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Prednisone Positives

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Posted 6/24/2011 4:47 AM (GMT 0)
Can anyone tell me some good stories about prednisone?  LIke maybe it made you feel great and there were no negative side affects?  I'm looking for some hope that i can maintain my body externally while healing internally.  Is this possible????
Posted 6/24/2011 7:18 AM (GMT 0)
Ugh Prednisone :-) It turned off my 15 to 20 bouts of D a day like a faucet. So I would say it saved my life. Other than that it's a bad drug. People say, Oh, I'll be on a quick taper. Healing is more important than getting off prednisone fast. Take calcium and fosamax if you plan to be on it for awhile. Try to watch your eating. It will make you hungry.

Best of luck!
Posted 6/24/2011 11:39 AM (GMT 0)
The drug sucks, it fixes the issue with the flare up but im sick of the god darned water retention and sweating, I sweat constantly it's horrible like as im sitting here im dripping with sweat have to constantly take showers.

Other then that the side effects I get are a few spots etc, but tbh I don't get fat on pred touch wood and I eat 8 meals per day. Infact I've still got visible abs even tho im on 40mg per day lol.
Posted 6/24/2011 11:47 AM (GMT 0)
posty626,

I have a good story about prednisone. I was diagnosed last fall and put on 40mg/day for 1.5 months. After the first day, the blood, mucus and urgency went away. I would go about a week on a plateau then notice an improvement.

The only side effects I had was some fatigue and weight gain. I only gained back what I had lost due to being sick for 5 months, but part of the weight gain might have been caused by the low-residue diet I was on, no fruit or veggies and only white bread, pasta and rice. I didn't have mood swings, no joint aches, no moon face, no insomnia, nothing.

As I was tapering (40,30,20,20,15,10,7.5,5,2.5,0 weekly) I would notice an increase of UC symptoms for the first 36 hours after I decreased my dose, then things would go back to "normal". I flew cross-county to visit family and while I was traveling, I didn't decrease my dose that week (that is why there were 2 weeks at 20mg).

When I totally off the med, I was very fatigued, but that went away after about a week.

I won't hesitate to use prednisone again if I have another bad flare.

Good luck with your meds!
Posted 6/24/2011 12:29 PM (GMT 0)
It worked great for me the first time I had a flare...had moon face and gained 15 pounds though. Second time I had a flare didn't work as well...on it for longer and when came totally off of it I started seeing symptoms again in two weeks. Gained another 15 pounds. Weight isn't as easy to lose in your late 30's as it is when your 20!

Rectal meds for me have been much better. No side effects either!
Posted 6/24/2011 3:04 PM (GMT 0)
Whatever others have experienced regarding side effects doesn't mean you will or won't for that matter.

Is prednisone your first med?

Have you been on both oral/rectal mesalamine yet?

welcome to the forum if I haven't done so already.
q
Posted 6/24/2011 4:16 PM (GMT 0)
I think your age has a big part to play when debating whether or not to ride the prednisone carousel.
For instance, I was 63 and semi-retired when hospitalized and dxd in '06 although I suspect I'd had UC for a year or so prior. The high IV dose in the hospital (one week) followed by about 2 months at 40mg then tapering for another 2-3 months certainly knocked my UC out the park. Whilst tapering the pred I was building up to 150mg azathioprine as my 'maintenance' drug. I probably got about a year of comparative 'remission', but a bone-density scan showed that I'd developed ostiopenia (a mild form of ostioporosis). Fortunately it was caught early enough to reverse it with calcium supplements and fosamax. A scan a year later showed a significant improvement in bone density. (I also do dumbell exercises a couple times a week)
What I'm saying is that at 68 am I going to be bothered (apart from bone density) by side effects like a puffy face and a fierce appetite? I mean some of the other side effects could be attributed to normal aging anyways.

When a big flare seems inevitable I have no hesitation asking my GI for pred although we've discussed remicade and mutually keep it on the shelf for 'later'.

At my age I ask myself: a) Do I go for surgery and spend what's left of my life emptying a colostomy bag? - NO (and I'm not in the slightest, worried about the 'stigma') b) Do I take the risk of some dubious side effects of steroids? -YES (in moderation) c) do I stay off all meds and waste away for my remaining few years in agony on the toilet? -NO d) exhaust all of the drug and herbal options and to hell with side effects? -YES (within reason)

If I were say 15-40 years younger I would probably have a different answer to all of these questions (except 'c') So as I said, I think a persons age will determine what course of action they will take.
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