Prednisone

After reading many posts here I’m on the fence.

My symptoms are loose stools 1 to 5 a day with urgency sometimes. Once in a while, when I eat well, almost formed stools. Severe pain about six times in two years. By severe I mean lying on the floor in a fetal position with hot clammy skin for hours, in too much pain to listen to the radio or get up and lie in bed. Most of the time this occurs after a cabbage like meal ie. kimchi, bik choy, etc. No blood since I started The 5asa

Thank you for your response ipoop. Wow. That sounds awful. I hope I don’t get depressed. I got good news today, my GI might call me this week to discuss my treatment with me.

Thank you for sharing this ! It’s teally helpful for me to hear all the different stories while making this decision

Day 2 on prednisone.

I feel ok. I do notice the side effects, which are some dizziness when I jump up suddenly, and feeling more motivated to get stuff done which is good. I had diarrhea again today. The suggestion to get tests for other things was a good one but I’m very busy preparing for a presentation at work, and getting in touch with my doctor this last time involved phone calls and talking to the receptionist and crying on my part. Perhaps I’ll go to my gp in the next few weeks.

I’m taking four 5asa pills, calcium, vitamin d, iron tablets, 8 5mg prednisone tablets daily. I think all the pills are causing the diarrhea, or maybe my UC is worse. It does warrant a trip to my gp or a phone call to my Gi though.

I’m very glad I made this decision. I don’t think I’m going to be angry or anxious and if I am I think I have the skills to ride it out.

Next action I need to make is changing from mezavant to the other one that begins with a p.

I don’t like how ignorant I am to all of this, but I’m learning and I’ll trust my GI until I’m ok .

I think I’m experiencing some denial about my condition. Even though I’m ok with taking Prednisone this time, it’s my belief that this will be the only time. I don’t think my symptoms are that bad compared to other stories I’ve heard . However, I need to understand that I can get worse and that there is a seriousness about UC.

Silver lining is that after losing 5 pounds I’m at my ideal - 18 year old weight, and I might have more energy to lift some weights with the Prednisone (before the side effect of possible weight gain. And I do have all my elastic waist clothing ready !)

Prednisone never gave me side effects except for a little more energy which I was happy about. Pharmacists are the ones you want to call to discuss meds. They’ll tell you to take it in the morning and with food. If it can help get your UC under control it’s worth it and I hope it does! You can ask about Florastor probiotic for diarrhea too. A lot of the internet is full of negative stuff, I like reading people’s experiences but the people doing really well are less likely to write about it online. Good luck!

Day three on prednisone, blood pressure is on the high side. I’ve had diarrhea for about five days in a row.
Not feeling too badly, but different. I’m more likely to state my opinion to people, which isn’t a bad thing. Day 4 tomorrow. Glad that I’ll start tapering slowly on day 14

>> My fear is that the mesavant is an irritant and making the prednisone work harder.
Mezavant is not an irritant.

I did take my mesavant an hour after my previous message. I talked to the doctor’s office today, and my doctor is communicating remotely, meaning she is out of town. The receptionist, Tara, who wouldn’t let me leave a message for two weeks is now being helpful.

I explained that before my doctor left for vacation she sent a prescription that was co fusing to the pharmacist. It was for pentasa enemas with oral instructions. Tara hinted that she could send different instructions to the pharmacist if we don’t hear from my doctor. I would feel comfortable with that only because Quincy has brought it up a few tones. It’s a gong show, but I’m not feeling too badly.

The way that prednisone is effecting me: I feel strong and capable of getting things done. Trouble sleeping at night but getting 4 or 5 hours. Higher blood pressure.

And here’s the woo woo part: And when I talk to people, I don’t feel their emotions like I’m used to feeling. Absorbing emotions is exhausting and I don’t have that need to be away from people to rest.

Day five on prednisone. I slept better last night. I’m less anxious about my presentation tomorrow.

I’m very frustrated about my treatment, and unfortunately I have a tendency to deal with this kind of frustration by crying, which is a very poor form of communication. I have a chance to push for pentasa enemas today. If I get what I want, my treatment will be: Prednisone for about three months with taper, salafalk, 2 suppositories a day, and pentasa enemas, not sure dosage.

I’m blaming the mesavant for my diarrhea which started the day after I began taking it which was two days before I started taking prednisone, and if I'm right, I’m still clueless about what that means for my treatment. I hope it doesn’t mean I’m doing something harmful.

For now, because I don’t know what my options are regarding complaining about my treatment, I will make an appt with my GP, (she already told me she can’t give me advice but at least I might learn something), and I’ll call the GI office often to report symptoms and concerns .

Ipoop. This is very very helpful thank you. I’m concerned because I think the oral mesavant is causing diarrhea. I’m supposed to be changing it to pentasa (possibly enema but I don’t know for sure)

So , I will do what you said, try 48 hours without mesavant while I wait for this terrible medical system to communicate with me. Tomorrow I have a big presentation at work to worry about. Then I have Friday to got to the hospital if I think it’s necessary, or hopefully get my prescription, or take mesavant again if I’m wrong about the diarrhea.

Today I thought for about an hour that I was going to end up at the hospital, I was so dizzy and sweating etc. (Prednisone and maybe hunger or blood sugar levels)

I just talked to two pharmacists and the doctors office and they all tried to blow me off and couldn’t help me. Then I saw your message. I really appreciate it, it was where I was going and what I told all the people I was choosing to do (I’ll add a third salafalk suppository also) . I think this isn’t urgent today, and I’ll get through tomorrow, and can choose if I think it’s urgent or not on Friday.

I’ll also eat food on Friday (I’m living on mostly potatoes and rice),
And I’ll let myself cry in the car on my drive home.

@Rosiedays --

I've just started 5mg prednisone today. Stools are still formed and going 1-2 times a day.

Symptoms so far:
night sweats
insomnia
increased energy in the morning then a huge energy crash at night
extreme sensitivity to caffeine
mild mood swings

But other than that, all good.

As for your diarrhea --

Are you taking probiotics? I take two different brands twice a day, once in the morning and once at night.
Also, in my first few weeks of prednisone, I was drinking a cup of homemade bone broth every day, as recommended by my acupuncturist to help heal my gut mucosa. If you can buy bone broth from a butcher or make it yourself (can be done in 2 hours in a pressure cooker, if you have one), it might help with your diarrhea.

@Rosiedays—

I wish you the best of luck! You're not alone in this. Our symptoms are quite similar.

I was a vegetarian for 12 years but couldn't tolerate anything but juice, rice, and meat during my flare. If you're not comfortable with bone broth, try an L-glutamine supplement. Take it day by day!