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Abdominal Pain/tapering from Prednisone

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 4/14/2014 12:55 AM (GMT 0)
I've been through many cycles of flares and Prednisone during my tenure with UC but never had a problem with my taper(s). I've been on Prednisone since Christmas and am down to 15mg/day and at this step I'm getting some decent headaches, anxiety(taking a small dose of paxil during the taper), fatigue, and abdominal pain. The most notable is my abdominal pain.

I've done some searching around the forum and online and found some similar circumstances but wouldnt mind bringing this up again. Have any of you had the same experiences?

My other bad news is that 6mp didnt work out for me and I'm back to Delzicol and will be searching for another "maintenance" agent when I see my Doc on Friday. During a brief conversation (when they told me the 6mp wasnt an option anymore) they had suggested azathioprine but I'm super worried about the side effects of it as I always seem to be the "one" in the "million" guy whether its good or bad. Anything you guys can point me to?
Posted 4/14/2014 1:21 AM (GMT 0)
symptoms coming back like gut pain is common for pred tapers if your maintenance med isn't working. 6mp and aza are basically the same thing although some people tolerate the other one better. i've been on both and can't find a huge difference between the two.

what problems did u have on 6mp? ur doc probably wants to try aza to see if you have less side effects but it does the exact same thing as 6mp.

obviously, the other drugs are biologics so your doc can talk to you about those. there are remicade, simponi, humira, and cimzia as far as the Uc ones go.
Posted 4/14/2014 2:10 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the reply. My liver would not tolerate it. I think the two levels were in the 140's and 120's. Both WAY too high.

My gut pain is different from my usual UC pain which is usually located really low or on my left side. This is sharper pain right at my belly button. Lots of gas too.
Posted 4/14/2014 2:33 AM (GMT 0)
Hmm u will most likely experience the same problem on aza then. My numbers last month were in the high 150s on the lowest dose of aza but my doc isnt concerned. Same thing happened on 6mp too. It sucks!

Yeah, its prob still colon pains. This is pretty normal for uc. The areas can change the longer uve had the disease. Each pain is different every time i flare.
Posted 4/14/2014 2:46 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much. I appreciate the personal experience and information.

I'd love to hear other's experiences too.
Posted 4/15/2014 3:47 PM (GMT 0)
talk to my doctor's nurse yesterday. They are having me try hyoscyamine and Tylenol until Friday when I see them. So far it has had zero effect on my situation. I'm still experiencing a ton of abdominal pain, headaches, fatigue, and just an overall sense of yuckyness. My stool still looks somewhat normal with a diarrhea episode here and there but no mucas or blood like I usually have in a flare.
Posted 4/15/2014 7:42 PM (GMT 0)
How's your iron and B12levels? Might explain the fatigue. Might also be an infection. Any blood work clues? 6mp never worked as a stand alone for us. It's also possible that your UC is progressing across the colon,giving pain in new places. Rule out the easy stuff first. I know, none of this is easy stuff... Stopping pred after a long use is tough, those Adrenal glands are sleepy.
Posted 4/16/2014 11:14 PM (GMT 0)
can you try going back to 20 mg pred. ? try alternating 20mg one day 15 mg the next. that's what helps with me at the lower taper levels. I get same symptoms as you . I also take it extra easy on the diet . Also I just recently failed again to get below 10mg pred . and started uceris ( a different steroid) and its helping a lot .
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