Shaky Hands? Side effect of prednisone?

I never noticed physical shaking, but pred always made me feel like my brain and nerves were buzzing - always on the verge of screaming. I was very irritable and moody.

     My hands don't shake, but OOOOO how I long for a good night's sleep.  Even with the abien cr, I cannot sleep longer than five hours.  I have tons of energy.  Another unpleasant side effect that prednisone has left me with...actually two...osteoporosis and abscesses in the gums.

This really freaked me out. I would shake, feel tingling in my fingers and toes. Went to see my family doctor about it and he said it could somehow be caused by the swelling (edema) that was a result of the prednisone. He sid that pressure could have been pushing on something. I haven't had it since then, which was almost two years ago.

Prednisone definitely activates your system. That is why insomnia is a common side-effect. I get the shakes at times, and I also have periods of time when I feel like I'm about to bounce of the walls. This causes some anxiety (more like anxiety sypmtoms, rapid heart rate, dry mouth, agitation, that feelig in the pit of your stomach), and your body interprets these signs as being anxiety. I try to remind myself it is just the prednisone, and that helps. Prednisone causes some wild mood swings in me, and the term 'roid rage applies, although I'm getting outwardly violent. I just know I have a short temper and try to minimize my interactions with those people who I know will annoy me. I also avoid all stimulants, because anything else that will activate me might cause me to start twitching. lol

The side-effects will dwindle as your dosage lowers. There will a period of time when you are completely off the prednisone that you still feel wired, that will pass. Hang in there. Sometimes the cure causes things almost an annoying as the disease, but if the prednisone is reducing your UC problems, a little hand shaking should be tolerable.

The moon face is does not always happen. For me, most of the weight goes to my mid section, with a little mooniness in my face. Be careful about eating whatever you feel like. pred gives me a stomach of steel, and I'm able to eat anything I want. But that gets me back into the habit of crappy eating, which kind of defeats the purpose of the pred. You get the flare under control, continue eating whatever, and as you taper, people wonder why they are getting their old symptoms back! For the munchies, eat rice cakes, and try as hard as possible to eat a healthy, low residue diet, kind of like you were prior to the pred. This will make the transition easier.

One thing that I saw suggested for constant munching with little calories is rice cakes. You can eat a ton of them with little weight gain. I also make my own banana bread to help with the sweet tooth, and do pastas (regular and gluten free). Can you tolerate celery? With peanut butter? Low cal, and has protien. I also am able to eat popcorn (which many say is a no-no). Cold cuts don't work for me, but I can deal with scrambled eggs and soy bacon. I'm sure others will have better suggestions.

I was under a lot of stress prior to starting predisolone, but my stress levels became far worse when on 30 mg/day....now after 1 month have dropped to 20 mg per day for 2 more months...the Respiratory consultant is using this method for a lung inflammation, but my breathing has become more affected at tmes..does this simply mean the steroids are working? My tum is very ender today and back (I do suffer from diverticulitis also) and get very shaky at times. 3 different GP's at the practice I go to assure me this will stop after I finish the steroids and seem to think alleergies are to blame for the breathing issues...I am not convinced as since taking these my whole body feels as though it doesn't belong to me at times and even eyesight seems blurry at times, and sort of not with it feeling in my head...horrid....does this pass and how long once off the prednisolone?My husband is getting stressed because I am so uptight all the time........not good as usually I am very outwardly controlled with my emotions etc. but not now....
At 78 years of age I wish I had never complained about breathing difficulties..blood pressure is about normal for my age usually and the chest always seems clear when GP checks it......Any advice would be greatly appreciated.......Oldie M

I think all that healthy eating is good for you and keeping up the calories will help you get back to a healthy weight. So glad the prednisone is working for you. Several times in the past prednisone made me feel like I was on top of the world/euphoric. I remember being so much more aware of everything. I felt like my intuition was so strong I could really read people easily. I also couldn't sleep so would stay up half the night journaling which ended up being pretty therapeutic for me, but man I was exhausted.