Just simply burnt out

I am so tired of being sick... I finally got down to 40 mg of pred again and guess what symptoms start showing again. Labs came back last week and my liver enzymes are slightly elevated from the imuran. Said they would be keeping a close watch on my labs. Kinda Scary! It has been about a year now and I do not think I have been in remission longer than a few weeks at a time. Calling the Dr tom and going to be firm about a change in plans.. I just dont think I can continue to take pred at high doses any longer.. I need a break from it...It is driving me and my family crazy.. 26 and tired of being sick.

I know exactly what you are going through.I hate the way Pred changed me whilst i was on it. I was seriously moody(which is so unlike me),anxious,depressed and unwell in so many ways. I am 33 now but i've had this disease since i was 15, i've been off and on Pred dozens of times. Remission seems like a never attainable dream when you keep flaring every time you taper. I think you need to be very firm with your doctor and actively seek other treatment options if you have been on Pred for a very long period.
If you can exercise(depending on how bad you are flaring of course) even if it's just a short walk, go for it. Any exercise will keep those stress hormones down a bit. On my last pred treatment i was on 60 mgs for a ridiculous amount of time, i ended up coming off it because it wasn't doing me any good. I started on Asacol suppositries, and i started drinking slippery elm every morning and before going to bed at night. Within a few days my symptoms started to ease and after a few weeks i was doing a lot better.t now the only med i'm on for my UC is Asacol supps.
I know evryone is different but the Slippery elm worked well at getting me out of a nasty flare into a more manageable one. I hope yu feel better soon.
Marty

You shouldn't notice an increase of symptoms dropping to 40mg of prednisone so my guess is that prednisone just doesn't work for you which is a good thing. I would imagine your next step is Remicade since you wouldn't be able to wait out the 6months of having either Imuran or 6mp kick-in. Lots of UCers have had success with Remicade and sometimes it's noticeable within a few days. Talk with your GI.

Sue

Hey Guy!  At least you know what's going on.  When I was your age I was just having "stomach prolems" occasionally.  It took until I was almost 43 to find out I has "something wrong".  There are great resources here if for no other reason than the sympathetic ear.  No one here will say, try pepto, you eat crappy foods and your lifestyle is doing this to you, so on and so forth.  Vigilance and education and support will help you make it through.  I have my own rant thread (probably page 2 or 3 by now) and we all need that once in awhile.

Talk to your GI about Bentyl for help with the cramps and if your insurance will cover it, Entocort, which is a glucocorticosteroid, made specifically for the digestive tract.  It has none of the problems of Pred.