PredniSONE and muscle pain

I had a bulging disk and a pinched nerve and was put on PREDNISONE - 60mg for 5 days, then 40 mg for 5 days and then 20 for 5 days. I had a round face to begin with, which I always hated, but now, my face just looks like a balloon that someone painted a face onto. I have a huge face, a double chin, huge stomach, I look 5 months pregnant and I absolutely HATE myself on this drug. I've been off now for a week and nothing has subsided except the sweats -- very embarrassing! I work and in the middle of a meeting, I sweat so badly that it rolls off my giant red face in rivulets. I'm just miserable. Does anyone know how long it takes to get rid of the side effects of this demon-drug?? I want to stay in the house and hide.

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

Just started taking Prednisone 60mg today for an allergic reaction to penicillin supposedly. Since taking it today--I feel hot one minute then cold the next! I have also had this funny tingling sensation all over my body & I feel rather sluggish! I have three more days then hopefully I will feel better!

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 am writing on behalf of my elderly parent, Carmela, who has been diagnosed with Lupus since 1991. She has been on a small dose of prednisone since her diagnosis in 1991. In the last several months she has developed very many odd hazey type grey spots all over her body. Dermatologists and doctors are not giving her any answers. They took her off predisone because they THINK this may be the cause. She is on an inhaler and does not like it. She wants to go back on the prednisone as she is feeling chest congestion and lethargy. I read an article on the internet that describes prednisone may cause unusual bruising. I'm not sure if this is what her spots are. They are only the color grey and appear to be beneath the skins surface. They are soft or hazy looking. They are small, about the size of a dime. Has anyone heard of this before in Lupus (prednisone) patience. Any info you have is sure appreciated. S. ******

Started with a Pred pak for a sinus infection. Made my heart race and had tach and early heartbeat, which kept me from sleeping. Went to Cardiologist. Several doctors denied that the Pred would cause the rapid heartbeat. Then the Cardiologist did an echo and found a pericardial effusion and some weird spots on my lungs. They suspected lung cancer which may cause the effusion, so I had surgery to do a pericardial window and a lung biopsy. Then a pulmonologist decided to put me on Pred again...steady dosage...because she didn't know what else to do. (Didn't have lung cancer) I didn't have any more funny heartbeats, so maybe the pred didn't cause it after all. But I've gained 40 pounds. My hair has grown faster, and I've gotten some facial hair (not supposed to have that, being a female)...which I call fur. Moon face with cheeks that are hard, muscle cramps, can't sleep, but once I do go to sleep, I can't wake up. Tired all the time, headaches, joint pain-sometimes severe, dry skin, generally bad attitude, with very little patience, low potassium levels which add to my muscle cramping problems, difficulty swallowing, indigestion which I've never had, with painful and burning reflux. And occasionally when I eat, I have the rapid heartbeat again. I go in search of food like I'm going to store it in my thighs for winter. Anything you eat will turn to fat, including protein. Can't wait to get off this stuff which will take until June of next year. Then my doctor says it will be 3 months before all these effects wear off. No one told me I would get fur.

Ok here's my story with Prednisone. Let me first give you a little back ground info on me. Born with a VSD, that was repaired at 8 months of age, only after developing severe pneumonia. Was fine as a child growing up until at 18 i developed asthma. i am 29 now and have been on and off prednisone during that time. During that time however I have always been on a metered dosage pack that has always tapered usually within 5 days with no side effects.

Now lets talk present day with me. First off I went in back in early Sept. for what I thought was just a sinus infection, turns out my lungs were so tight, i was immediately put on 80 mg for 5 days straight, and you guessed it no tapering. Those 5 days were the worst five days of my life. I have SVT- taychcardia and the med made it worst, I was running around like I was on Speed or something. Also, I had started to urinate like crazy. Headaches, nausea, muscle pain as well as joint pain. i can not walk without feeling as though my knees, and ankles are going to break. Also, i am not as foccused as I usually am. Ever since that faithfully day in September I have been on this stuff. it has already been 2 months and im on 40mg now. And I cannot sleep at all at night and during the day now i crash once it seems like the prednisone starts wearing off. its horrible. I am going to go see the Pulmanologist Monday hopefully he will have some answers, and Im dreading him telling me i may have COPD, from a protien defiency(sorry for spelling, this med is messing with my thought process). Any who, i cant just stop taking it, i have been warned about that. something has to give or my body may give up.

hope this helps.

this med is good if used correctly but i agree Doctors need to fully warn patients before hand of all possible side effects.

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 was prescribed 20mg 3x daily for five days to treat "Reactive Airway Disease/Bronchitis." Yesterday was my 5th and final day of taking the medication and I noticed both of my shins began hurting for no apparent reason when I walked. I didn't think it had anything to do with Prednisone. Then, last night, I suddenly felt weak as if my blood sugar had dropped tremendously and ate a grapefruit while trembling with weakness to stop this feeling. Again, I made no association with this and Prednisone. Last night as well, I noticed that my shoulders suddenly became achey on both sides of my backbone for no apparent reason. This morning, I woke up and the pain from my shoulders had spread to my hips and the entire area between my shoulders and hips is tender to the touch. Today, after not taking any of the medication, I feel mentally blurry, have moments of what feels to be low blood sugar and flu-like symptoms. I'm also still experiencing the muscle pain in my back and hips although my shins seem better. My pharmacist told me to call my Dr. and seemed surprised to learn I was not weaned off this medication. All of the symptoms I have described above are side-effects that should be reported to a Dr. immediately, according to my pharmacist. Another less-serious side-effect that began yesterday is swelling in my feet, hands, stomach and face. I also had diarrhea today.

Thank you so much for your website. I cannot begin to tell you what this drug has done to ruin my life.

I had been on it for over 4 years on a misdiagnoses (Never should have been on it) and was told
“It was no worse than Tylenol.” Ok I thought as I was suffering from a few swollen joints every
now and then but was fine otherwise.

Then one day I was working and someone noticed my face was swelling. I looked in the mirror and
low and behold my face was rubbing my glasses. I asked my doctor and he said “it will go away soon.”
I am very athletic so I continued to run and work out as I slowly went from a 30” waist to a 50” inch waist!!
People at my office thought I was on a food binge like no other. My wife was stunned on how fast this
happened as was my family. Now the problem had gotten much worse. Constant body aches and swollen ankles.
After a year I went from jogging, to walking, to using a cane to using a walker…how sad my family felt
for me and no friends insight. my company then laid me off as I used the walls as a walker and simply could
“perform up to par.”

Next came the extremely high sugar, blood pressure, Glaucoma and I suddenly noticed I was having problems
seeing. Went to the eye doctor and was told I was getting cataracts but it would take a couple of years to form.
90 days later I could not drive and could barely see in both eyes, now I was almost blind.
Now 80lbs overweight almost blind with Glaucoma, high blood pressure, diabetes and cataracts. not to mention severe depression and mood swings that were unbearable, and yes still using a walker from severe muscle pain.

Well the time came where I lost my health insurance and was unemployed. I was out of Prednisone
one day and called my doctor. He said come in for $320.00. I said I didn’t have it and pleaded for them to call
in a 30 day supply, I was told that they “weren’t a charity” and “go to the emergency room” click!! My wonderful
doc was gone. Well I went to the emergency room the next day and was told “they don’t give refills.” I had been
off prednisone for a day and as some people know if you stop that high of dose for that long you may die from
adrenal crisis. So I stood in the emergency room for 12 hours waiting to go into this crisis! Finally a nurse convinced
a doctor to see me for 30 seconds, gave me a refill and a list of welfare clinics and booted me out the door. They
hated my appearance and hated me for no cash.

One day I decided to end this nonsense and tread everything I could from sources I hadn’t read that were very old
regarding what was wrong with me. I went on self imposed diet of 1000 calories a day and lost 60 lbs…yes!!
I stated weaning from the Prednisone and took a ton of supplements I had read about. I got down to 7.5mg every
other day. Yes, suffering tremendous total body aches, severe mood swings, dizziness, severe hunger and
confusion but I plowed though. By the way I don’t recommend this but I couldn’t get a refill for a prescription from anyone
because I ‘had made to much money.” So I turned to the Internet for everything. I bought 500 5mgs for $23.00 screw the doctors I don’t need their prescriptions. I am now totally off for 6 weeks I do have some bad stiffness, muscle aches and mood swings but after 4 years of pure hell I am truly thankful to be off this dangerous drug, it ruined my life.

So I went to a new Doctor finally and my diagnoses was a food allergy and simply had a small stint of bursitis a total mis- diagnoses from my first Doctor! Doctors aren’t gods so take it from me trust yourself first and do your research.

My prayers to all who suffer from this drug. Damn the incompetent doctors who wrongly prescribe it!

Dan

PS Does anyone know how long these severe body aches last after completely stopping. Its been 6 weeks and its just a little better. My doctor told me to fight it out or get back on pred. NO WAY!!

Thank you so much for your website. I cannot begin to tell you what this drug has done to ruin my life.

I had been on it for over 4 years on a misdiagnoses (Never should have been on it) and was told
“It was no worse than Tylenol.” Ok I thought as I was suffering from a few swollen joints every
now and then but was fine otherwise.

Then one day I was working and someone noticed my face was swelling. I looked in the mirror and
low and behold my face was rubbing my glasses. I asked my doctor and he said “it will go away soon.”
I am very athletic so I continued to run and work out as I slowly went from a 30” waist to a 50” inch waist!!
People at my office thought I was on a food binge like no other. My wife was stunned on how fast this
happened as was my family. Now the problem had gotten much worse. Constant body aches and swollen ankles.
After a year I went from jogging, to walking, to using a cane to using a walker…how sad my family felt
for me and no friends insight. my company then laid me off as I used the walls as a walker and simply could
“perform up to par.”

Next came the extremely high sugar, blood pressure, Glaucoma and I suddenly noticed I was having problems
seeing. Went to the eye doctor and was told I was getting cataracts but it would take a couple of years to form.
90 days later I could not drive and could barely see in both eyes, now I was almost blind.
Now 80lbs overweight almost blind with Glaucoma, high blood pressure, diabetes and cataracts. not to mention severe depression and mood swings that were unbearable, and yes still using a walker from severe muscle pain.

Well the time came where I lost my health insurance and was unemployed. I was out of Prednisone
one day and called my doctor. He said come in for $320.00. I said I didn’t have it and pleaded for them to call
in a 30 day supply, I was told that they “weren’t a charity” and “go to the emergency room” click!! My wonderful
doc was gone. Well I went to the emergency room the next day and was told “they don’t give refills.” I had been
off prednisone for a day and as some people know if you stop that high of dose for that long you may die from
adrenal crisis. So I stood in the emergency room for 12 hours waiting to go into this crisis! Finally a nurse convinced
a doctor to see me for 30 seconds, gave me a refill and a list of welfare clinics and booted me out the door. They
hated my appearance and hated me for no cash.

One day I decided to end this nonsense and tread everything I could from sources I hadn’t read that were very old
regarding what was wrong with me. I went on self imposed diet of 1000 calories a day and lost 60 lbs…yes!!
I stated weaning from the Prednisone and took a ton of supplements I had read about. I got down to 7.5mg every
other day. Yes, suffering tremendous total body aches, severe mood swings, dizziness, severe hunger and
confusion but I plowed though. By the way I don’t recommend this but I couldn’t get a refill for a prescription from anyone
because I ‘had made to much money.” So I turned to the Internet for everything. I bought 500 5mgs for $23.00 screw the doctors I don’t need their prescriptions. I am now totally off for 6 weeks I do have some bad stiffness, muscle aches and mood swings but after 4 years of pure hell I am truly thankful to be off this dangerous drug, it ruined my life.

So I went to a new Doctor finally and my diagnoses was a food allergy and simply had a small stint of bursitis a total mis- diagnoses from my first Doctor! Doctors aren’t gods so take it from me trust yourself first and do your research.

My prayers to all who suffer from this drug. Damn the incompetent doctors who wrongly prescribe it!

Dan V

I was prescribed prednisone for an allergic response to crab. I had been given it before for out of control asthmatic bronchitis and had experienced the usual, muscle pain, strange metallic taste in mouth, water retention, insomnia and elevated BP. But after the crab allergy I was given it IV all at once. The next morning my fingers were all tingly and that pins and needles thing began to travel up my arm, also I was anxious, really anxious and I felt like my eyes weren't focusing right. I took some benadryl and felt a bit better. For the next six weeks I was in hell. I felt absolutely insane. I had panic disorder and only felt OK at home, so I avoided going out at all costs. A visit to my doctor yielded a diagnosis of steroid reaction and prescriptions for zyrtec and klonopin. At 7 weeks out, one morning, I was just fine again, no panic BP normal.

Undaunted, I took 20 mgs one day a few months later, had to drive 12 hours on inflamed back and thought the anti-inflammatory action would be worth it. 7 more weeks of insanity resulted. Never again. I now know what crazy feels like.

I was on prednisone for four months. 40mg a day most of the time. i was taking it for an allergic reaction to a cosmetic tattoo that i had done. i miscarried a child while on prednisone. grew hair all over my body,which still almost two months later hasnt stopped. had trouble sleeping and chills. also have weird purple lines on my legs and severe muscle pain. Does the hair growth eventually stop?

I have asthmatic bronchitis. In June 2006 I came down with an infection in my lungs, which also set off my asthma. Between the two I was hospitalized and put on 240 mg of intravenous Prednisone and the antibiotic Levaquin. I was cured of the infection and was able breathe normally again but it took a great toll on my body It took me 3 months to taper off of the Prednisone and almost a whole year to feel myself. I was a strong, physically active person before this happened to me and I have not gotten my energy level and endurance back to what I was before I was sick. When I was released from the hospital I went from 160 mg of intravenous Prednisone to 80 mg of pill Prednisone. That step down was too severe and I went through intense joint and muscle pain in my body that it woke me from a sound sleep in the middle of the night. I luckily had an old Vicodin that I took which only made the pain bearable. I should have upped the Prednisone to make it go away but I wanted off. This pain lasted one week with each day getting less. The side effects I experienced from then on were so plentiful that I almost can't remember them all. The physical problems were, thin skin that bruised or ripped and bled profusely with the slightest bump, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, muscle cramps in my legs and hands, sleeplessness, dry mouth and frequent urination. My stomach bloated and got stretch marks. I didn't have any before that. The muscles in my thighs and upper arms atrophied so bad that I could not walk up stairs w/o using my arms to help. My arms were also very weak and I got hemorrhoids; another muscle that was affected. I had a bad case of the drops. I couldn't hold on to anything and broke many glasses. I got moon face that took a couple of weeks to go away after I was off the Prednisone. Because I was on such high doses, my hair died and stopped growing. About 40% of it fell out in one month. It took 6 months to grow back and it all grew back curly. On January 30, 2008 my bronchial tubes closed again due to a sinus infection. Again I was hospitalized with 240 mg of intravenous Prednisone and Levaquin. This time I responded much better, because I jumped on the infection/asthma instead of waiting. I stepped down from 240 to 180 to 90 to 60 and decrease 5 mg a day until I was off. This time I did no lose my hair land did not get hemorrhoids. The other physical effects were pretty much the same but much less severe. However, this time the emotional effects of Prednisone were much worse than last time. I was not a nice person. I was short tempered and argumentative and even had to stop myself from resorting to violence a couple of times. That is definitely not who I am. Prednisone stops your adrenal glands from working and adrenaline is you chemical way of coping with stress. I have been off of the Prednisone for one week and still find it hard to cope with the slightest controversy. My brain is still in a fog and I get confused easily. I cannot handle too many questions at once and forget things. My face is still round. Both times, I have found it the hardest dealing with the Prednisone at the very end and even after I finished taking it. I think it builds up and even though the chemical is suppose to be out of your body in 24 hours, it's effects stay a lot longer. I thought I knew what to expect but the second time was different again. It is a horrible drug but my trade off was breathing. Sometimes I think, that if I have to go through this a few more times, the side effects will kill me before the asthma. I wish all you Prednisone users loads of luck and stay positive.

My mother was put on Prednisone 3 weeks ago because of severe muscle pain (15 mg at first and increased to 60 mg). After she starting taking it she began to have weakness in her muscles/joints and was unable to walk by the end of the week. She also had severe water retention and could not catch her breath. Most of all she was very weak all the time and could not seem to sleep at all. She wound up in the hospital and was classified with a type of Congestive Heart Failure due to the excessive dosage given by a pain doctor. She had to be admitted to a Rehabilitation Center where they have now cut her down to 10 mg a day and she is trying to take Physical Therapy to walk again. She is fighting with depression and overwhelming feelings of anxiety. She still cannot sleep and wonders if she will ever by back to normal again. Just a month ago she was living a normal life and because of the pain, was given this medication. I wonder if the benefits outweigh the horrible side effects she has experienced. After reading some of the responses above I see others are having similar side effects.
Any encouragement from someone with a positive long term outcome would be beneficial at this time to her. She feels very helpless in her situation.

Today i was proscribed with 50 mh prednisone ,5 tablets .4 times a day so that is 1000mg of prednisone a day has anyone had same thing .i was dyagnosed with optic nuritiritis.i am really scared to take this medicine and so many mg a day. please help!

I am really hoping someone can help me with the side effect issues I am having after taking Prednisone to cure a tumor on my larynx.. I was on the drug for six months.. taking 60 mg a day. It saved my life and at the same time it was just about to kill me, I am not kidding. The horrible effects it had on my body was really worse than the tumor that was taking my life. It would have almost been easy to die.
But today I'm very grateful for the miracle it did on my throat. I did not have a voice for many years.. today I can sing and that makes it's a great gift.
I was wondering, after being on it for so long and coming off nice and slowly, should my joints be in this much pain? My body aches are horrible.. all the muscles hurt and that never seems to go aways. Is this normal?

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 wish I had never started on Prednisone. I am taking it for RA. I finally realized I had to stop it myself, never mind what the Dr. said. I slowly reduced the dosage, and have been off it for 3 weeks. It's hard, the muscle pain, the tiredness, but getting better. My whole body changed, I had never been overweight, and as hard as I tried, while being on prednisone, I could not loose it. When I read about all the other side effects, and looked at myself in the mirror, all of that is not worth the risk. So I will have a little more pain with the RA, but I will never take that stuff again. Hope the Dr. will help me out with some pain pills.
You all take care now.

I was on Prednisone for about 4 weeks. 60mg/day first 2 weeks, followed by 40mg/day last 2 weeks. My dose was extremely high (only weighing 105lbs in the beginning) and i had extreme side effects! I gained 20lbs in the first week and a half, my face doubled in size, very depressed, and i got to the point i could only walk a couple of feet then the pain was just to intense! the last time i went to the doctor he didn't quite believe the extent of my side effects and - i quote "well your only on 10's just imagine if you had to take 40mg a day!" so i took my new scrip to the pharmacy and noticed that the new bottle said 20mg. i told the pharmacist that this is wrong i'm suppose to be taking 10mg twice a day.!? he then informs me i must be wrong - that i've always been on 20's (i started with 3 a day then worked down to 2 a day, now i was suppose to work down to one a day over the next 2 weeks!) i then call my dr and he tells me he made a mistake and we'll have to figure it out next week when i'm scheduled and to continue what i was taking!!! well if any of you have had the muscle pain from this drug its almost worse then having the problem you started with! (although i probably wouldn't have lived without it, it was driving me to a point that dying almost seemed better!) well i completely quit the day i found out i was taking double the dose my dr thought i was taking and it has been a month and a half since then. i still have constant muscle pain, stomach pain, and practically no immune system anymore! i don't know how long this will last....but i really hope it ends soon!!

I get really depressed and moody. I've had muscle pain in neck, shoulders. Kinda nervous and restless at time.
I've had a small area in the middle of my vision that's noticable when something moves quickly in front. It sometimes leaves an after image.
Anybody else get that?

I have been taking prednisone for dermatomyositis for the past 4 months. I am on 30 mg a day. When I try to taper, my rash and muscle pain/weakness come back so we are trying 1mg lower every 5 days now to see what happens. Other than thirst and a rapid heartbeat if I drink cafeine during the day.....no side effects at all. I have not gained weight (but I have been on weight watchers 5 years and have maintaned my goal weight through that and as much as exericise as my disease allows) nor have I had gotten the moon face, etc. However, my best friend who is on only 20mg daily for the past 12 months is now diabetic, gained 45 pounds, got the moon face and rash. I would not know if I had the rash or not as my DM causes a very nasty rash. I know this medication has many horrible side effects and can be devastating ... but without it I would not be swollowing, teaching my special ed classes daily, hugging my grandchildren, or taking care of my own needs right now. I am 54.
cheryl

Hello,

I am writing for my mother who has been taking prednisone for the last 2-3 months. She was prescribed prednisone for kidney failure. Well I don't think I can possibly name all the side effects she has had but I will try. She has experienced the moon face, contracted diabetes, loss of muscle coordination, vision imparment, insomnia, loss of appetite, purple rashes throughout her body, muscle pain, fainting, and the latest which was the worst of all, she is in the hospital because the doctors are saying she had a mild infarct(heart attack) my mom is no longer the person I knew, I also have a feeling that the doctor who prescribed it to her, overdosed her with 6 pills a day, I feel he should have started her with a much lower dose. My mom never had any of the above problems before. If you are going through something similar you will be in my prayers.

I've been on and off Prednisone since I was a little girl. I'm 23 now and have been off of the terrible stuff for 10 months. Prednisone and I have a love/hate relationship. It did save my life several times when I was having chronic, lethal asthma attacks. I almost died several times.

I suffered much when taking the drug. I had every side effect known to man: sleeplessness though moderate fatigue, depression, anxiety, fast heart rate, increase blood sugar levels (I was even given insulin), moon face (didn't recognise myself), increased weight gain (20+ lbs), horrendous abdominal strechmarks, heartburn/acid relux (which I had to be medicated for in order to continue taking Prednisone), mood swings, muscle pain, bone pain (I now have osteoperosis), muscle weakness, hot flashes, increased sweating, pale yellow-ish skin, bad acne, and water retension. There may have been more side effects, I just can't recall all of them right now. Thank God I'm not on this stuff right now!

I went to the doctor for trouble breathing. I also wanted to take a physical cause I have never taken one. So he just checked me and prescribed me prednisone 10mg 1pill every antibiotics, and an Inhaler.

The side effect was swollen face and neck within the week of taking it. I would take one a day or sometimes I wouldnt take it and vise versa. But It was supposed to be for 5 day wich would be 10 pills and since. The doctor said yeah keep taking it. So this past week has been 6 more.

16pills in total through a period of three weeks and what I feel is
Pain in my left shoulder. Like muscle pain. My breathing problem once in a while. When I dont have anxiety. My face is not swollen, cause when it did get swollen I would feel it.
Well the doctor said after my X-ray exam that I had bronchitis and previous imflammatory disease. but still I dont know what was the problem in the first place.

For this amount of prednisone how Much effect is it going to do?

Because its been 2 days that I dont take it.

Hi,
Just started the Prednisone 3 days ago for severe congestion in my air passages, sinus and ears. It has decongested me but also has caused the restless nights, bad muscle pain especially in my legs and today I look sun burned all over my chest arms and face. I'm on 20 mg 2 times a day.

signed,
Confused by sunburn

my boyfriend just tapered off and is experiencing very high fever, muscle pain, no appetite, and reslessness. he is bed ridden!

I started taking prednisone in September at 90 mgs a day and I gained 30 lbs in three weeks and was hospitalized for five days. The weight, which was all fluid, came off leaving nice stretch marks on my stomach and my dose was reduced to 50 mg a day. I'm now taking 30 mg a day and will be down to 20mg/day in 9 days. As you can tell, i'm counting the days until I no longer have to take this stuff. My side effects include hair loss (legs), hair gain (face), swollen face, legs & feet, headaches, muscle pain/weakness, increased appetite, hand tremor, rapid heatbeat/pulse, and acne. I think that's everything. That's enough. I use to suffer from insominia but my doctor told me to take my prednisone in the morning rather than the evening and it seems to be helping.

Have been on Prednisone before(3 times in the past year and a half) but always low doses-10mg,down to 2.5mg over 10 days. This time I went from 20mg, weening down to 5mgs,been on it for a total of 5 weeks now for Rheumetoid Arthritis.Before that was on Relifen,then clinoril-both caused side effects with my liver. Was worried about the whole "moon face, weight gain" thing. Have heard such horror stories about it,even at that low of a dose. So far ,have not gained any weight, in fact have lost 3 pounds in the past 4 weeks.Can move my hand again with out major pain.The only side effects I have had are easy bruising,muscle pain in legs and very dry mouth. Will be weened off completly in another week, then going to start Mobic.

My asthma got out of control. First the Dr. put me on a 6 day
cycle of prednisone, still sick, then increased to 20 day, 30 day, 40 day then 60 a day...still can't breath.. went to hospital after 2 weeks, admitted and given intervenous 60 mg. every
8 hours.. the side effects are killing me..terrible bloating, i can't sleep more then 5 hours a night, i am depressed, yelling at my 7 year old daughter, unbearable muscle pain
in my knees to my ankles. hand and feet cramping rendering
me immobile....someone help me!!!!