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How long before prednisone works?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 2/15/2010 3:37 AM (GMT 0)
I have not been on prednisone yet but i am going to the doc this tuesday and he told me a few weeks ago if my condition was not improving this may be an option. I just want to know i will get some quick relief and not be on prednisone for months before i feel better. I also see that many people gain a lot of weight being on prednisone which i really hate because i run about 2 road races a month.
Posted 2/15/2010 4:03 AM (GMT 0)
The 2 times that I have been on pred I found relief in the first 2 days. I went from lots of D to completely normal bm's. I was never on pred for more than 4 weeks. I think the normal course is 12 weeks.
Posted 2/15/2010 4:28 AM (GMT 0)
My first time on prednisone, I was on it for 7 months.  It took about a month for my flare to calm down a bit and I just couldn't get off of the prednisone.  I gained 24 pounds but tried to continue my exercise program as much as possible. 

I am on prednisone for the second time now, going on just over two months, and am tapering off now. Only one more week!  This time around, I didn't gain any weight and I felt better within about two weeks or so after starting it.   

I am sure it is different for everyone, just like which drugs work or don't work, what foods upset our systems, and severity of symptoms.  For me, the fatigue is my biggest obstacle to exercise not the weight gain.  And for me, I had to decide, what is more important, feeling better or working out?  Easy decision. 

Good luck. 

Posted 2/15/2010 4:45 AM (GMT 0)

I was better within a week of starting it, but never got to completely normal.

The side effects are really individual and not even the same for each course.  Not only did I not gain weight, I lost weight on it.  It was the mood changes, nervousness and difficulty sleeping that bothered me at my highest dose (40 mg) when I was on it this last time.  The first time I took it a couple of years ago, I loved the energy it gave me.  Sort of the same side effects, but different results.  Go figure.       

Posted 2/15/2010 4:45 AM (GMT 0)
Usually you take the full dose, for me 40 mg., until the bleeding stops, then begin your taper. For me it takes a week or two. I just got off it for the 3rd time. It took me longer to get off this time then in the past. Sometimes when you begin to taper the bleeding and problems can start again; then you may have to increase your dose. I started using the mesalamine retention enemas and they have allowed me to taper and get off it, for now. I only gained about 5 pounds this time but I still have not lost the 10 pounds I gained from the past 2 times. However, I have actually lost 5 pounds in the past two weeks due largely to a lack of appetite, or perhaps it is also tapering off the prednisone.

49/F/NC
Posted 2/15/2010 5:49 AM (GMT 0)
I've been on and off of it many times and I suppose for each person it is different, but only once did it take more than two weeks to start working.
Posted 2/15/2010 6:14 AM (GMT 0)
Pred turned off 15 bouts of diarrhea a day like a faucet. It was tough getting off of it. Took four months.
Posted 2/15/2010 8:09 AM (GMT 0)
Here's my experience:

My colon was extremely inflamed, but I did not yet have a diagnosis.
Saw a GI who gave me Colozal.
The inflammation started subsiding quickly.
GI was able to do a partial sigmoidoscopy three days later and diagnosed me with UC. He prescribed Colozal and prednisone.
The inflammation subsided substantially over the next three weeks and the bleeding stopped entirely.
Started tapering off prednisone very slowly.
Bleeding would come back every time I tried going under 25 mgs.
I was stuck on prednisone, taking somewhere between 25 and 20 mgs for a the next two months.
After which, I did fecal transplantation and went into remission immediately.

So the problem with prednisone for me wasn't that it didn't work right away. It was that I couldn't get off it.
Posted 2/15/2010 3:53 PM (GMT 0)
Ususally I find relief almost immediately. The first time I was on it my symptoms ALL went away pretty much overnight. More recently, my bleeding decreased immediately but it still took awhile to go down to the normal number of BM's.
Posted 2/15/2010 4:07 PM (GMT 0)
Great question and responses! I am in the same boat, Chris. I have been flaring for 7-8 weeks now and presently the Asacol and Hydrocortisone enemas just aren't cutting the mustard. I did get better but I'm not well and don't seem to be making progress. I'm going to ask for a blood panel, a c.diff test and script for pred that I will start if the c.diff comes back negative. I'm not super worried about gaining weight, but I tend to be a spaz and suspect I'll will become a crazy insomniac!

I hope you feel better! Keep us posted! :o)
Posted 2/15/2010 4:17 PM (GMT 0)
I forgot to mention that the second time I took prednisone was about a month after I got off it for the first time. I was at 40 mg a day and after 2 months of that I was not getting better, just worse. The prednisone seemed to offer no relief and I was bleeding a lot and using the bathroom 20 times a day, including during the middle of the night. I was put on remicade and improved by the next day. Only then was I able to taper off the prednisone. So sometimes it does not work. Possibly it was because I had just been on it and built up some resistance.

F/49/NC
Posted 2/15/2010 4:21 PM (GMT 0)
I had a really good experience with pred. Just before I started it, I was having at least 10 (maybe up to 15, I don't really remember) urgent BM's a day. My doc had me splitting up my dose throughout the day, so the first day I was on it, I only got in 20 of the prescribed 40 mg. By the next day, I was down to 4 BM's, and the day after, I was down to just 1. I did a pretty quick taper...40mg for 5 days, 30 for 5 days, 20 for 5 days, 15 for 5 days, 10 for a week or so (waiting to see my GI), then 10 every other day for 2-3 weeks. I quit with no issues.
Posted 2/17/2010 3:34 AM (GMT 0)
I had my doctors appointment today and like i thought i will be starting prednisone in the morning. The doc put me on a 5 week taper 40mg down to 5mg the fifth week. I hate having to take this but i am desperate at this point. He also did blood work to see if i can take something called 6 mp, I was wandering if anyone has had luck with this. I did get 3 months sample supply of a probiotic called florastor, I was very suprised they actually gave me something free. 
Posted 2/19/2010 3:58 PM (GMT 0)
There are a lot of horror stories about prednisone, but I've never had trouble with side effects -- my face gets red at around the same time every day, but that's all. Hopefully you're in the same boat.

I have pancolitis and when I flare to the extent that I get pain in my left side, the prednisone takes care of that within a week. What I haven't had much luck with prednisone on is getting the swelling down further down the line. I'm heading back to the doctor to try something else -- hydrocortisone enemas worked once but didn't last time -- hence I'm back on the pred.

___
33, female, pancolitis 3/2009
apriso/tapering prednisone (35mg)
Posted 2/24/2010 7:35 PM (GMT 0)
I don't want to discourage you, but to tell you honestly that neither prednisone nor 6MP has helped me. I sat out my last flare only on Lialda, probiotics and antidepressants and that's all I take right now. Doc wanted me on Remicade, but I said no since my health insurance will not pay for it and  also I am scared of Remicade. PERSONALLY I have the feeling that the harsher the meds, the less the relief I get from the disease. I sustained 12 years only on Asacol and the trouble really started when I started prednisone and 6MP, but that is just my 2 cents of course.
Posted 2/24/2010 8:40 PM (GMT 0)
     Prednisone is the only drug which helps me but unfortunately, I have become prednisone dependent.  It has given me osteoporosis and high blood pressure.  Doctor HATES me to be on it but I had my 4th infusion of  Remicade on Friday, suffered through a bad weekend, noticed an improvement Monday...not drastic, but better...a bit better yesterday, but today...BAM...urgency, eight loose painful bowel movements.  CT scan of pelvic area done on Monday...wonder if that gunk I had to drink contributed to my feeling this way?  Anyway, back on the prednisone, 40 mgm.  I also have mood swings and insomnia while on it but never gain a pound.  As a matter of fact, I lose weight on prednisone.  The 6MP stopped working, or I should say, never worked much, only made me feel worse and lowered my white blood count drastically.

     Most likely, if Remicade at a higher dose doesn't work, I am probably looking at surgery.

Posted 2/24/2010 10:37 PM (GMT 0)
It helped me very quickly. Probably 2 days until I was feeling much better.
Posted 2/24/2010 11:16 PM (GMT 0)
For me, Prednisone starts working within a week, and I found that adding a rectal med helped me get out of the flare faster and start tapering faster.
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