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I'm starting Prednisone. Is 50mg a lot?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 6/10/2010 9:38 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

So, I'm having a flare that's been going on about a month now. I was using cortenemas for 2.5 weeks and they aren't working so my Dr. put me on prednisone for 3 weeks starting at 50mg. Is that considered a long term treatment? I'm scared to death of this drug and worried about how long it takes before side effects kick in.

Also taking Lialda and Imuran. I'm only inflamed in the rectum and sigmoid. I feel like I'm taking way too many pills. I don't even know what to eat anymore. Yogurt, hard boiled eggs, and applesauce seem like the safest bet.
Posted 6/10/2010 11:04 PM (GMT 0)
The usual starting dose seems to be 40mg. I started at 60. So 50 is highish but it's not huge. 3 weeks as in total or you will start to taper in 3 weeks?

What are your symptoms like? How many BMs? Blood? Pain?
Posted 6/10/2010 11:29 PM (GMT 0)
It's 3 weeks total.

Did you experience any side affects with the prednisone? How quickly does it relieve your symptoms?

I don't understand why the enemas didn't work. I retained them, although I'm so inflamed I often couldn't use the whole thing and would have some left in the bottle.

I'm having 6-8 BMs a day. The problem is the pain seems to be worse. Horrible cramps, nausea and bad pain in my ankles while I'm having a BM. about half the time I go and all I get is mucus and blood, but it feels like I'm going to pass much more.

It's been so long since I've flared and this is the only time I've been prescribed prednisone.

I've only been on Imuran two weeks and I hope! hope! hope! that combined with lialda that it will keep me in remission for good.
Posted 6/10/2010 11:59 PM (GMT 0)
I started on 60mg last taper and now starting on 40mg. 3 weeks is a super fast taper. Mine have always been pretty slow...over alot longer of a period. My side effects took awhile the first time i was put on prednisone...didn't really have any. But since it has been so much more frequent the side effects...more of less just moonface and increase appetite...start really soon. I think everyone is different when it comes to that.
Posted 6/11/2010 12:14 AM (GMT 0)
Prednisone is nasty but can be helpful.   I have been started on various dosages at different times but I agree that 40 mg is an average starting dose and 60 mg and above is considered high.  The most common taper schedule was reducing it by 5 to 10 mg every week or every 5 days.  So 3 weeks for 40 mg is pretty fast but not outlandish. 

My side effects were weight gain (about 20 lbs), mood swings and having a huge appetite.  I also was very unstable emotionally.  I would go from euphoric to feeling like crying very quickly.  The good news is that the side effects are temporary.

Good luck.  Pred helped me in the early years of UC, not in the later ones.

MyUC

Posted 6/11/2010 12:42 AM (GMT 0)
I think 40mg is the standard and usually the taper lasts more like 2 months. 3 weeks sounds awfully fast. Just my opinion. It may work for you...
Posted 6/11/2010 12:54 AM (GMT 0)
     40 mgm is usually the standard starting dose for me.  I have become prednisone dependent over the last two years.  When Remicade failed in the beginning of January, my doctor had to place me back on the Prednisone in the middle of Jan and I haven't been able to come off it since.  Every time I taper down to 7.5...boom...blood, urgency, pain, etc.  Now tapered back to 35 mgm again from 40 last week.  Gotta get down before having surgery on June 28th.  Surgeon isn't too happy with my being on prednisone, but it is the only thing keeping me from being hospitalized.
Posted 6/11/2010 3:02 AM (GMT 0)
Hello :)

40mg is the usual starting dose, and it worked for me initially last year when I had to take it, but after about a month or so, it quit working so my GI upped me to 50mg and that seemed to do the trick... I was good until I tapered down to 20mg then started flaring again so had to go back up on the Pred... I was on it for a total of almost 9 months, so 3 weeks I wouldn't consider long term.. I think anything over 3 months is considered long term use.

Also my side effects didn't kick in until I was on it for about 4 months.. then I noticed my weight gain.. that was the main symptom for me. Weight gain and the water retention that seems to collect in the face and back.. (like a hunchback) but if you are only going to be on it for 3 weeks, you might just avoid that.

good luck and I hope it works for you~!
Posted 6/11/2010 3:15 AM (GMT 0)
Im on a one month taper and I felt sooo much better after just one day. I was so sick with your similar symptoms, tons of blood and mucus and pain. I feel so much better that I dont care about the side effects at this moment.
Posted 6/11/2010 3:21 AM (GMT 0)
50 mg is only a little high. But a 3 week taper for 50 mg? That's crazy. I'd be worried about tapering so quickly.

My side effects usually include muscle cramps, moodiness, increased appetite, insomnia, and moonface. My moonface showed up about a month in, the rest kinda popped up as soon as I started the stuff.
Posted 6/11/2010 5:47 AM (GMT 0)
Actual duration is 25 days, so almost a month. I'm supposed to drop down every 4 days and stop at 10.

I'm just going to think positively about this. And keep an eye on my diet, try to predict what's going to soothe things.

Thanks for all your input. I appreciate it!
Posted 6/11/2010 3:10 PM (GMT 0)
Thinking positively is a good idea, Super. I expect you'll do just fine.

I spent the last couple of months at 40mg and just started tapering down (on a 10-day/10mg cycle). I've definitely had similar reactions to some of the folks here - swelling (for me in the ankles and face), although the swelling in my ankles went away pretty quickly, mood cycling (like MyUC said, I could go from mania to feeling like crying over nothing pretty quickly), increased appetite, and insomnia (I learned quickly to take it with breakfast).

All things considered, though, compared to what the colitis and other treatments for it put me through, these side effects weren't much of a bother.
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