PredniSONE and medicine

There is a way out!!! Started taking Prednisone 25mg for eczema a few years back, had constant heart ache and fatigue during the month that i took it. But real choas strike after stopping it, later on i find out it was because i stopped the dosage too sudden, i must slowly reduce my tablets from 4 pills a day to half a peel a day n than none, over a course of 2 weeks so my body can adjust without it. (shity doctor did not give clear instruction). I was constantly shaking uncontrollably, had shortness of breath, i always felt cold n hollow inside, my skin was so painful with stuff oozing out of the never closed wounds... went to the hospital, seen countless doctor... but my body was still not healing bk to normal, i was 21 years old. But than i went to c a Chinese medicine doctor. they acknowledge that due to these steroids medication my body is failing n they gave me Chinese herbal medicine to boil n drink for about a month! (it stinks sooooo much!) but i could c the improvement in two weeks, now i am alive n kicking, feeling my youth n strength has came bk to my body! is always better to heal a steroids/drugs damaged body with natural herbal therapy than seeing more doctors, getting more drugs in ur body.

Hey Guys,
I'm new to all this but just wanted to share my story with everyone so I feel like i'm not so alone! I'm 23 and was diagnosed with SLE 3 years ago.
It started in my joints and then moved to my kidney's real fast. I now have stage 4 nephritis, finished 6months of cyclophosphamide in Feb and have been on no less than 40-20mg of pred for about 2years. Just when things were starting to look better it has stared in my blood so they are trying to up my dose again. It has thinned my bones so I am on special meds for that now too.
I know taking the pred is something I need to do to live but it comes at a really high price. I don't even look like the same person I used too because of the moon face. I know it's shallow but at 23 it is almost as bad as having to live with this disease. I now have really low self esteem and get anxious all the time, which is affecting my job. As much as I want to come off I also worry that I would have to stop work again as the pred is what keeps me going. All I want to do is get off it though! Anyone know any alternatives? Also, just wondering if you guys are still drinking alcohol while taking pred?
Thanks for listening guys!

I have been taking prednisone for three years and I love it! It has helped me out with breathing problems and arthritis pain. I take a small does every day. And when I am without it I have trouble breathing and have painful arthritis pain. This drug has done wonders for me.

I am 24 and have suffered from severe to moderate acne my entire life. I have tried every cure out there and nothing has worked. I went on prednisone for an skin allergic reaction about 2 weeks ago. I started out with 50mg on the first day, and 40 mg the next, 30 the next day, and so on. I took it for a week. By the second day of taking prednisone, my acne was 100% cleared up and has been gone since. Now that I am off the medication, my acne is coming back. The only side effect from this drug was insomnia and CLEARING of acne. Does anyone have any idea why I had such a weird reaction to this drug?

My husband was prescribed 80MG of Prednisone a day because he had cerebellitis. Yes, they saved his life so for that I'm happy, but now he is out of the hospital and I have little to no patience with him. He is crying all the time. Everything I say or do makes him cry (and he's never been the crying type). He is needier than he's ever been before and I go to school full time and work full time so I have very little time to spare. It is very difficult to have all my home time taken up by everything he is afraid of----because that is all he can think about. In fact when he can't cry or talk to me about his fears (about not getting better) he obsesses about them keeping him from sleeping. We are finally able so go off the the medicine so I'm hoping that his anxiety will go away with the meds!

I am 48 years old. I have been asthmatic since I was 10. Never in my history of having chronic asthma, have I had to take prednisone.I started with 10 mg for the first 8 days. After a trip to the emergency, my Dr. found it necessary to up my dose to 40mg. I took this dose for 17 days. My face is round, I have had the worse acid reflux in my life, I have had mood swings..was up all night for 2 weeks and I still can't breath that good. I am weaning myself off of this prednisone and I am looking for another doctor. I am down to 10mg and I plan never to have to take this awful medicine again. I guess It would be okay if I was breathing like a champ, but I'm not. So there is no use in having all these bad side effects if I am still having trouble breathing. It's just seems that even a Pulmonary Dr. would want to take the fast way out. There are other safer meds to use.

I will be on prednisone for the rest of my life so my Pulmonologist says. I have an auto-immune disorder called allergic broncho pulmonary aspergillosis. I thought I was alone until I read all your messages when it comes to leg, and joint pain. My doctor acts as if I am crazy, and that it is not a side effect of the medication I am taking. It has gotten worse the longer I have been on the drug. I rarely sleep, and I have an appointment with him tomorrow. If anyone can suggest something that helped them I would love to hear it. I have tried everything, and the only relief is when I take pain medicine which I do not want to be on forever.

I had a cortisone injection into my left knee on Friday, June 5th and immediately started to react. Within an hour, I had extreme redness and heat in my face, neck and upper chest. Wheezing, hives in throat and mouth and behind my ears. Extreme headache that came on suddenly and started in the back of my head and stretched to the front. Dizziness, chest discomfort. I went to the ER and was given a nebulizer treatment, benadryl IV and prednisone because the doctors at the ER felt that I must have had an allergic reaction to some medication that was mixed with the cortisone injection, because they said that to be allergic to cortisone is very rare. About 20 minutes after they gave me 60mg of oral prednisone, they started my benadryl IV. I felt such a hot rush to my face, my ears were burning. Eventually, the reaction calmed down and they sent me home with a prednisone taper and benadryl every 4 to 6 hrs. Sunday morning, I took 60mg of the prednisone and within 20 minutes I knew that I was in trouble so I took 50mg of benadryl and on the advice of my doctor, called an ambulance. In the ambulance, I was given oxygen, a nebulizer and more benadryl IV. After that morning, I knew that my problem was the steroid. I hadn't had any sleep since Thursday, I had been nauseous ands been battling chest discomfort and a very bad headache. I spoke with my doctor on Monday and he wanted me to take Atarax,25mg, every 3 to 4 hours. I saw him on Tuesday and I went to an allergist on Wednesday. She started me on 50 mg of zyrtec twica a day and 25mg of Atarax at night to see if this would help the reaction that I continue to have. She said that it could be several weeks, at least, that I will continue to react, until the injectable steroid is out of my system. It had been 13 days, and Im still reacting.

I'm 15 years old and i've been taking prednisone for a few months, and from what i've read i'm on a really high dose. i was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and another autoimmune disorder concerning my muscles at the same time. my doctor told me prednisone was my only choice; it was either that or i would lose the ability to walk. he told me there'd be side effects, but i had no idea it'd turn out like this or i would have fought harder for another course of action. i started out on 30mg twice a day, and since then was weaned down to 20mg twice a day and now i'm down to 30mg once a day. i've been looking up a bunch of information trying to figure out if there's a way to lessen the side effects or any hope at all that they will get better. apparently there isn't much. after reading a bunch of these stories i gotta say i'm not feeling great about this. i totally understand everything everyone is going through. i'm sure you can imagine what it's like being smack in the middle of high school with a huge puffy face, acne so bad on my face, chest, back, neck, and shoulders that wearing a bra could put me in tears, and mood swings so bad i've lost friends over it. everyone knows how brutal high school can be, where appearance and attitude are everything. and i try to tell my doctor about it and he literally looks at me like i'm a whiny teenager and says "you're just going to have to deal with it." and people like my mom and my closest friends don't get it either. nobody understands how beyond frustrating it is. i'll get into the worst moods and not have a reason for it, but i'll stay angry for hours or burst into tears over someone looking at me the wrong way. it'll get to the point where i have to isolate myself from other people because the abrubt mood changes get so bad. as bad as i hate to admit it, the pain from the arthritis is gone now and supposedly my muscles are doing better too. developing arthritis caused me to have to quit cheerleading, something i've loved doing for 6 years, because the pain got to the point where i couldn't get my arms above my head or bend my knees. however, i'd almost rather deal with the horrible joint pain than deal with the side effects of prednisone. if your doctor gives you and alternative method, take it. i've always been confident in the way i look and really outgoing and happy and now i sometimes catch myself thinking about suicide. that's shocking to me because i've got so much going for me, but this medicine makes me miserable. and when i complain about it, anyone i'm talking to just looks at me like i'm being a cry baby. my mom does too, she'll say things like "you just have to do this. i know it's not what you want but to be honest i'm sick of hearing you bitch about it."
i feel a little better knowing other people feel the same way - like nobody gets whats going on with them. the prednisone does give me days of really great euphoria and days when i feel like i could run a marathon, but waking up in the morning to the acne and huge face puts me to tears every day. i have to pee all the time, usually getting up at 2 or 3 am. i don't sleep well anymore and i do sweat all the time. which also sucks being a teenage girl. i'm always hungry, and when i eat i never feel full so i don't know when to stop. my neck and face have put on so much weight that when people see me in the halls or out and about they ask me what happened. mind you these are people i don't talk to, just ones i know from classes or whatever. and it's pretty bad when teenage boys i've never really talked to ask what happened to your face. kind of a blow to the ego, or whatever is left of it at this point.
i'd like to know if, as my dosage gets lowered, the side effects will diminish and when i'm off the prednisone completely if they will disappear altogether. any help there?
or if there is any way to help the acne or puffy face

my doctor just put me on something called methotrexate or something like that to help wean me off the prednisone, and does anyone know what those side effects will do? or if they'll affect the prednisone side effects?
i'm constantly obsessing over gaining weight and what my skin looks like and what i eat and how heavy my face feels and the occasional pressure in my eyes to the point where i just want to be put out of my misery.
and after reading other people's stories i really don't understand why this drug is still given out as freely as it is. but maybe all doctors are like mine, they just don't get it.
best of luck to anyone who's on prednisone, my heart goes out to you; i'm right there with you
sorry this became like a book it wasn't meant to be this long

I'm sorry if someone has covered this already... my grandmother is actually the one on Prednisone because she was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy about a year and a half ago and I believe they recommended it to help her strengthen her muscles so she could walk. It has really taken a terrible toll as she is now unable to walk, and even using a walker can be stressful and difficult. Once she was put on Prednisone they continued to increase her dosage and because of it she now has terrible tremors. It kills me to watch her go through this and wish that I could fight the illness for her. I just want her to be able to eat without feeling so stressed out because her hands aren't steady. The doctor did say that the medication is causing her tremors, and we were relieved to find out that it wasn't Parkinson's, and now they are beginning to wean her off of the medication but she is still taking it at the moment. If anyone has finally tapered off from the medication, who originally had tremors, did you find that your tremors did go away once you were off the medication? How long before the shaking stopped and you felt better? I just want to give her hope that after she is off the medication there will be some relief. I feel awful knowing there is nothing I can really do but support and be there for her, and do some research. If anyone could help me with my questions it would be greatly appreciated. I'm sad to hear other people's terrible issues with this medication and as far as I know I have only heard negative responses to this drug, so it's unfortunate that in this day and age they haven't found something safer that has the same effect that doctors are looking for in a medication. I wish everyone a safe and happy recovery.

I am on a 6 day treatment of PredniSONE 4mg for a foot injury that caused massive swelling. The swelling was gone after the first day of the treatment, but the side effects started the second day for me. I freaked out yesterday thinking that I was having a heart attack. I even asked the doctor if there were any weird side effects and told him that I have anxiety about taking medicine. He said it's harmless, and not to worry. I felt safe taking it the first day but now I've been experiencing increased heart rate, flushed face, pain in my muscles, left arm, and chest, tingling and itching, I can't sleep, when I do sleep in the morning I wake up tense and frustrated, I've lost my appetite, it's hard to go to the bathroom and I can't seem to get my thoughts together. I had an anxiety disorder before and had I known the side effects of this medicine I would not have taken it. Today I decided to skip a day by only taking three pills today and two tomorrow. I just want OFF THIS STUFF!!! and I never want to take it again. I can't believe its on the market and doctors are soo shady about it! And all this from the lowest dose... 4mg.

I'm sitting here in tears reading all of your posts because I've also been on prednisone and have horrible side effects. I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in my lungs in June of 2002 and, after starting at 60 mg/day then, I have been on 20 mg/day for years now. The very first posting that I read mentioned problems with the femur bone. Besides all of the other problems associated with this devastating drug, in December, 2007, I broke a bone in my left foot with no known cause for it. Then I started experiencing pain standing or walking in my left leg and was diagnosed with a fractured femur bone and after several months of trying to get it to heal (including an ultrasonic bone healing system), it just kept getting worse until an orthopedic surgeon recommended that I have a 16 inch rod put into my leg which I did and it ended up to be one of the worst decisions that I have ever made. After experiencing all of the prednisone side effects for almost seven years including depression, severe fatigue, weight gain, moon face, thin skin, cataract surgery on both eyes, hump on my back, mood swings, etc., the pain and suffering that were caused by that operation brought me to seriously consider suicide. I was also diagnosed with chemical neuropathy in both of my legs also which makes my legs so weak that I have to crawl up any steps and have trouble just standing. I actually have an appointment for this evening to have an x-ray done to see what is wrong with my knees and did not realize that this also is yet another side effect. I never make it through the night without waking up in pain and getting a pain pill and then getting up in the morning is almost unbearable with that "burning" pain. I am now on Cymbalta for depression, Xanax for anxiety, Percocet for pain, and of course 20 mg of Prednisone. I was told that I would have to remain on Prednisone for the rest of my life because of the lung scarring and COPD. After reading all of your comments, I have decided that I would rather put up with any breathing problems (and I don't even know how slight they may be at this point) than to remain on the Prednisone. I have tried weaning off several times but get so fatigued that I can't move and that's dropping one mg every week. I'm affected by the decrease but it gets out of hand when I get to 14 mg and I get so frustrated and depressed at not being able to do anything that I just go back up to the 20 mg/day. If you have been able to wean off of it, would you please let me know how you did it and what you had to go through? I'm 65 years old now but I have two wonderful granddaughters (ages 4 and 6) who I can't do any normal "Grammy" things with anymore at this point and I have to change this condition for them and for me. Obviously, the doctors don't recognize the severity of the drug because they just keep prescribing it and out of a regular doctor, an oncologist, an orthopedic surgeon and a neurologist, they can't seem to get together to come up with a solution. I have to say that I haven't considered suicide lately but I do wish that I would just die and be out of this pain. My family and definitely my granddaughters and wanting to see them grow up are the only things that keep me going. There are probably things that I'm forgetting but I'm sure that one of you have covered it in our posting. Although my family is so supportive, no one and I really mean not one of them, realizes knows what we all go through because of this drug. How could they know that something that is supposed to help you could cause these problems? My life is a living hell, all because a pulmonary doctor prescribed prednisone seven years ago and I trusted him to only do what was right without informing me of what was to come. I more than sympathasize with all of you. I sincerely appreciate the time that you took to post to this site and so thankful to know now that this knee pain is not something new that I have but another side effect of the prednisone. I wouldn't have known that if it wasn't for this site because I'd be willing to bet that after I would have had this x-ray done, one of my doctors would have just prescribed another medication to take. Please feel free to contact me directly with any comments or especially any help that you can give me. I know that all of you are going through the same thing so if I can do anything for you, even just listen and understand, please contact me also. Sometimes that's the only thing that people can do is to listen and someone who is in the same situation can always understand. I'm here for anyone who needs a hug for the day.

I have been on various doses of prednisone on and off for 9 years for a kidney disease. The doses have varied from 70mg to 5mg. I have just about had enough. I cannot describe how debilitating this drug is. Every side effect on here I think I have had except excessive energy. Here is a small list:
Moon Face
Buffalo Hump
shaking like Parkinson
body aches
EXTREME weakness
heart palpitations constantly
joint pain
something would go on with my knees in the morning....it felt like something was boiling. It would be my guess as to what the "Bends" must feel like....it feels like someone is stabbing you in the knees with a knife.
Sleeping at least 16 hours a day
I could barely make everyday at work. It was so miserable to not be able to wake up, I would push myself in 15 minute increments....
You cannot know what it is like to be bed ridden for weeks and to have no doctor understand or believe what is happening to you. You just seem fat and lazy.

I am emotionally scarred by this medicine, there is not a day that goes by that I'm not terrified of having to take a large dose of this again. I just can't.
There is no quality of life at all. You can't do anything.
On top of that, there is no one to talk to, not even a doctor that understands what you are going through.
God help anyone that has to go through this. I understand.

I have been on prednisone since I was two years old (I am now sixteen) because I have Autoimmune Hepatitis IIa. I would like to point out that there is still a life worth living being on prednisone, maybe I say this because I do not know life without it, but at least we're alive! Last year I had a flare up of the AIH and had to 6x my dose of prednisone. It sent me into a spiraling depression of constant sleep, crying, hopelessness etc....but I made it through. Just PLEASE keep hope that things would get better, because I know what it's like being on the dreaded drug better than most.

I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis at the end of 2007 and have been on prednisone since then. I started on about 105mg a week and am currently trying to reduce it but it is really hard as the moment the dosage goes down I lose all mobility and cannot even get out of bed. I am only 23 years old and really feeling the disease to the extent that I cannot even cope with my life. The prednisone has really taken its toll on me and the side effects are crazy! I just want to go back to my old self as I am finding it sooo hard to get through a single day. My side effects include:

Insomnia, tooth sensitivity, depression, anxiety, mood swings, moon face (my face is so swollen that I cant stand looking in the mirror anymore, dizziness, temper, feelings of uselessness, nightmares, night sweats, water retention, and to top it all off the arthritis is getting worse and I am in constant pain. Is there anything anyone can suggest then please help me!

I had ankle surgery in March 2009. After several weeks of pain and inflammation, my doctor prescribed a Prednisone dose-pak to "settle everything down." Yesterday, day 1, I took 2 pills before breakfast, 1 after lunch, and 1 after supper. About 4 - 4 1/2 hours after taking my supper dose, I developed SEVERE abdominal pain (akin to labor pains) and diarrhea that lasted for several hours. The pain abated during the night and today I have had very sore abdominal muscles and a little bit of an upset stomach. I never took the bedtime dose

I don't care how much pain I have had in my ankle...nothing compares to the pain I experienced last night. I will never take this medicine again. According to all the information I have read about side effects, nothing indicated I would experience pain like this.

I am hopeful that now the stomach/abdominal pain "settles down."

I have COPD and with every cold that settles in the chest, I'm back on the antibiotics and prednisone. Like many of you, I hate it. When I first started it was with the dosepak and that didn't bother me at all, no side effects, but with progression of my disease and lungs getting worse, I'm now told to take 40mg for seven day and stop...NEVER, I have always take the 40 for 2 days and tapered down 10mg every 2 days. The last two times I've been on the pred I have been so nervous, almost tremmors, headache, muscle aches, dizzy and just can't put up with the side effects.
Like everyone else I'm told they are probably not from the pred. Took my last pill this morning and I thank God for that. Think I'll just have a little talk with Him and if He is willing, I won't need the ugly medicine.
God Bless all of you who have to take prednisone, I do know how miserable it can make you feel, and it just seems to get worse.
TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR, NO TWO PEOPLE ARE ALIKE AND NO MED IS RIGHT FOR ALL OF US.

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 would just like to say that I was prescribed Prednisone for inflammation. I know that some medications are used for different conditions but felt the need to comment due to the instructions I was given while on this medication. I had a total of 15 20mg pills and was to take 3 per day for 5 days. The doctor stated that it was very important not to take more then the above dose for my condition because it would be possible to shut down the " the steroid making system" thats already in our body. So be careful with this one all. This medication made me extremely sick to my stomach as well.

So basically this is my story.. I am 19 and have had severe asthma every\ since I can remember. I took prednisone up until I was 14, and from what I can remember I just stopped taking it around then. Then when I was about 18 I started up again because my asthma got worse. Between the time period of 14-18 I still had asthma, but started working out and became very active and healthy.I lost alot of weight had VERY THICK long hair. Then at 18 I got very sick and my doctor put me on prednisone knowing my asthma history. After being on it for a month my hair has become thin, I have gained weight, my face has rounded, my skin used to get tan very easily but now just flushes. I have headaches all the time, can't sleep at all during the night, then crash during the day. I am constantly depressed. I always have to pee. I can't be at the gym for more than 30 mins and then I just die im so tired. I can go on and on. I have tried so many time to get off but like I have read from the above comments,I become very sick and lazy I literally can't move. But what I need answers for, and what I was wondering, has anyone started to get hives/rash after coming off or being on prednisone. Every time I try to wean off of it I get them all over my legs!! NOTHING and I mean NOTHING makes them go away except when I start up prednisone again. My doctor thinks its okay and no other doctor can figure out why im getting these hives but its so obvious its from that because when I go back on it goes away. This is not a good medication to be on. I haven't seen hair loss as one of the major side effects but has that happened to anyone else. im praying to god i can wean of this drug if anyone knows anything pleaaaase let me knowwwwwww

I was put on prednisone for asthma. I tapered down from 80 mg to 10 mg over 2 weeks. After coming off of the prednisone, I experienced nausea, extreme dizziness, felt disoriented, and had muscle weakness so bad that I could barely stand up. After several trips to the emergency room, my doctor, and an endocrinologist, they figured that I needed to be tapered off of the prednisone more slowly. The endocrinologist started me back on 10 mg of prednisone and tapered me down to 2.5 mg. Since I have stopped taking the prednisone, I have experienced dizziness,headaches, tremors, a rapid pulse rate, blurry vision and a sensitivity to light. I have been off the prednisone for two weeks now and every day is different. I have some good days and some bad days. Although I have my strength back and the nausea has subsided, the dizziness is debilitating and it seems that my balance and fine motor coordination is off. I feel very mentally foggy. The doctors do not seem to have any answers for me as to why all of this is happening. It has been a very scary and frustrating experience. I am concerned that the prednisone has done some serious damage to my nervous system. Has anyone ever had these side effects? Do they eventually subside and how long will it take? It has been the longest month of my life dealing with all of the effects of this medicine. Any advice would be appreciated.

Extreme Weakness, extreme excessive sweating, nausea, dizziness, itching, terrible headaches.In addition, I seemed to have contacted a moderate case of the flu. At least I had what seemed like the flu. However it is possible that it was just more of the same from the prednisone. My doctor gave me prednisone for a pinched nerve in my neck and a herniated disk in the same #7vertebrea. He gave me 12 days. As soon as I started taking it, I began to feel very weak, I had headaches, terrible exploding headaches. I found that I began to itch on my arm for no apparent reason, except for a bracelet in the area.In addition, I began to have excessive sweating, extreme sweating, the water would be pouring down my face. At that time, I would feel my heart pounding have some dizziness, and just overall bad feeling. It was debilitating, I spent a lot of time on the couch because I could not function in my daily activities. I went from exercising for 90 minutes to barely being able to get through 15 minutes. My question is will I go back to "normal" when this medicine gets out of my system. What is the half life of this drug? Should I do a detox of some sort. Worst of all, the problem with my neck has not really resolved and I will probably need some other sort of intervention. I never got that burst of energy that other people experienced with this medication.

Hi everyone.
I was prescribed prednisone for a hand injury that the swelling would not go down. I took it for 4 weeks. In the end of the first week I started breaking out in a rash that itched like crazy. They were small bumps that had nothing in them and they itched so bad I scratched them raw in my sleep. I informed the doctor about the rash and he told me it was to late in the game to get any side effects. This medicine also caused me to become very irate from any little thing. It also made me to lose my job while under a workers comp doctors care. This was about 6 years ago and I still am battling the rashes. They come and go but when they are apparent they take a long time to go away. I used to heal very fast but now it takes forever for an injury to heal. I have had blood work done and even had my liver checked out. They say I am as healthy as a horse so to speak. The rashes have scarred me all over. The bumps would turn to sores that took about 6 months to heal and they hurt, burned and itched all the time. I tried everything to control the itch and pain. I finally mixed aspirin with alcohol and some lotion together and this helped enough to get a fairly good night sleep as I was becoming exhausted. I am learning to deal with it in time but I will never be the same. My thinking is far from my normal thinking.
I had a list of side effects from prednisone and it was four pages long and the very first one was, Instant Death! The only side effect I was told by the doctor was that I might become easily irritated. In my opinion I think all doctors should give you an option after he has presented you with ALL the side effects of a prescribed drug and let you be the judge if you should take it or not. I now have a different doctor and he has prednisone as a drug I can not take. This medicine might be good for some people but it can have life changing effects for those that can not take it.
I feel for anyone that has had bad effects from it and hope you get over it some day.

I have Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA), was diagnosed in Feb. 2008. Have been ill for several years and finally it came to a head in Feb. I had a blood transfusion and then in the hospital 6 days later with a hgb of 4.0. I was so toxic and my blood so screwed up I nearly died. I was given another transfusion then (total of 5 pints of packed red blood cells) and started on Prednisone. For 3 days given liquid Pred injections, starting at 1000mg, tapering down to 250mg., then on the pill form at 100mg. Sweat poured off of me dosing down. I was off work for 2 months. I am still tapering but am now at 1mg. DR. added another drug, Danazol, after getting to about 10mg because my blood started going crazy again. My side affects with Prednisone have been, Euphoria, no depression, LOTS of hyper brain activity, thoughts running a 100 miles an hour but body at slow speed.Visual problems and a feeling of being highly drugged. 2 to 3 hours of sleep each night, compulsive behaviors and a lot of pacing back and forth. Couldn't hold my concentration because my mind wandered so much. Extreme Tremors in my back, hands and head. Wanted to talk constantly, if no one was around I talked to my Chihuahua or the TV. My cheeks puffed up and became hard and had a fat pocket puffed up on left side of my neck. My dog thought I was crazy, she was tired of the lights being on at 3 or 4 in the morning. Legs looked skinny but didn't gain weight until I got to about 60mg. Gained 25 lbs total. Tapering caused bad spasms in my calves, feet and hands. Thigh muscles would get extremely weak each time I went down a dose. At 50mg I started getting sleepy and could hardly stay awake. Went back to work at 35mg and couldn't remember how to sign on to my computer. Some memory problems since I was in the hospital, couldn't remember how to spell words I knew as a young girl. Started having hip pain about 3 months into the Pred, that hasn't stopped. At 10mg feet, knees, shoulders hurt deep in the sockets, muscles below my neck knot up, may take a while to totally get off this. Read on a couple of blogs where people cut a 1mg tab into 4 pieces to taper off the Pred. because of side effects. Had thrush in the beginning and break outs of shingles. I hope to God I never have to get back on this drug again, it is so HARD on the body but it did do what it was given for, to repress my immune systems. My next step is Spleen surgery, hope this is a cure for me, am sick and tired of being sick and tired. Wouldn't advise anyone to take Pred unless it's a life or death situation. It's prescribed too liberally and people have multiple problems, worse than I have experienced. I've probably forgotten some things, but there's enough I've mentioned to give you an Idea it's not good, but if Pred is all you have then you do what you gotta do!! My puffy cheeks have went down though, now my hair has become curly but at least I have hair and my chihuahua stills loves me!!!

i have been an asthmatic since the age of 2 years old i am now 24 years old. preds as i call it has been a part of my life since then. i have a number of reactions to it from gaining 30 lbs in les than 6 months to almost definitely hallucinating. i urinate frequently,my hubby says that i'm a leaking tap. i cry and grumble at times for no reason: yes mood swings like rain in spring time. i even threw away my wallet after a dose of preds three months ago. i laugh uncontrollably. i get depressed. sleep for long hours one time and then become insomniac for days. i am super hyper. i am creative and expressive and get even better for a few hours after taking preds. also i appear to have an attention disorder at times. i have acute hearing i.e i hear like a fox really well and then some day si behave like an 89 year old with a hearing aid. i get rashes on allergic reactions to things i've been using all my life like band-aid.i don't like it in fact when the doctor gives me 8 to be taken 3 times daily for a week, i take two and feel better without all the side effects. i am so fat its a shame. i was tall and lean and sexy now i am tall heavy and my hubby still says sexy. we all hate it don't we?!

Started taking prednisone about 3 months ago for a serious flare-up of my Sciatica. My Sciatica was so bad that I couldn’t even stand up. After a couple days of prednisone, I was able to walk, but still had pain on my left side, from my back down to the tip of my big toe. Symptoms started getting better, but then the side effects started. Gain 40 lbs, can’t sleep, muscles are so weak it’s hard to walk, blurred vision… one day (laying on my bed) I noticed I couldn’t even see the clock on the cable box anymore. Lumps started appearing. One on my wrist and one big one on my upper arm. I cut my finger 5 days ago and it still hasn’t closed up completely yet. It even still bleeds. I know on the side of my pill bottle it says “This medicine may lower your ability to fight off infections”, but man! It sucks when you have a little cut that just won’t heal. Anyway, I’m sick of the side effects and they only seem to be getting worse. I’m stopping today! I would rather fight through the pain of my Sciatica than to deal with all these side effects. I just hope (and pray) that the side effects go away without doing (if not already) major damage.

Earlier this summer, I developed a case of shingles. It went away, but about a week ago a similar rash broke out. I thought that it was a second bout of shingles, but my doctor assured me that it would be impossible to contract the disease on different parts of my body. Because I am not home with my ordinary doctor, I had to see another doctor, who was unsure of what the rash could be, but nevertheless prescribed with with 50mg of Prednisone daily. I took my first dose today, and am reluctant to continue. I don't want to be a victim of any of the side effects, but am unsure as to whether there is another way to go about getting rid of the rash. Any advice that could be given so as to not have to continue with the Prednisone would be great. I don't want the rapid weight gain, depression, mood swings, etc.

I have Crohns and had a flare up so I'm back on 40mg of Prednisone. I've been on 40mg now for 3 weeks and I start to tapper off in another 3 weeks. Well every time I start the prednisone again I get new side effects. This time, my gum are bleeding all the time and the pain in my knees are horrible! I still get the regular side effects, ie: Mood swings, joint pain, sleeplessness, sweating, swelling of my legs and hands, wanting to eat everything under the sun, moon face and my hair falls out! I wish the drug manufactures could develop a drug that would not be so hard on our bodies. I have to struggle with the pros and cons with every flare up. Do I want the weight gain, mood swings and hair loss or do I want to look good and be very sick! I'm 37 and was 16 when I found out I had Crohns.

I took prednisone for 6 days ( the pack). Six the first day and five the next till day six I had one pill left. I have never experienced hair loss like this. I have a patch of hair that fell out in a circle the size of a 50 cent piece. I didn't notice it really falling out but noticed a bald spot and I freak out. I came on line to get info about this medication. This drug was ordered for me because I have severe pain in my back due to osteoarthritis, sciatica and back surgery. I was told taking this would help with the inflammation and might relieve some of the pain symptoms. Well, I think the pain would be better then the side effects that I suffer. I had loss of appetite and acne on my face. I feel dizzy and bloated. I pee all the time and seems like i visit the bathroom much more often for other reasons too. I have felt like a crazy lady and have less patience than normal. I hope that this does not last for ever. This is a small amount of the medication. I am sorry for those of you that have experienced a long period of time on this medication. I pray for you that they will find another alternative with less effects to your bodys.

MY FATHER WAS DIAGNOSED WITH TEMPORAL ARTHRITIS. HE HAS BEEN ON PREDNISONE FOR ABOUT 5 MONTHS NOW, STARTING FROM 80MG/DAY. HE HAS TAPERED DOWN TO 40 MG/DAY,,BUT TH SIDE EFFECTS ARE STARTING TO BECOME UNBEARABLE.
WATER RETENTION,,SWELLING, MUSCLE PAIN,,WEAKNESS.
HE IS 80 YEARS OLD,,AND IT IS REALLY TAKING A TOLL ON HIM. IF ANYONE CAN GIVE ME ANY HELP OR INFO TO COUNTER SOME OF THE SIDE EFFECTS(MUSCLE PAIN AND WEAKNESS MOST IMPORTANT) IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
THANK YOU.

I have taken one 7-day prednisone taper (40-40-40-30-30-20-10) for severe back pain due to a herniated disk on my S1 nerve. I noticed an improvement in ability to stand up, pain decreased, mood was happy, energy level up. Negatives? none. Thirstier than usual. Once dosage was decreasing, pain returned. I am about to try another prednisone taper, only on a 12 day schedule. I am looking forward to some relief and hope to avoid any negative side effects. I do not think prednisone is negative if you don't take too much and you drink a lot of water.

hi all. thanks for writing your comments here. it has helped me today, another HORRIBLE day of prednisone hell. i have been seriously ill for 8 months been told ever other week I'm likely going to die from lung disease (i'm 35) and after a painful lung biopsy have been told my lung problems are almost all reversible... after a year on high dose prednisone. i was on 40mg a day for a month a while back and was so out of control from rage and crying and insomnia and panic/suicidality, ravenous appetite, that they lowered me to 30. then after biopsy they said i should be on 100mg to cure me, we settled at 60mg. it's been 24 days. The moon face started about one week in. i've gained 8 lbs. i am an emotional wreck. i have at least one rage filled attack per day where i am screaming and want to kill somebody or destroy something. some days i am so filled with hopelessness and worry i just want to die. my body changes (after just losing 30 lbs and being a work out fanatic my shortness of breath makes it impossible to walk up 2 flights of stairs without resting) face changes, acne, excess body hair (oh my god please make it stop i'm like a chia pet and i'm so afraid it is going to get worse) double chin, puffy eyes and cheeks, absolutely uncontrollable emotions and mood swings, inability to be logical or reasonable. i don't want to leave the house, i'm panicked and scared all the time. i never sleep. ambian gives me minimal relief (just started taking it) i feel like i'm losing everything, except my lung functioning is returning and i'm not going to die from this illness (they assure me THIS week) i understand light at the end of the tunnel, but living like this is unbearable most days, almost impossible the rest of the time. am i alone with the severity of this? or are all the others like me too busy hiding the sharps and crying in a corner to write on this board? thanks for listening :)

figures, forgot to mention what HELPS. no eating after 8 (7pm is better) no salt, no sugar, exercise, even just a walk every day, anything physical, i walk like a grandma on the treadmill but i still do it, sometimes it is the only thing that stops my crying. no alcohol, support and understanding from loved ones, it's not you, its the drugs. good luck.
figures, forgot to mention what HELPS. no eating after 8 (7pm is better) no salt, no sugar, exercise, even just a walk every day, anything physical, i walk like a grandma on the treadmill but i still do it, sometimes it is the only thing that stops my crying. no alcohol, support and understanding from loved ones, it's not you, its the drugs. good luck.

My boyfriend was put on prednisone for an allergic reaction to an antibiotic. He did fine while taking the medicine for three weeks. They did taper the meds. He has been done taking it for a little over a week now. He is irrational and moody. He is easy to irritate. I am scared of him and I left him this morning. He was so out of control last night I could not get him to calm down. Luckily I did not get hurt but there is no way I will go back to that house. There is such a thing as roids rage and it's awful!!!! DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICINE!!! EVER!!!!

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.

Prednisone is a popular medicine used to treat inflammation, but actually it is close to useless for anything. It can cause infections to flourish so any MINOR infection can blossom into acute wide spread sepsis. PLEASE use with CAUTION!!!

I was given 20 mg of Prednisone for 10 days for a rash and joint pain.
The pain went away and I felt great the rash got a little better. Two days ago I took my last pill. I woke up that night and my knees gave out. By morning I was great! Next night I woke with knee problem again had to slide down the stairs to the living room. I got to wondering if the knee thing could be associated with the Prednisone. I got on line and read all this terrible stuff. I am so Horrified! Today I am in pain like my body is bruised and my face is swollen a little. I have acid reflux as well. Non of this is typical for me. My knee thing is ok again, but I am just appalled! I have no MED insurance. I hope this isn't the beginning of worse things I am not taking that drug now. The Dr. didn't say I needed to taper...

I hope I have not damaged myself by taking this drug! My heart goes out to all of you! My question is - Why are the Dr.'s prescribing this terrible drug?

Hello,

about a week ago I admitted myself to ER because of terrible breakout of hives (never had them before) but was covered from head to toe.

Doctor prescribed PREDNISONE 80mg for 4 days, and gave me an IV with the drug a week ago Saturday night (don't know how much was there), 12/29/07, I took my daily dose 80mg Sunday noon. I only slept about an hour or two. By new years eve 12/31, I have started getting cold chills, feeling unbearably cold, then the next day 1/1, I felt like I was 100 years old, all my joints were stiff, I couldn't get up from bed, couldn't sleep much but there is still more.

By Wednesday I have felt even more stiff and hives were not going away, I went to the doctor (my stiffness went away after couple hours in the morning) he prescribed more PREDNISONe for another week, luckily I have stopped taking the medication after 5 days of 80mg, plus whatever they gave in in an IV but I still have what I think are side effects from taking it.

Ankles are still sore, I cannot sleep because an extreme numbness sets in my left hand middle to index finger, it is no numb it hurts like an elephant is sitting on it, that is why I am still up at 4:30 in the morning. When I am up it just tingles. Not sure what to do but can't sleep at all for last 3 days and getting really tired.

If I knew what Prednisone does I would never take any of it, I'd rather deal with hives oh and they still didn't go away, I have had them for about 10 days now, they did stop itching. Honestly I felt very very sick a day after taking it, I didn't associate this with Prednisone, until I found this website. Please if you can stop taking it or see for yourself how much you should take 80mg is definitely too much, for me at least.

Did anyone have to deal with joint stiffness, and numbness how long does it take for it to go away. My wife says to to ER again because I can't sleep I am just very uncomfortable with the numbness and rattle in bed, but guess what they could shoot me up with more Prednisone.

I have been on prednisone ( for lichen planus) for about 6 weeks starting with 20 mg twice a day for a month. Now I am taking half a pill once a day... My face and neck are SO swollen I have gained So much wait I have mental and emotional breakdowns all the time I can't sleep ( so the doc prescribed seroquil) now I don't know if I am coming or gong. I will be so very full and still shoving food in my mouth. My knees and legs hurt badly I have had a horrible headach and my teeth and mouth hurt and now 'm growing facial hair at 27 yrs old. HELP ME!