Pred and side effects

Hi Gidget,

I think it's a bit different for everyone, but I really start to notice it if I'm on 15mg or higher.  I also have to be on that dose for about 2 months before the moon face kicks in.  I haven't had that since 2002.  As soon as I got below 10mg, it started to go away.

Ginny

I agree that it's a little different for everyone. Like Audrey Annand Ginny, it took a few months at a low dose (7-10mg) to get the moonface. My face is more round at 10mg than at 7.5 though and I'm hoping if I ever get down to 5mg, it will be even better. The weight gain happened pretty quickly for me, but partly because I was so incredibly hungry and I had a hard time fighting my hunger. Other people have had better luck than me with not gaining as much weight, but a lot of us have gained weight. Also, I found that prednisone made my stomach really raw so I had to start taking prilosec to protect my stomach. I think most of us who take prednisone have to be on something like prevacid or prilosec. Prednisone is like a double edged sword. On one hand it can give you back some of your life, but you have to deal with lots of nasty side effects.

p.s. Hey, I was BORN with a moon face, so I don't know what you guys are talking about....actually the prednisone really helps my generalized edema be less. I have been on a maintenance dose for a year, after trying high dose, 40/30/20/10 mg monthly tapers for flares that happened every three months. And I have yearly bone density scans, (I'm still in the green zone, thank God) and just started taking calcium citrate with D, and two Omega 3 fish oil caps, (after reading about a Mayo clinic study about it's benefits with lupus as an anti inflammatory that was in my Lupus newsletter).

Chubby faced hugs to all,

suetoo

Thanks all for replying ... I don't need any more weight and I'm so afraid it will get out of control. I hardly eat now (like a bird) it's just the not being able to exercise.