starting the pred tonight

ugh so im starting the 40mg of pred tonight.it says take with food but how much do i really have to eat before i take it?i cant eat much because im so nauseous.im just nervous about taking this medication lol. i hope it works tho!

im taking 2tabs 3 times a day for 5 days  & then 2tabs twice a day.

do you think i can drink like ensure & be okay or just some crackers or something?

how does everyone else take it?

ugh pred. hate pred. i suggest you take it as far from bedtime as you can, this will decrease the insomnia/crazy dreams a bit.

i get headaches when i'm flaring, so you aren't alone there!

I'm starting a pred course tonight, too, bella.  This is the second one I've done.  The last was about 18 months ago.

I'd recommend taking it earlier in the day, too.  I started so late today because I was at the doctor and couldn't take it earlier.  But tomorrow I'm taking the pills with breakfast and lunch (what I can eat of it)

Hopefully you will feel so much better you won't notice negative side effects.  That's what happened to me last time and I'm hoping for that again.

Good luck. 

 

I got really bad nausea and flu-like symptoms - sweating and chills, etc. from all mesalamine medications so I can't take them.  Prednisone does nothing but make me feel wonderful.  Wish it did not do so much to our bodies in the future, etc, I would keep taking it.  I always took all of mine early morning to avoid insomnia - just had a little but I am 69 and have that anyway!! I had little moonface and fluid retention which can be best avoided by drinking a LOT and low salt!

ElaineNY

bella,

Did your GI tell you to split your pred doses? Taing them all at once and first thing in the early am is usually best, this avoids any insomnia and racing mind at night issues...I've never understood the reasoning as to why docs suggest breaking the dose up especially for IBDers, it's more effective taking it all at once and it definitely stays in your system doing so, so if the reason your GI suggested you breaking your doses up is for that reason then it's not a good one since most who have experiance with pred (side effects) know that it lasts in your system without having to split.

:)

pb4 really disagreed with my doc over this, but I also was told to split my dose. When I was on 40mg, I took 10mg at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bed. At 30mg, I took 10mg at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At 20mg I took 10mg at breakfast and lunch. Once I dropped to 15mg and 10mg, I took it all at breakfast.

I didn't have any problems by doing this, but like I said, some people thought it was dumb.

I think for asthma it might be more common to break up the daily dose (I don't know why this is but it's the way my friend was instructed for her daughters asthma), but when I spoke to my GI about why some docs tells their patients to split their pred doses and he said the only reason a doc would direct their patient to do so is because some patients have stomach sensitivity from pred and taking it all in the am with food or milk isn't enough to combat the gut sensitivity that some patients get from it (based on high doses of it, like 40mg), but it won't lessen the possible side effects that many get from taking pred, it only aids with the sensitive gut issue...and it may increase sleep issues if the whole dose isn't taken early in the morning.


Prednisone and prednisolone are considered to be intermediate acting steroids, meaning that a dose lasts about a day or a day and a half.

:)

Hello

I am currently taking Pred.. Started out at 50 and have tapered down 5mg a week and now I'm at 15mg... I take Nexium, the pred did give me pretty bad indegestion and heartburn.. which I have never had like this before. So I'd talk to your GI about getting on something like Nexium or Prilosec.. at least while you are on the pred. Also, when I was at the higher dose of 50mg.. I took 30 in the am and 20 in the afternoon.. Once I got down to 40, I took them all at once and did find that way. I do miss the energy I had when on the higher dose, but the weight gain for me has been a BUMMER.. Good luck and I hope you all feel better soon!!! It's a great drug for making us feel better, but it does come with a price unfortunately...

Hi, my son was diagnosed with UC a little over 5 years ago.  I can really sympathize with the agony that you go thru.  He has taken pred at least 3 times in these 5 years..the first 2 with no issues other than the weight gain and the face getting puffy.  This last episode which started in June doc put him on 60 mgs. of pred..(last 2 he started him on 60 as well) This time around he experienced at least 5 side effects...he's still trying to get back to feeling normal and still has the proof of the side effects (rash, purple marks).  I refuse to put him back on this going forward.   We gave it to him 3 times a day, then after a couple of weeks on 60, we tapered off by 5mgs every week...it's a great drug if you don't have any side effects. 

I wish you well.

pb4 said...
bella,

Did your GI tell you to split your pred doses? Taing them all at once and first thing in the early am is usually best, this avoids any insomnia and racing mind at night issues...I've never understood the reasoning as to why docs suggest breaking the dose up especially for IBDers, it's more effective taking it all at once and it definitely stays in your system doing so, so if the reason your GI suggested you breaking your doses up is for that reason then it's not a good one since most who have experiance with pred (side effects) know that it lasts in your system without having to split.

:)

I disagree on this, the split works much better for me at doses above 40 mg. If you are just taking one dose per day though, it should be at 7 am. (as far from bedtime as possible!)

Bella, my son experienced pressure on the top of his head, this came after the profuse sweating...once we tapered off, these symptons were gone completely...around 50 mgs...the sweating started, then the pressure...these were definitely caused by the prednisone...because at 40 these symptons cleared up. The fatigue I understand and is bearable...but the headaches are brutal. I understand, having suffered from migraines...for many years.  You don't need more on your plate...but have you thought of acupuncture? I'm a believer as this was the only thing that cured my migraines...I went diligently for about 6 months...and haven't had a migraine in years...have my son with uc going...doctor says it does help keep the symptons at bay. although it will take a while as with any thing natural or homeopathic...if nothing else may be it can get rid of your headaches or lessen the severity..worth a try..it's natural so no meds going into your system..if nothing else, you get an hour of peace..my son actually looks forward to going. 

 

 

 

MC1957,

acually i started acupuncture last week!! its funny you brought that up.i went twice last week for UC.it made me relaxed and i acually felt better when i left the office.my bowl movements slowed down as well.but only for a short while of course.since i only went twice.the acupunturist assured me he cant Heal me (because that will take years) but he said he can make me symptom free & feeling better.i have an appointment saturday.He also gave me a book to read "a life without bread" which is quite interesting.its basically that diet that every one talks about on here,about cutting out all wheat & carbs.so i've started that.

is anyone having hair loss? i feel like everytime i brush my hair,dry it or staighten it,my hair falls out WAY more than normally,this is SO scarry to me.my hair is what makes me,me.lol is there anything you can do for this ?? :/ vitamins? anything?? i dont want to go bald!

thanks fruitgirl.do you know where i can buy this shampoo? does anyone sell it?