PredniSONE and meltdown

I have been on prednisone since November 2007 for minimal change disease, 65 mg, in May I started to decrease the dosage (per Drs. orders) and by the time I got to 15 mg all my symptoms came back and I swelled up again. I was again put on a higher dosage of prednisone and put on Cytoxan 75 mg. I am now decreasing prednisone, back to 15 mg every other day and will be off Cytoxan next month. Hopefully this will work. Right now my main complaint of side effects is chest pressure, anything I eat or drink makes my stomach swell and I feel like I can never take a full breath. I recently had chest and abdoman xrays and an ultrasound, all negative. Does anyone have this symptom? I also have moon face, weight gain, hump on back, insomnia, headaches, digestive problems ,shakes, night sweats, vision problems, extreme tiredness and hair loss. How long before all this goes away?

I am so happy to have found this site! I thought I was losing it!

I had taken Prednisone two years ago when I had pneumonia that would not go away, and realize now that a lot of the problems I had during my two months of sickness were due to this drug. I do not remember how long I had taken it back then. I could not do any work and what little I attempted, I kept making mistakes that seemed right to me. For example, I had started to address Christmas cards and put all the stamps on the wrong side where the return address goes. When my husband came home, he pointed out what I had done. I had finished a big batch of them and it had never occurred to me that the stamps were on the wrong side. I cried for no reason and had weird mood swings constantly - don't remember how I slept. I was taking so many medications and it was a busy time of year for me that I thought my problems were due to the combination of all. I now know differently, which brings me to today.

I am on my 5th day of a 7 day dose (30mg first 2 days, 20mg thereafter) to relieve inflammation from a persistent cough due to sinusitis that started Dec. 27th. I have numerous symptoms! The worst being the mood swings, confusion & lack of sleep (averaging 3 hours a night). I thought I was going crazy. The side-effects surfaced pretty quickly. I had a rush project due today that I had started last Sunday. I am usually pretty good working under pressure and deadlines - not perfect, but pretty good, and there was enough time to finish all assigned to me. It took me forever to finish simple tasks and I made some mistakes that I never would have. This was a first time working with some colleagues who all must think I am a nut who cannot produce. I had a weird meltdown in front of the team leader and was totally not myself. My husband has been so worried about my erratic behavior that he refuses to let me drive. He dropped me off at an appointment and upon his return home found our front door wide open. I had walked out the door without closing or locking it. Now, granted I have been sick and am under stress, but I have never had the mood swings or lack of focus that I have experienced in the past few days except for the time I had taken the drug earlier. I was prompted to do a search on prednisone when I realized the similarity in symptoms. When I found this site, all the symptoms I had been experiencing and discussing with my husband were right here - I cried twice while watching Top Chef on TV Wednesday. Along with symptoms mentioned, I have a strange feeling in my stomach, numbness and I have a loss of appetite rather than hunger. Anyone else find that? I just looked at the clock and found that it took me over an hour to write this post. Thank God for spell-check!

All the posts are extremely helpful! I really feel for those of you who need to take it for long periods of time. I hope they find alternatives for you soon.