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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 1/7/2013 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
I was recently diagnosed with Ulcerative Coltitis and was put on a significant amount of prednisone and am now just learning the side effects such as moon face, lack of sleep, fake energy. I am looking for advise on how to help get through some of these symptoms for the time being that i am on the prednisone. For example, the lack of sleep. are there any type of sleep aid or anything that i am actually ALOUD to use to help this problem. Any advise will help. Thank you
Posted 1/7/2013 7:08 PM (GMT 0)
How much are you on? And for how long? The most I have been on is 30mg, and I didn't get the moon face. I did have issues sleeping and itchy skin. I don't take anything, just rest when I can. Is the prednisone helping your UC at all? I find when I start it, I feel so much better UC wise that the side effects are managable. I know it is different for everyone, but I would assume whatever level you are on, it will slowly decrease and you will see a drop in those side effects. Did they put you on any other maintenance drugs like asacol or colazal. Any rectal meds? And how much of your colon is affected?
Posted 1/7/2013 7:13 PM (GMT 0)
well I am on 50mg and I also have to take a multitude of other medications. I do have to take asocal. Every two weeks my doctor is tapering me down 10 mg which is great but i was just trying to get some advise for the time being that i am on my prednisone. I am 14 years old and was diagnosed in October of 2012. i also just recently had a flare up which really sucked. I dont know how much of my colon was effected but i will try to find out
Posted 1/7/2013 7:18 PM (GMT 0)
Make sure you eat foods high in potassium like bananas and take calcium supplements. Low potassium levels will give you very painful muscle cramps and you can suffer bone loss if you are on prednisone too long. Others may have advice on sleeping.
Posted 1/7/2013 7:24 PM (GMT 0)
I am also having muscle pain such as lower back pain, joint pains etc. is there anything that can help those pains. I really hate them. I know that i need to get use to them. it is just really hard at the beginning and my diet is really hard also because most of the foods that i ate before, i cant eat now. every one is different and this is a trial and error thing. but any advise will help.
Posted 1/7/2013 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry your on the pred. It sucks but it does its job especially the first time your on it. I had all the lovely side effects too. They may start to lessen as you start tapering down. Some of them anyway. Are you taking your dose all at once or splitting it up. My doctor had me take all mine in the am in the hopes that I could sleep better. It helped a little. You could take an otc sleep aid which is essentially benadryl so if you have any at home you could take one or two an hour or so before bed. You could also try melatonin. That you may have to play with to see what mg is effective for you. Or you could put your insomnia to work and clean the house for your Mom. Big brownie points! Just kidding.
Posted 1/8/2013 2:49 AM (GMT 0)
Whenever I am on 40 mg or higher of prednisone, I split the dose in 2. So, I take part of it right away in the morning (7:00 am) and then the other half about 9:00 or even with lunch. This seems to lessen some of the side effects that I experience. Maybe it would work for you too. I have found that if I take any prednisone after lunch I will have trouble sleeping.

I also have trouble with back pain when I am flaring. Try a heating pad or some gentle stretches.
Posted 1/8/2013 4:07 AM (GMT 0)
I always took my full dose of prednisone as early in the morning as I could. When I was on 40 mgs, I was lucky to get 4 hours sleep each night. Now that I have tapered to 3 mgs, I never feel like I get enough sleep.
Posted 1/8/2013 4:54 AM (GMT 0)
prednisone is torture! you'll get through it though. for the sleeping, i honestly slept maybe 30 min-1 hr a night and i did this in increments. i couldn't help when i was awake because i was pooping so much and sweating a lot. i had to constantly change my clothes and sheets because of all the sweat. i was on it for 3.5 months and averaged about 2 hours of sleep a night during that time. i sometimes cleaned or took baths... mostly just watched a lot of tv. it never got easy for me until i had been off of it.

for the joint pains, my family massaged me and moved my limbs around a few times a day. my stepdad moved our recumbant bike from the basement into the living room so i used this a few times a day to keep myself moving a little. i couldn't walk on my own at the time (i used a walker or people held me up) so the bike was easier for me.
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