My love/hate relationship with prednisone.

Hi everyone.  Just wanted to post my relationship with prednisone.  I am currently tapering from 40mg and I am now down to 30mg.  While I feel a whole lot better while taking it, I am torn b/c I also LOATHE it.  I like that my bm's are a lot less frequent and also a lot less watery.  I HATE that I had massive heartburn, upset stomach, a heartbeat so fast that I feel like I should run a marathon and I only feel it on the inside.  On the outside I'm as cool as a cucumber (looking).  I tell my husband I feel like my heart is pounding out of my chest and  I need to burn off energy and he says, well you look like you're about to fall asleep at any moment.  Then there's the sleeplessness.  Can't fall asleep and when I do I can't stay asleep.  My mood swings are unbelievable.  One minute I love you and then next I want to snap your neck.  I also love the never ending feeling of hunger.  Always hungry no matter how much food you've eaten.  It doesn't matter, you can always eat more till you are so full you want to throw up.  Then the weight gain.  For obvious reasons we all gain weight b/c we can't stop stuffing our faces.  The water retention is also lovely and so is hampster face.  But, at the end of the day....I FEEL better.  What an oxymoron.  I FEEL better but, I really don't.  I can't wait to get off this darn drug which should be about 3 more weeks.  Then I'll be back to going to the bathroom 10 times a day, cramping, and pain.  So I'll feel like complete crap again but happy that I'm not on prednisone.  This is my love/hate relationship with prednisone. 

Yep that pretty much describes it!! Hang in there and hopefully you'll be done in no time and keep feeling better!!

I've been on prednisone so many times and I hate each just a little more each time.  I do take xanax also, have been for years b/c I also have panic disorder.  I take .5 mg and it still does nothing.  There is little else worse then waking up with your heart pounding out of your chest.   I take the prednisone in the morning so as to try to reduce the symptoms but it doesn't really help.  Tomorrow I am going to start tapering down to 20mg and I hope that I can continue to feel as good as I do now.  (Wishful thinking, I know).  I am also on remicade so the two combined I'm sure are aleviating the symptoms.  Once surgery is done my doc wants to combine remicade with either 6mp or methotrexate.  I've been on both before, seperately, and they both friggin suck as well.  I was on azathioprine and allopurinol together and I got so sick I ended up in the hospital with blood transfusions and my wbc dropped.  That was fun.  So i'm a little apprehensive to marry the two together.  As far as the methotrexate is concerned, I was getting two half  injections twice a week every two weeks.  I could not tolerate the drug.  I would literally feel like I had the flu for 4 days.  I would have to sleep after the injection and I sometimes ran fever.  I couldn't eat or move for that matter in any way shape or form.  Again, don't really want to go on that again especially in combination with remicade.  You know what, prednisone is sounding better and better at this point lol. 

Thank you novice. It is truly nice to know that there are people out there that do understand what it is to feel this way. I know the steroids are helping and they are not a long term solution. Sometimes it's just so frustrating to know that drugs that are supposed to help you also harm you in the process. I want to taper faster b/c I can't take the side effects any more. I must have gained 10lbs since being on the prednisone and I can't help it. I see the colorectal surgeon on friday. Hopefully he has some ideas. Hope everyone is well :)