Prednisone Question - Scope Over

He did great. The UC is the worst for the first 40 cm. Primarily left sided, but evidence of disease throughout. TI looked good. Still looks like UC.

Doctor wants to do a week of flagyl and wants to start son on 40mg of Prednisone for a week, then 30 for a weeks, then 20...

My big questions is in the past son has split his pred dose 20mg am and 20mg pm. Doctor said take all 40 in the am. Yikes!! What are the pros and cons of doing it this way? Why would we do it this way?

Son is totally heartbroken about it all - having UC, having to take prednisone, etc. How do you comfort them? How do you live knowing that this monster will always be there?

Well, I'm glad that the c-scope went well. I'm not sure what advice to give regarding your son's emotions. I guess just hug him as much as he'll let you, and try to remind him that there are worse things to be living with. That's what I tell myself, anyway. I'm also comforted by the knowledge that I can have surgery and be done with it all if it gets bad enough, but I know not all people see that the way I do.

When I did my course of pred and was on 40 mg, I took 10 mg at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bedtime. As I tapered, I dropped the latest dose each time, until I was only taking it with breakfast. Many people on here disagreed with what my doc prescribed, but it worked quite well for me and I didn't have any problems with insomnia. But, many doctors say to take it all in the AM to help with insomnia.

     I take my 20 mgm in the morning and I still have insomnia.  However, I am also on 6MP, Cort enemas, Colazal and Canasa.

I've always taken all the prednisone first thing in the morning with breakfast, whether the dose was 60mg or 5 mg. Part of the reason you take it first thing in the morning is because cortisol levels in the body are naturally highest early in the morning, and then lowest around midnight or a few hours after falling asleep--so taking the pred early in the morning is a way of attempting to sync it with how your body would naturally act. Prednisone definately gives me insomnia.

I'm not sure I understand the Flagyl either. Is there inflammation in his small bowels? Flagyl (and Cipro) are two antibiotics that they use wth Chron's but not typical with UC as they are not usually effective.

Son has frequently been Rx's flagyl in hopes it helps out a bit. His last doctor often had him take it long term and sometime two weeks on two weeks off. He tolerates it well.

I know when son was very first dx with UC he also cultured positve for staph aureus and that was the first time he was rx'd flagyl.