PredniSONE and water weight

I was admitted through the ER in sept. i had previously taken Bactrim for a bug bite on my foot three months prior. I had been severely bruising and had some lab work done. I got a call from my Dr. around midnight to go to ER immediately. My platelet count was at 11,000 a normal being 100,000-400,000. I went to ER and was admitted for 5 days. After running test after test there was no conclusion to what had caused this low platelet count but I was diagnosed with ITP. From here they put me on 50 mg/day of Prednisone for 1 month. I have now started to taper 40/ 2 weeks. 30/2 weeks. But then the side- effects started to come so fast. At first it was just sweating, minor anxiety, mood swings, and slight increase of appetite. Now that I had tapered my adrenal gland is suppressed much more and I am going through withdrawal. I am 21 years old I am 5'7" and I weighed 118 two weeks ago, since I have gained 12lbs of water weight. I am working out daily and eating healthy, although it is more than I used to eat. I have some family friends that work at Stanford University and they are ITP specialists. They told me their regimen for Prednisone is a 5mg/wk taper instead of 10/ 2 weeks. So the past two weeks I have been going down by 5. Today was my second day at 20 mg. I have gone through all of the mentioned side- effects except the back hump. I am hoping and praying that these symptoms will clear asap. And to everyone else out there your not alone.

Hello EveryOne out there...OK OK....

Now Why have I been out of touch since Sept 14th.... 2007???

I have been VERY VERY ill.....

Y'See, I went to see this new Doctor (Quack) for continued pain in my chest (sternum) area....that I have been having trouble with all Summer. (Severe Costochondritis/Fibromyalgia) By Sept 14th, this Quack who claims to be a Doctor had given me this prescription for Prednisone pills (20 mg each)....with orders to take mega doses of this toxic poison in order to combat the pain I was suffering. I was so desperate to get out of pain that I went ahead and filled the prescription and started taking the pills that eventful Friday night. I made the fatal mistake of trusting this Doctor!!!

If I had any sense God gave green apples I would have researched this a little before taking this medicine!! I would have run like all heck in the opposite direction!

I had been taking these reccomended large doses for approx two weeks back then per Doctor 'Quack's' order.... I have been hooked after the first week....and now currently desperately trying to get off of it with only marginal success!!

I have been on this Prednisone crap for some 49 days, currently and desperately trying to get off of it....with terrible side effects!! I have experienced every side effect known to the Devil himself and even discovered some new ones that I never knew was possible!? Case in point! I can't sleep night after night without terrible withdrawals all night long!!! I am forced to contend with them every night here. Not to mention I fight the withdrawals all days long too. I have this inept doctor and I am sorry I even went to him in the first place...!

The withdrawals I am now getting are harder to deal with than the original chest pain itself!!! Not to mention even eating the so-called 'wrong' foods sets off even more withdrawals almost immediately. I am now extremely sensitive to light and the sun~ not to mention.....noise....and stress....

I am much sicker from this Quack Doctor's so-called "HELP" than I ever was before....

I don't mind saying his name and trying to steer everyone away from this jerk Doctor here in Las Vegas who takes advantage of people in pain when they are desperate by feeding them toxic poisons and passing the poison off as something harmless thats gonna help them??? Just ask me who he is and I will tell you. I have no qualms about it....

Bottom line is I have spent this last month trying to get off this crap and I just found out that the withdrawals may bother me up to a YEAR after I take my last dose of this crap poison!! I have been going thru H***!!! A nightmare I would LOVE to pass onto this Quack who pretends to be a doctor!

I am down to about 7.5 mg per day now from about 180 mg that he gave me originally Sept 14 2007. Believe me this was not easy thing for me to do. I went "Toxic" on this drug weeks ago and it has affected my ability to process, think and reason properly. I feel like part of my mind is now missing or went on permanent vacation!! Dizziness,feeling like I'm gonna pass out, Brain Fog and Mass Confusion is the order for the day~depending on the time of day???

"The side effects of prednisone include adrenal suppression, which can occur with periods of prednisone use to surpass seven days. Adrenal suppression refers to the body’s inability to synthesize natural corticosteroids, resulting in a dependency on the prednisone taken by the patient. This is why doctors do not recommend the cessation of prednisone when the patient has taken it for longer than seven days. They reduce the dose gradually over a few days in the case of short-term prednisone use, and over weeks or months in the case of long-term treatment. Stopping prednisone treatment abruptly can cause the life-threatening Addison’s disease, in which in the body no longer produces sufficient amounts of adrenal steroid hormones"

I want to SUE this Doctor for making me this sick!!!!!

SDR

GRRRRRRRRRrrrrr!!!!!!!

I was a very healthy 23 yr old female. I cant believe that I finally found someone going thru almost what I am going thru. My name is Liane and My life changed on July 7th, 2007. I went to the hospital for frothy urine. They told me it was a UTI and gave me Levaquin for 7 days. I took it for only 5 days cuz ( I was allergic too) then were gonna start me on macrobid. Mean time my hands,face, and bottom half began to swell up. Me thinking it was from my period but this was different. I work in a jewelery store and once my rings that are a size 6 DID not fit at all I panicked. I had extremely bad back pain, high blood pressure. I did not feel same. On July 13th (Friday) I went to a hospital here in southern california and talked to a doctor and she said.."sweetie u don't have a UTI, I don't wanna scare u but I think that U have a Kidney Disease called Minimal Change Disease"!!!! WHAT!!!! Am I gonna die? She says no but come Monday u need to see a specialist and confirm. Now here is a Lasix pill to help take some of the water weight that u have gained away. Its already about 1:30am on Saturday the 14th. She says u will not sleep cuz u will be urinating all night. I said well anything to help me, i had went from a very healthy 5' 7" 155lbs woman, I worked out in the gym 5 days a week with my boyfriend who is a Police officer and bodybuilder for fun, so me swelling up and devastated me. I took the pill. and went to sleep. Nothing happened to me. That meant something was wrong. Later that day Saturday I felt BAD. My face kept swelling, blood pressure kept going up, heart racing. I went to E.R and told them I felt like I was gonna die, I think I have minimal change disease I need a specialist now. They admitted me for 5 days. My specialist came in and saved my life. I had a ultrasound and kidney biopsy and they confirmed what I already knew. I had Minimal change Disease. I ended up being allergic to Dilaudid, and compozine in the hospital. I was released on the 20th of july. and now began my treatments. 3 x's a day of Prednisone at 20mg each, simvastatin 20mg once a day for high cholesterol now, lasix 20mg once a day, and omeprazole 20mg once a day to prevent ulcers from the Prednisone., I hate the Prednisone. I broke out so much on my face. And its not pimples it bumps. I wake up every morning at 5a.m with nasty heart burn. then wake up every 2 hours after. Doctor told me to take all my meds at once and it helped a bit but still not completely. I too feel bloated in the mid section. I still suffer from edema in my legs down to my ankles. During the day gets worse but once I put my feet up and elevate them I'm OK. I have bad mood swings I don't know how my loved ones put up me. One minute I cry, 20 minutes I'm happy and wanna go out for a walk. This drug is gonna help me but then Do I really need to put myself thru this? But there is not other way. Just thought of sharing my story.

I was diagnosed with a quirky little disease called "Minimal Change Disease" - my kidneys decided that my body did not need any protein, and without any protein in my system, I gained 55 pounds of water weight, along with few other nasty side effects like having cholesterol in the 800's and blood clots in my lungs. At this point, I have been on the drug for a little over three months - 70 mgs for the first 6 weeks, the point at which the disease went into remission. The last 6 weeks, I've been tapering off - and will be off Prednisone by the end of this week. Ironicly, I had been taking a drug that causes water retention to fight a disease that causes water retension. Fortunately, after losing the 50 pound of water weight in less than three days, I didn't see any of the massive weight gain some have reported. I have gained about 8 pounds in the past 6 weeks that I've been tapering off the drug. The only other side effect I had was this euphoric, ethereal feeling I would have about mid-morning where my concentration was that of a 2 year old (I have experience in that because I have a 2 year old), and by mid-afternoon, I would race around the office in a flurry of activity - and get absolutely nothing accomplished. It was a weird sensation - kind of fun, but disconcerting - of being giddy as though I was drunk. I had to really sit down at my desk and force myself to behave and do my work. I also had quite a few nights in which I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning and to force myself to read the dictionary just to fall back asleep. Sure the drug has some nasty side-effects, and can really mess with your head, but so can being a 200 pound albino blueberry. And there were no Oompa Loompas around to take me down to the juicer. As to the side effects, I realized that the euphoria wasn't permanent, and I had to have a bit of fun with it when I could, and as to the weight gain, five pounds is nothing - though, there is much in my closet right now that I can't wear.

I have been on prednisone off and on for 5 years and constantly since November, 2005. I swear there are plenty of times that I think I would rather deal with the asthma! I have a vicious never ending cycle. I take Prednisone (currently 120mg daily) for asthma, Hydrocodone and Darvocet for the knee and hip pain caused from the Prednisone, Phenagrin to counter act the nausea caused by the Prednisone and Ambien to counter act the jitters I get from the Phenagrin. It's like being a doctor order legalized drug addict. It's VERY depressing. My asthma is chronic enough that I'm on disability for it. I also weighed 108 pounds 5 years ago and now a whopping 186 thanks to all of the water weight and increased appetite. I was THRILLED to come across this site of people needing to vent!

I was put on iv prednisone of 1000mg for 12 days while in the hospital. After the iv the doctors put me on 80mg this was back in Feb. '05 and i am now down to 5mg. I have had all the side effects. Gained 30 pounds of water weight, a huge moon face, acne on face and chest, muscle aches and pains (especially in my lung and rib area), sleeplessness, and insane mood swings and depression. I am hoping through my continued use of acupuncture to relieve these symptoms as soon a I am totally off the pednisone. It has been a long road, and I still have aways to go.

I started the drug this past Tuesday afternoon. It's now Saturday afternoon.

I just today noticed red marks on my arms and stomach that almost look like early stretch marks. I know this is from the water weight gain as certain pants of mine already don't fit and my stomach, arms and face feel very bloated.

I have had a headache, severe, the past 24 hours.

The biggest and hardest thing I am experiencing right now is SEVERE mood swings, bordering hostile and maybe even life-threatening.
I am worried that noone here has talked about people with bi-polar (manic depression) taking the drug....

I am bi-polar and was never asked by my doctor about it.

I strongly feel it's a big reason I am feeling very, very sick (mentally). I have had my bi-polar under control for almost 10 years and right now, I feel as suicidal as I felt when I was at my sickest.

I feel crazy and dizzy and out of control. I am crying constantly and biting off any head that gets near me.

This is the scariest thing I have ever experienced and I have only been on it 4 days!!!!

I will NEVER take this drug again.

I am a singer which is the reason I was put on it. I have been having vocal problems.

If you are a singer reading this, I highly suggest you weigh the benefits of taking it...and if it's worth it for a quick voice fix.

I'm scared and I want off.

i have been on prednisone, and other types of steroids for 6 years now,, i have all the side effects, hair thinning, skin thinning, moon face, weight gain, stopped my menstrual, rashes, legg cramps, brusing, mood swings, and on and on, , i compare this drug to cocain,,,THE BIG LIE! It will make u feel good at 1st, then sap!...anyway,, i take them, because i have constant hives,,, steroids only covers the problem up for awhile, it doesn't cure,,, honestly,, of there is another way, take it,,, try to stay off the steroids,,this is what i was told,,,depending on how long u have been on steroids, it can take up to 2 years to get out of your system, and that long to get that weight off,,it is not water weight,,, IT IS FAT, because you put it on eating,,this drug will make ur skin thin,, will bring your young body down FAST!!!! i personally have come to the conclusion to keep the hives and swellings and stop the steroids,,,,oooooo VERY IMPORTANT,,,STEROIDS, WILL AME U HEAL VERY SLOW,, SO IF U HAVE TO HAVE SURGERY,,,DENTAL WORK,,MAKE SURE U SAY SOMETHING...