenon.

To balance things out, I've tried to drink the minimum side (2L for 2 days after Cyclophosphamide treatment) and funnily enough, if I have drank too much water in the day time I:
*Sleep with a big pillow under my knees/feet
*Do not drink any at night (if thirst, just have a half mouthful)
*Wee it all out throughout the night

It HAS worked and my weight, the swelling in my legs/feet has come down dramatically... It has also helped my FACE be less swollen and puffy...!

Other symptoms I had when I had prednisone only: EMOTIONAL! Twice I could not stop crying when there was completely nothing wrong with me at all (i.e. bawling my eyes out). At the time I was on 20mg when my SLE was quite much lower in activity level. I was totally "off my head".

Now I'm on 40mg, and I do get emotional more easily - but I brought the husband to my specialist once so he could get side effects explained to him directly. I also get hot flush tingles in my fingers and toes from prednisone.

For all those people worried about WEIGHT - I highly recommend one of those scales (I know I can get one for $40AUD) which can tell you your WATER level as well as weight (you have to input your height). If you are running at 70% instead of 60% water, then you know your weight is 10% overstated, but just due to the water.

meow

Hi Gypsi--
Thanks so much for the grapefruit and vinegar tips for my metabolism. That is just what I need! My metabolism seems to be at a standstill. So today I will WALK to the store and get the stuff.

Pure cranberry juice and water is a great diuretic. I used to drink it on a diet I was on called "Fat Flush..." designed to lose weight and flush all the toxins out of the body. I was going to the bathroom constantly, it worked so well. Plus cranberry juice is supposed to be so good for a lot of other things. It may take a little research to find the pure juice... i get mine at Henry's or Whole Foods.

Thanks for saying I have a new state of mind... I am certainly trying, so maybe it shows!
sanndiego

Hi everyone and Angela...
Diurex (that kindly Gypsi recommended) is a diuretic and helps combat water retention. I found it by the Midol in the feminine products section of the drugstore. I think they offered 2 different kinds... one for menstrual cramps and the other just regular. I got the regular. I still have some moon face but it is decreasing. Woo-hoooo! I only tried it after I was off prednisone so don't know if it interacts. I definitely had insomnia while on prednisone. When I did finally fall asleep, it wasn't for long... maybe 20 minutes or an hour at a time. I would wake up and be sweating like crazy on my chest... and for some reason I always seemed to wake up at 4am like clockwork!

Good luck kicking the Dr. Pepper habit. I was a Diet Coke addict... it was to me what coffee is to other people. Couldn't make it through the day without having one first thing in the morning... and then many more throughout the day. It will get easier. Besides the sugar, don't sodas have a lot of salt, too?

I am battling weight gain, too and I was only on the darn stuff for 3 weeks. I have been eating like a garbage disposal... all kinds of junk I would never even touch before. Today is my day to get back on track and stay there!

I am certainly no expert on any of this... just passing along my experiences. This is a wonderful website. Gypsi has helped me so much.

Best wishes!
sanndiego

Is there any trick to get the "moon face" to disappear faster??? I was only on prednisone for 3 weeks but don't even look like myself now. I am embarassed to see people at work or make new acquaintances. This really ticks me off as I had just lost a lot of weight and finally had a thinner face... now it is a balloon as if I were heavy again! do you think drinking lots of water or a diuretic will help? know of any homeopathic remedies? Thank you.

hello again gypsi!
I also had alot of water retention. I was very swollen and I still had solid weight on me. I cut out all sugar and had very low carbs in my diet. I got more physically active, on the days I felt good. For me, caffeine is a great diuretic. It has helped me alot with the water retention and being swollen. I really can't explain about how fast it has been. I just happen to have had a bad experience with pred. and now that I'm off of it I seem to lose weight faster than I ever have in my whole life. After I lose the rest, and I feel this will certainly takes its good old time, I'll have to watch the sugar and carbs more. I have days when I get on the scales and see 2 or 3 lbs. come back on and then in a day two it's gone again. Weird. Don't panic gypsi. I have three sizes of clothes in my closets and sometimes none of them fit! Other times I can go to a smaller size. It's going to be a while before I feel normal again. Who know, maybe never ha ha
Today has been a better day for my blood pressure. I know this problem has come from being on pred. so long and being told to quit cold turkey. It's been three months now off of pred. U r in my prayers gypsi. I know how u feel. I promise it will get better with the weight. I've still got a year or so of pred. withdrawal. I'm tough. We'll make it.... nice talking to ya keep in touch trailblazen....................