Starting prednisone

Pred does have many side effects but it is also a very good drug for getting you feeling better quickly. I've been on it twice and the first time was very effective. Second time not so much. I did gain weight, get the moon face, moody, insomnia and other fun stuff both times. Have you been put on any other oral medication? You should be along with the rectal meds. Enemas would be better because they treat a bigger area.

I am at the point where I hope to never go on it again. But it does have its place. If your in horrible pain and can't leave the house I would use it. You just don't want to be stuck on it and unable to get off of it without symptoms returning. And in 15 years if all you have used is suppsitories I think your GI is scaring you about needing your colon out. Yes you need to get the inflammation under control but you have lots of meds you can take to help with this.

Hi I have been on pred 3 times, the first time I lost weight but it was very affective, the second I put on some weight but as I hadn't been able to move far from the toilet for 8 weeks and could not hold any food in going about 20 times a day this wasn't a bad thing. It very often increases your appetite so you should try to eat little and often good healthy food. The 3 time I was put on it I had heart palputations but I was working in a very stressful job so that didn't help.
Anyway my point is even with the same person every time can be different but as long as you take them as prescribed then all should be ok.
Oh and I was prescribed mezavant xl in february and although it somehow made my bleeding go away it gave me diarrhoea. Back on Salazopyrin now but still flaring.

missclairol,

Welcome to the forum.

Yes, try the prednisone. For some it works great, for others not so much.

They didn't give you any other meds? No mesalamines? No rectal meds?

I think it's not right for the doc to scare you by telling you that you'll need surgery. That's a red flag to me, that he may not be the right doctor. He should be giving you lots of other options IMO before telling you about surgery.

But there are many things IMO which you should be doing in tandem with the prednisone to calm things down, so that when you are tapering entirely, you'll be at a good point.

To me, those would be a combination of diet modification, certain supplements: probiotics, vitamin d3 levels checked, slippery elm powder, l-glutamine, and perhaps you can look into LDN, low dose naltrexone too.

There are things IMO that you can control, which will have a direct impact on your disease, the symptoms you experience and their severity.

I was able to control my UC into remission through various supplements, probiotics, diet modification, and LDN , low dose naltrexone.

 

For more info on the protocol which has put me into remission, please go to this link: https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&m=1666318 , and look at the 11th post.

I hope you feel better and let us know how we can help you.

I am currently on a decreasing dose of prednisone myself. Since it is for hives, I can't tell you how it effected the UC, since mine is controlled right now. But I did put on a little weight, about four pounds. My dose was 60mg for a week, then decrease by 5mg every three days. Just make sure to drink a lot of water and avoid pop because the med can make you retain water and sodium will make it worse. Also, if you don't exercise regularly I suggest you start (to help sweat out the salts). It also helped with my energy level.

The answer to most of your questions is yes. I don't know about increasing the dosage of your Imuran though. How much are you taking and for how long?

Thanks for your responses. Yes, I have been on suppositories for 15 years and they kept it at bay. The Dr. finally put me on Mezazant pills last April but they gave me headaches and the suppositories were working and then in November Bang!! I have never had a flare up like this before. The chills and pain. I have been on the prednisone 4 days now and it is working slowly. I am just terrified of all the side effects.

Thanks for your responses. Yes, I have been on suppositories for 15 years and they kept it at bay. The Dr. finally put me on Mezazant pills last April but they gave me headaches and the suppositories were working and then in November Bang!! I have never had a flare up like this before. The chills and pain. I have been on the prednisone 4 days now and it is working slowly. I am just terrified of all the side effects.

Hi Carrie. Thanks for your response. What side effects did you have from the Mezanvant? I wasn't crazy about it and that is why I stopped. I guess I shouldn't have. Yes and I am not thrilled about getting a moon face over Christmas. lol I just got back from tests to see if there is an infection and am waiting to here.

The plan sounds ok. There are just so many variables to treatment options and when you consider the patients feelings and finances there are even more variables to throw in the mix.

hey mroon - i think you're better off spending the time here, figuring out what you need, then telling your gi how he can help you - i'm sure he/she is wonderful, but still only one person, one brain - here, geez, there must be 3 or 4 people here with the same credentials (brain) at least -

ya mroon, that devil in a bottle can really get with the program - the pred will work along side the imuran - i like the idea of a quick taper - which is possible if you haven't been on it long - i think more docs would do a faster course of pred, but they probably don't want patients to freak out again too soon when symptoms start showing up - imo, pred doesn't heal - it just gives the body a chance to feel better -but ultimately, it's your body that's gonna heal itself - hopefully !

I have also recently been put on pred for the 1st time and have some similar questions, not to hijack the thread, just seemed like the place to ask. I had a Flex Sig due to a flare up and it showed my inflammation that had been mostly just proctitis had spread a good bit, as far as he could see with the Flex Sig, actually. So, I was advised to stop taking my Canasa and start on 40mg/day Pred and that the tapering would start once I feel "normal". Today is day 4 on the pred, and while I do feel somewhat better there is still a lot of D, some cramping, back pain, little appetite and last night I was up MANY times passing a good bit of blood. Called the doc today and was advised to go on a mostly Full Liquid Diet for a couple of days to see if that helped calm things down.

He also said that I will no longer take suppositories because the inflammation has spread too much for them to be very effective and that once I'm going of the Pred I will start oral Mesalamine. Does any of this sound right or wrong in your experiences??