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Posted 7/23/2014 6:08 PM (GMT 0)

Hey Folks,

I had an appt with my GI , She prescribed me prednisone for 2 weeks , since am flaring from 2 months and had 1 week Remission only( I wish it cud last longer).

I 'm scared to take Pred becuz of its side effects do you guys think that I should take it ?Or I can control my UC from Diet? which is hard i know.... I'm confused and scared from its side effects...

Does this medication effect in 2 weeks?

FYI I'm underweight 98lbs 5'1 ...2-3 BM/day with Blood.

Lailda 4/day, Anema nighttime...and other vitamins...

Posted 7/23/2014 6:16 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

In my experience GI's are too busy to care about your long term health, so to them prescribing predisone is an easy way to control your symptoms temporarily. If you don't think that your condition is out of control, then I would refrain from adding predisone, especially if you have just come off or something. Maybe ask for a steroid enema? It is much more localized and is easier to taper off.

How did you get into remission for 2 weeks?

What kind of diet are you following?

What kind of UC do you have? Where is the inflammation the worst?

In my opinion, diet is really important to not only reduce the irritation when flaring, but also to provide the right nutrition to repair the gut when the flare subsides (and it will subside...just have faith).

I would recommend that you add L-glutamine to your supplements (it helps with healing tissue damage). It will also help you add some weight.
Posted 7/23/2014 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
What were you doing before which allowed you to achieve remission? What dosage of prednisone and taper schedule does the doctor have you on? You really shouldn't worry about short term prednisone usage but two weeks is probably not enough to put you in remission and even if it does, your condition may return as soon as you taper down and off. Using diet to control UC is no guarantee. It is highly unlikely but works in some. What diet plan would you do?
Posted 7/23/2014 6:33 PM (GMT 0)
I was on baked chicken , boiled eggs with one toast , white rice , salmon and spinach and in fruits Banana only.... that took me into remission for 1 week ... after that I ate some oily foods and just after that I start to flare uptill now its been 1 month now but I would say not bad at all I dont feel urgency 3 Bm with some blood...
My UC is present on my left and near cecum I was also thinkin why my GI did not prescribed for steroid anema ....

Also, I'm following Paleo Diet ... no sucess yet.
Posted 7/23/2014 6:37 PM (GMT 0)
Diets don't work for everyone, myself included. Prednisone side effects kick in after a couple weeks time. Prednisone is good at giving you relief from a uc flareup. Sure, pred has nuisance side effects (acne, insomnia, increased appetite which can lead to weight gain, etc.) but they are temporary side effects, and usually a lot less bothersome then the uc flare symptoms of pain, frequent watery diarrhea, blood, mucus, and whatnot.
Posted 7/23/2014 6:40 PM (GMT 0)
Wait. You're only having 3 BMs a day with a little bit of blood and your GI put you on prednisone?

I think you should have been given mesalamine enemas instead.
Posted 7/23/2014 6:53 PM (GMT 0)
If you achieved remission with just a diet change, it likely means that your inflammation is not too bad. I would surely not go on prednisone because as mentioned before it's just a bandaid and you should spend some time figuring out a way to work with your body.

Diet helped me a lot as well - but I found that what I thought was a good diet actually contained things that my body hated. For example, eggs and nuts do not agree with me - and they tend to be common allergens. So spend some time changing your diet around and see if things improve - sometimes your daily routine could be what is keeping you in an inflammatory cycle.

And again: take steps to heal the lining of your colon! This means taking l-glutamine supplements, not eating foods that are known to damage the lining (alcohol, gluten, lactose/sugar, heavy spices), eating more fish than other meat, and maybe even things like butyrate supplements.
Posted 7/23/2014 7:08 PM (GMT 0)
You say you went into remission before with a diet of "baked chicken , boiled eggs with one toast , white rice , salmon and spinach and in fruits Banana only". Now you say you are doing Paleo. Did you ever retry doing the exact same diet which put you into remission in the first place? What is your prednisone dosage and tapering schedule?
Posted 7/23/2014 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
Canasa is really good for rectal inflammation and sfRowasa is really good for proctosigmoid inflammation. Colazal is good for l-sided inflammation, but I have had the best results from rectal 5-ASAs.
Posted 7/23/2014 7:51 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

I am new to this forum. I have been in the hospital twice this year for severe anemia as a complication from the UC. My hemoglobin level was down to 4 the first time and the lsat time was a few days ago it was at a 6. I had 3 blood transfusions each time. This last time, the doctor sent me home with a giant prescription of prednisone and told me to take it for 8 weeks. I have been really afraid to do this because the last time I was on prednisone I had some pretty bad side effects that made me feel really spacey and caused quite a bit of anxiety. I was diagnosed with UC when I was 21. At that time, I did all of the usual things that the doctors recommend- prednisone, hydrocort enemas, azulfadine- etc- and nothing worked. Eventually, I went on a gluten free diet and was in remission until 2010. I am now 49. So I was symptom free for over 20 years and this was after my doctors told me that I needed to have a colectomy.

Unfortunately, whenever I eat something like flour or gluten by accident ( in this case corn tacos that were really flour tacos)- I get a bad flare up. This last few were really horrible and nothing has been helping. I even decided to take the mesalamine - Asacol and it just made me much worse and bleed more.

So I just took my prednisone today and I am really nervous that it will cause a lot of problems. I have held off on using Western medicine for so long, but after 6 blood transfusions I am worried to not at least give the prednisone a try. I have had good results with glutamine, vit e, vit d, and Ultra FLora.

I don't really have a question, I just need some emotional support. Thanks.

Post Edited (sickinCali) : 7/23/2014 1:54:48 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/23/2014 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hi sickinCali, from your severe response to gluten, I don't think you quite fall into the traditional pathology of UC - sounds much more like a very bad allergy. What have doctor's said about Celiac disease?

Either way - just take each day as it comes. The more effort you put into thinking about the bad side effects, the less time you have to enjoy the here and now. So force yourself to stay positive - and know that eating well and thinking well will be good for you in the long run.

That's my uplifting speech for ya...hope it helped :)
Posted 7/25/2014 12:16 PM (GMT 0)
Just take the Prednisone and feel better. Don't worry about the side-effects, get healthy first.
Posted 7/27/2014 1:20 AM (GMT 0)
Just finished a 5 month run of Pred on July 17, started late Feb. 40 mg down to 20 over first month, then tapered down from 20 to zero over the last 60 days. I have had quite a bit of joint pain over the last 5 years, but seemed a little better while on Pred, but now it is coming back with a vengeance. My knees are on fire today. smhair Does this sound about normal?
Posted 7/27/2014 7:22 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, have had the same experience doing Pred tapers for UC flares. Pain comes back esp in knees but other joints too. Usually by about 10 mg on down. Was a nice break from it while on higher doses of Pred!
Posted 7/27/2014 8:14 AM (GMT 0)
prednisone is a nasty medication but i so appreciate others need this meds because of their condition. It causes me sever gastritis and stomach issues that made the problem they originally tried to fix much more worse, my breathing and allergy. The gastritis played havoc with my asthma.

Take care with this's med or some kind of protection for your stomach, good luck and wish you all well soon.
Posted 7/27/2014 2:19 PM (GMT 0)
I am on 25mgs of pred for the first time after a year long flare with no relief. I've only been on it about 3 weeks, but so far side effects have been minimal (a little nervousness and a touch of insomnia) the benefit had been greater than the side effects, though. Still want to get off ASAP. Started Simponi Friday and going that will take over and I can taper down pred.
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