Prednisone Side Effects????

So I was put on Prednisone 20 mg for one week, then 20 mg every other day for one week, and now I am to do 10 mg every day for one week and stop.  I took much higher doses 10 years ago, but I am experiencing different things this time around.  I have noticed an increased thirst, increased urination, higher blood pressure at times and nausea.  AND to top it all off, I still have bad pain and tenderness in my abdomen from the bellybutton right and down the lower right quadrant.  I don't see any improvement with the pain from the steroids.  Actually, the only improvement I have seen while on the prednisone is less bm's and more solid stools with the exception of them being pretty flat.  Are these side effects very normal or should I be concerned?????

I am right there with mgtman..I have been on predisone for three years. A short period of time vs long term usage may yield different symptoms..When I was where you were at, I dealt mostly with mood swings, swelling, and insomnia no pain and normal BM'S for the first time with an appetite! My blood pressure and blood sugar did go up..after long term usage I have had to take blood pressure and thyroid medication and have dealt with a hugh weight gain that I never thought would be possible!

Cindy

Hi,
I definitely agree with Mtgman and Cindy that side effects differ according to the length of treatment. This is my second year on pred, now tapering (7.5mg) and cannot go lower; however, it has been a life-saver. I'm just wondering whether it's been very soon that you have tapered it. It took me 11 days for pred to kick in and you mentioned 20 mg for a week and then 20 every other day. For me, this a very quick tapering. I was started off with 40 mg for nearly 3 months and I was functioning perfectly well, then, 30 and I started lowering the dose till 20 mg for other 2 months. After that, I started tapering it off till I reached 2.5 mg. It was then that my body failed me, I suffered from severe low blood pressure and a flare up and I had to be hospitalized. Again, the dose was upped to 15 mg. Well, I think you should follow OlderthanDirt's piece of advice and undergo a diabetes test. But for me, the symptoms you suffer from are those of quick withdrawal. Try to reconsider with your doc both the dose and duration of pred as it also relieves severe abdominal pain along with D.
Take care!