HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Positive Prednisone stories please

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 1/4/2014 2:28 AM (GMT 0)
I was put on 8 weeks of prednisone. I am on 40mg for one week and I'm suppose to taper off each week by 5mg until I am no longer on it. All I seem to read are the bad stories about being on it. I would like to here from anyone that had positive results from taking it. I realize their are side effects and I have read all about them. What I want to know is if it helped you get back into remission and if you had success tapering off of it.

*****see additional post a few posts below for more detail on my UC

Post Edited (lovinmykids) : 1/3/2014 9:14:48 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/4/2014 3:32 AM (GMT 0)
Pred. is mighty and loved and hated. It works. Do the routine the doctor says. It is not a maintenance drug, it is dangerous long term, it is also vital.
As you come down from it, you may have symptoms reappear. Most docs will watch you as you reduce, and ensure you are on 5 Asa's, rectal meds, and consider 6mp( as it takes a long time to reach therapeutic level in your system). The trick is to watch your body as you reduce to see how you are reacting...urgency, frequency, loose stools, etc.
Fingers crossed for you.
Posted 1/4/2014 3:44 AM (GMT 0)
Prednisone is not a cure. What other meds are you on? Prednisone works great for UC in most people (not counting the side effects) but it basically only works while you are on it. It weakens the immune system attack on your colon, giving it time to heal but once you taper down to the lower doses or off your symptoms are pretty much guaranteed to return at some point without any maintenance med therapy. If you are not taking any maintenance meds at the same time as the pred then your chances are very bleak of maintaining remission. If the maintenance meds and pred combo work to put you into remission then you need to continue with the maintenance meds FOREVER after the pred withdrawl in order to remain in remisison. UC is a lifelong disease. If you get complacent and quit meds because you are feeling better your UC will return and each new flare often gets harder and harder to treat, requiring you to constantly move up the med ladder to more and more dangerous meds. That's why it is so important to continually take maintenance meds forever because the earlier meds are safer for your system than flaring again and moving up that med ladder. You can't ever get complacent, ever, because UC is waiting for you to make one mistake and then it will stab you in the back. I can't tell you how many people have posted here saying they went into remission, quit taking their meds, and now they are in worse shape than they were before. Please don't let that happen to you.
Posted 1/4/2014 3:48 AM (GMT 0)
it helps when i am on it but when i get low, i'm screwed. my maintenance meds haven't worked so i have been on prednisone since july. i am trying to taper again and am on a new medicine. i hope this will take the place of prednisone because i ended up in the hospital again after i got down to 1 mg last time.
Posted 1/4/2014 4:03 AM (GMT 0)
I did great on pred the first time I took it, I tapered at 10mg a week and got down to 2.5mg without any problems. It was a miracle, I thought i was going to be lucky enough to taper off with no isses and continue maintenance with Asacol - this happens for some people, look up fruitgirl, she taperd off and continued ASAs and stayed in a long remission. Unfortunately for me, I went back into a very bad flare up and had to start over. The second time around, it was harder to taper down. Eventually I got off but had to start 6mp.
Posted 1/4/2014 4:13 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the replies. I tried to change my profile to explain more, but I guess I should just explain here. I have had UC (entire colon involvement) since 2002. Have been on asacol since. Only had one mild flare that just involved on increase to my asacol many years ago. Went through a pregnancy with no problems. Three years ago I had a colonoscopy and things looked good. Just had another routine scope and doctor found inflammation and two polyps. I wasn't really having any outward symptoms so I was surprised. Doctor wanted to put me on Imuran, but since I don't have symptoms I was hesitant because he said once I'm on it, I'm on it for life. He tried an increase to my asacol (now the HD version) and did blood work to check my infamitory markers and said it didn't change so now he has me doing the prednisone for the 8 weeks to see if that will work. If it doesn't, he wants me to do the Imuran.

I have been also wondering if there is something else to try before doing the Imuran.

Post Edited (lovinmykids) : 1/5/2014 9:11:37 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/6/2014 12:47 AM (GMT 0)
Anyone have good experiences with tapering off prednisone. I heard enough of the negative,so I am hoping to hear some success stores to inspire me.
Posted 1/6/2014 1:29 AM (GMT 0)
I guess my prednisone experience would count as both good and bad. It didn't work for me...at all. But, that said....I was on a fairly high dose for about 4 months and I only had a few side effects, they were minor and very tolerable. Once it came time to taper off if it I didn't have any trouble with and increase in side effects or with any withdrawl or adrenal issues.
Posted 1/6/2014 1:42 AM (GMT 0)
My story is the same as UCwhat. .. prednisone did not work for me... but even on high doses I didnt really have terrible side effects. And tapering has been no biggy.

Almost off! :) but yeah, it can be hard to taper off, but if you have any questions stop here and ask us! We've got a lot of combined experience with everything :D
Posted 1/6/2014 1:47 AM (GMT 0)
If you are worried about it talk to your doctor and tell him you want to get off of it sooner. Better now than wait - before it's too late.
Posted 1/6/2014 1:51 AM (GMT 0)
John is correct. If you are absolutely sure that prednisone does not help you at all it is to your benefit to get off as quickly as possible. Instead of doing a long drawn out taper you can do a much quicker one.
Posted 1/6/2014 2:06 AM (GMT 0)
I did great on pred -- I responded quickly, was only on a high dose for a very short time, and tapered off with no issues. I was on the max dose of Asacol and used mesalamine enemas nightly throughout the process, which I am sure helped.
Posted 1/6/2014 2:23 AM (GMT 0)
Pred is the ultimate troll med, imo.

It doesn't even work in the sense that people think it does. It doesn't give your colon 'time' to heal: steroids impair the healing process. I clinically responded very well to Pred (as in inflammatory markers went right down, symptoms disappeared), but my colon was knackered. I stayed on 40mg for weeks before surgery; after the surgery, the pathology report showed severe inflammation everywhere. Not an ounce of healing had occurred.

By all means go on Pred and try to replicate fruitgirl's story. But if you don't have that degree of success the first time, then you never will: Pred is also a story of diminishing returns. In other words, it tends to work best the first time you take it, and then ever so slightly less well each subsequent time you go on it after that.
Posted 1/6/2014 4:46 AM (GMT 0)
I am on my first Pred stint. I am scheduled to be getting off of it in the next week or so. Luckily, I have not had any real side effects other than a little weight gain in my face. I have heard many of the horror stories of steroids prior to getting on it. From what I gather, sometimes it works for people to get them through a flare, sometimes it does not. It only worked for me when my Doc combines it with Lialda. But, now that I am coming out of this flare, I am very happy I went on it--and trying not to get too anxious about what it will be like coming off of it.
Posted 1/6/2014 5:53 AM (GMT 0)
I've used prednisone to stop my flares since I was a teenager. It's the only thing that worked in addition to asacol and rectal meds.


I started at 30 mg. Sept. 1st and currently at 10 mg. and tapering. My UC symptoms have stopped :) Good luck to you!! Good luck to us all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply