PredniSONE and leg pain

Hello,
How long do side effects last after completing steroid treatment? I've been off of pred for 4 months for crohn's first time. I was on 40/30/20/10 for a 6 week period. When I got to 30 my legs went into extreme pain. They felt like they were on fire, burning knees. Went to several doctors. One said steroid withdrawal, one said inflammation of nerves from Crohn's. Neurologist put me on neurontin to get off of the pain meds. I am still in excruciating pain and wondering if it really is steroid withdrawal. I can barely walk at times with extreme sharp pains, like someone is stabbing me in the legs. Can't stand for long periods of time and pain pills barely touch the pain. During steroid treatment, they gave me 3 rounds of Dilaudid in the ER and I was still crying, and I don't cry. Has anybody ever had this effect this long after being off the drug??

22 years old i have had Coltis for 5 years,flair ups pretty much the whole time, i have been on Prednisone a lot this last time has been the WORSE!!! All i can say is i hate it!! i was put in hospital the 4th time steroid thou the iv for 5 days sent home got worse again back to hospital then to try Cyclosporin thou the iv and also the steroid thou the iv. Ten days later they sent me home on prednisone coming off the iv was hard the pain in my legs was unbelievable!!! finally i was sent home on prednisone,coliform anemas,salfak anemas,and salfak granuls,i thought the worst was over but it was far from it... I turned in to a complete loony,crazy women i don't even know myself anymore my poor partner and kids. Having to deal with the pain and everything eles that comes with having a flair up but then also going though the side effects of the prednisone and the coliform was unbearable, i just wanted to die! My flair up was not getting much better and i hated myself as i felt i did not know myself with the mood swings, the crazy flip outs,crying all the time.My partner has been great having to pick me up off the ground and turn the crying reck into someone half normal. I hate the moon face,weight gain, im hungry ALL the time,night sweats,sleepless nights sore teeth,I have come off it now its been 4 days, so now all i need to stop its the coliform then i will be steroid FREE!!!!! i cannot wait!! For my face to go down and to be normal and back to the good old me! I forget what shes like... Coming off the Prednisone has been hard with the leg pain,muscle aches,head aches,mood swings,nausea. Its just hard as no one around me understands what im going though or what it feels like so i just sound like a sookie cry baby or a raving loony. does anyone know how long it takes for moon face to go away??? I wish everyone luck with there battles with Prednisone, its one of the hardest things i have had to deal with. =) your not alone. stay strong and be positive even throu your lowest times.

They think that I have either crohns or ulcerative colitis. I have tried antibiotics, lialda, mesalamine enemas, with no improvement. After another colonoscopy they put me on prednisone at 40mgs, 30, 20, 10, then 5 decreasing weekly. Well the first week was okay. I had some of the side affects, insomnia, extreme hunger, and crazy. I could deal with that. But then when I decreased down to 30mg, my body flipped. I awoke from the middle of the night with burning pain in the knees. So bad I took 4 ibuprofen and threw myself in the tub with epsom salt. I thought okay that was weird because I have never had a joint pain in my life. I saw the gastroenterologist that day bc I was still having abdominal pain. He totally blew off the knee pain and said he had no idea what that was. I thought okay maybe it will go away. A few days went by and nothing. 3 days later and I awoke one morning crying in pain because of my legs. I called the on call doctor who also said he had no idea and go to the er. So I went crying hysterically for 4 hours. Even after 3 rounds of dilaudid I was still in pain. They suggested a Rheumatologist. So I went to one a week later who said I was going through steroid withdrawals. And there is nothing we can do but treat the symptoms of pain. I am now down to 10mgs have been out of work for 2 weeks and am absolutely miserable with severe leg pain, muscle weakness and fatigue. He also adjusted the drop down increments to 5 instead of 10. Anyway I will never take this drug again and I think they rushed to this one. Just wanted to share. I am glad I found this website because I went from a fully functioning physically fit 28 year old to a crippled crying crazy person. I think I was scaring my husband, honestly, until we both read some of your postings which were similar.

OMG...I can't stand it anymore!! My legs are killing me!!...I am almost weaned off of it...tomorrow I take one 10 mg pill....and then the next day, I take 5 mg....and I'm done. Thank God!! I pray that I have no bad side effects from weaning off of it. I worry that I won't be able to breath again. Then what??...I will not take prednisone ever again!!...I think I would rather die then live on this horrible drug....If only I knew what it was before I started taking it.

I'm 16 years old, and in November of 2008 i was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, or FSGS. i started taking the preds starting at 60mg, and last month i started weaning off. i'm at 20 mg right now. i noticed that i started getting the common moon face right after i started taking the meds. and i hate it so much. also, i've had so much trouble falling asleep at night, but then when i do, i sleep for so long. i've also had the dreadful hair growth, REALLY bad mood swings, headaches, and for sure, increase in appetite. i've gained 30lbs since ive been on the preds and even when i exercise daily, i still cant loose a single pound. normally im a really fit girl, i ran track and i was a dancer. im just really worried that all this "fat" wont go away. i really hope it does. it just feels like prednisone really ruined my sophomore year of high school. and i just don't feel like doing anything anymore. i just wanna wear swearpants, curl up in a ball and lay in my bed and wait until this nightmare is over. But im just glad to know that there are a lot of other people out there that know how i feel.

I was diagnosed with SLE (lupus) when I was 14, I'm 21 now, and I've had to be on prednisone all this while. The dosages alternate between 60mg (the highest) and 2.5mg (the lowest), I just went for a routine check up today and found out that my protein level in my urine is at an all time high. So the doctor is pushing me back up to 30mg of prednisone. Its 2 am, and I am sitting in bed crying because I don't want to have to go through everything again; the weight gain, the moon-face, everything. I know I may sound shallow, because ultimately, the medicine is keeping me alive, but the side effects are terrible. Very few people understand that its not fat that you're gaining, and the remarks that I know I am going to get are enough to drive me insane.Is there anyway the water retention or the weight gain can be stopped or decreased?

I was giving prednisone for only 5 days (not sure about dose, but it tapered to one pill on the last day) for a bronchitis induced severe asthma attack. I have only had asthma twice in my 50 years, both times associated with a bad case of bronchitis. The "doc in the box" reduced his original dosage due to the 3 corisone injections I recently had in my spine. After reading these posts I feel grateful I wasn't on a higher, longer term dose. I have some of the same side effects listed here including uncontrollable appetite, fat gain around the middle, water weight gain, constantly having to urinate, superhuman energy, heart palpitations, and approximately two weeks after finishing, I began to get a mustache (hairs that were previously white became brown over a two week period). I have read on the internet and been told by my pharmacist that this is temporary. I have also read and been told that the 2mg estradiol I take every day since my hysterectomy causes the body to retain and not rid itself of the steroids as it normally would (estrogen is actually listed as drug interaction with prednisone). The doctor in the box apparently just ignored this interaction and prescribed it anyway. However the main reason I am posting is a very strange possible side effect that occurred approximately 1 week after my final dose. I was awakened in the middle of the night with SEVERE pain (felt like bone pain, not muscle) in my right knee that lasted until morning. By mid morning it was gone. The next night I had the same experience but in both knees. It lasted about 5 more days, gradually tapering in intensity, and then just went away. I do have severe arthritis in my lumbar and cervical spine, having had surgeries to repair injuries from a snowmobiling accident. I have normal arthritis elsewhere for a 50 year old, but have NEVER had issues with my knees. Has anyone had this strange symptom? None of my doctors (internist, rheumatologist, physiatrist - who gave me the injections and prescribed physical therapy for my spine) had any explanation. The only explanation I have is the prednisone because I had taken the Z-pac (antibiotic) with no side effects several times in the past. Weird!

Incidentally, I am off the prednisone for about 5 weeks, am still hungry all the time, still fat, still bloated. Unfortunately the extra energy is gone. Best of luck to everyone on this strange drug. My heart sincerely goes out to all of you on long term therapy. God bless.

I was put on Prednisonsone for Uveitis, inflammation of the eye. He started me on 20mg at 9 pills a day, then each week it was lowered to 6 pills then now i'm on 3 pills and then next week it will be 1 1/2 pill and i'll be off. I got the puffy face, my feet swelled, everytime i hate my stomach bloated and hurt, my face and neck turns red, i stayed hungry although i fought the temptation of eating for not wanting to gain a lot of weight, which I don't think I've gained any. But now I wake up in the middle of the night and severe knee pain, it feels like my knees they are in some kind of device that is crushing my bones they hurt so bad. i caught a bad cough and it's been around now for about 2 weeks and won't go away, i told the nurse about it and she says, i probably just got what everyone else has gotten, just a bad cough, well what's if it's some kind of infection? I look like a chipmunk, my face is so puffy. When i get off these prednisone in another week I WON'T BE going back on them, no matter what the case. I'm in more pain being on them and have more side effects while on them than the problem i was having with uveitis. I think some co workers thank I'm over reacting, but they're not here they don't see all the pain and frustration i'm going through while on this drug. The leg pain just started this weekend and i Know i can't deal with waking up everynight like this in severe pain. Everyone just makes me feel like i'm over reactin and it's nice to know that somebody out there is going through the same thing. Any comments will be great.

I was prescribed Prednisone for sinusitis and bronchitis. By day three I noticed I was taking 6 pills versus the 3 prescribed. I called the pharmacist and they recommended I take 1 for each remaining day. I declined, because by then I was experiencing a lot of leg pain. I thought I had a blood clot. Now that it's day 6 I've experienced muscle and bone pain throughout my body. Last night while lying down I felt lightheaded and like I was going to blackout. My legs are weak, I feel like I'm having an outer-body experience, and I'm restless. I've gained a little weight and have a dark red/purple rash on my chest. My stomach is still bloated, but does not hurt. I hope this ends soon. God Bless you All!

I was prescribed 42 pills (20 days) of 10 mg Prednisone which I am to take beginning with 4 pills for four days and steadily decreasing every four days down to four 1/2 pill the last four days. I took my first dose yesterday and was told to drink lots of water. I do not wish to gain weight nor have a moon face. My doctor does not feel this will affect me in that way, but may have water retention (swelling). I am 73, and this regiment of Prednisone was prescribed to decrease inflammation due to a possible siatic nerve problem, which is causing extreme pain in my left leg. The pain is excruciating when I get up in the morning but eases down by mid morning with some pain all day and some nights if I move just the wrong way.Does anyone have a suggestion for the best foods to eat and what to avoid? I read that grapefruit juice may be beneficial.

Just amazing how things react differently on different people.
I have been on Prednisone for almost 5 weeks now and have LOST weight. I eat because I am supposed to not because I want to, I am NOT hungry !!! I sleep like a baby too... go figure? However, I am weaning off it and am down to 5mg a day and I am experiencing headaches and leg pain which I did not have while on a higher dose (15mg). I love the stuff although I think I am in a minority of one in the world. I feel great when I am on it even though have used it in the past and developed cataracts from it at the age of 48 (now 49) and have already had one cataract removed.