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Prednisone acne and weight gain...before Senior Prom?!

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Posted 5/7/2014 2:28 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

I'm new to the forums :) Here's my UC story:

Back in March, I began having frequent, bloody, and painful bowel movements that were all liquid diarrhea. I ended up missing school and going to the doctor. They ordered a stool sample and found no bacteria. Eventually, my symptoms became worse. I developed a fever, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting episodes, and more. After much hassle, I made an appointment with the GI and had a colonoscopy/endoscopy on April 10th, and was finally diagnosed with UC. Since then, I have been on Prednisone, starting at 60mg a day, and just began to taper to 40mg a day on May 2nd. I am currently using Sulfasalazine as my main treatment, 4 pills twice a day.

Before all this, my skin was clear and I barely broke out. My weight was 102-105. Now, I have annoying, red little acne bumps all over my forehead and chin/mouth area, as well as a slightly chubby face and weight gain.

Is there any way I can diminish the side effects (acne, weight gain/bloating) of the Prednisone? My senior prom is in about 3 weeks and my sister's wedding is also coming up. Any and all help is appreciated :)
Posted 5/7/2014 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
Heyitsmiriam, prednisone can cause acne as a side effect. And that side effect will eventually go away, once you are below 15mgs or so of it (at least that's when acne went away for me). I'd never had acne before, even when I was a teenager, but pred gave it to me really bad (face, neck, shoulders, back, etc.). It is a hormone-based acne (from the corticosteroids in pred) and therefore hard to fight.

Weight gain is tough to fight, as pred makes one's appetite insatiable. I remember eating a huge meal, and not 15 minutes later being super hungry again, and eating a lot more. I can say ignore the hunger from pred, but it is not easy to do, maybe even impossible. Best to be careful with what you do eat, keep it healthy. Again, it will go away when you reach lower dosages of pred.

I think bloating while on pred had something to do with salt intake, not entirely sure. Maybe others have thoughts on that...

Although I doubt you'll be on a low enough dosage by then. But then again, just go and have fun, and try not to worry about it. Be glad you are recovering and feeling better. This disease does terrible things to our bodies, can be emotionally crushing, and we have to learn to adapt and do the best we can with what we're given.
Posted 5/7/2014 3:41 PM (GMT 0)
Pred makes your body retain sodium, and makes a lot of people crave salt. Really watch your salt use while on Pred and it will limit the weight gain. Also be sure you get plenty of potassium - eating a banana or drinking a glass of orange juice every day will insure this. Pred depletes potassium and can give you killer muscle cramps.

The acne and "moon" face are tougher. Keep up your good facial hygiene. You might want to see a good cosmetologist about some masking make-up just for those special occasions, to make the break out less noticible.

It sucks having issues like this when you're a teen, but especially a prom time! I can only say keep your head high, if people tease either ignore the morons or tell them it's because of a medication you have to take to help save your life (a little dramatic exaggeration, but in these circumstances probably warranted), and move on with your life. Remember, your issues will be gone after you get off the Pred, but their pettiness will follow them through life.
Posted 5/7/2014 5:01 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry to say that there's not really anything you can do. While prednisone can often do this I wouldn't totally discount the Sulfazine. Suflazine can have many side effects as well. You could try taking a 24 hour antihistamine as a long shot. It might help with the acne, maybe. Try eating as little salt as possible, like zero.
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