A question for the women

Hey everybody,

I've been on prednisone since November (with several taper attempts with no luck). Every time I go below 40 mg of pred, I don't get my period. In fact, I missed my period last month and this month so far because I've been at 20 mg. The same thing happened in January when I was at 20 mg, I completely missed my period.

I was just in the ER two days ago because of severe pain (which I get whenever I'm supposed to have my period and don't). They upped me back to 60 mg, and I'm sure I'll probably get my period within the next couple of days. I know I'm not pregnant because they did a blood test in the ER and I had several home pregnancy tests come back negative.

Do you think this might be indicative of something else? Or do you think it's because tapering the pred causes my Crohn's to flare up, which then in turn causes me to not have my period? I have an appointment with my GI tomorrow and I'm not sure if I should mention this to him or try to get into my gyno.

Hi, I'd mention to your Dr., they may want you to consult your gyno dr. I've not been on high dose prednisone myself to know how it effects menses. You could also ask your pharmacist. If your body is under stree, it's not uncommon to miss a period. Also, do you use birth control that's supposed to skip your periods? Some do...wish you the best! Amy

And maybe your blood sugar - it seems like we've seen people on this forum develop diabetes on prednisone. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a pre-diabetic issue and somehow the way your ovaries respond to blood sugar is involved. I think this is worth a discussion with an endocrinologist, to be honest.