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Posted 6/25/2015 12:54 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Guys,

I've been on pred for a few weeks now and haven't been able to taper until recently. I'm currently on 30mg / day down from 40 that I've been on for the last 5 weeks or so. I feel like the side effects are just now showing up. Is this normal that side effects kick in during the taper not the max dosage?

Thanks,
M
Posted 6/25/2015 2:12 PM (GMT 0)
It's possible some of the side affects are withdrawal symptoms and it does take some time for the side affects to show up but I don't think a few weeks is the standard
Posted 6/25/2015 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
If you've been on 40 mg for five weeks, you can definitely start having side effects from prednisone. And even though you're tapering, they'll continue, because 30 mg is a relatively high dose.

I didn't see my side effects start to decrease until I was below 10 mg and many of the side effects didn't go away until a few weeks after I was off completely.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Posted 6/25/2015 2:25 PM (GMT 0)
For me, I started with side effects about 3 weeks into prednisone (insomnia, night sweats, racing heart at 40mgs, at max dose). Those disappeared as I tapered and were replaced by new ones (insatiable hunger, bad acne, slight face puffiness, etc). Different side effects at different dosages, definitely kept things interesting.
Posted 6/25/2015 3:00 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah I'm definitely expecting side effects, I was just curious why they didn't show up at 40mg but now do at a lower dose of 30mg. Getting bad acne on my back now and getting a little fat / bloated around the mid section. I'm also hungrier than a horse all the time.
Posted 6/25/2015 3:23 PM (GMT 0)
Timing, I'd guess. Prednisone side effects only occur after X weeks on it, where X varies person-to-person. The dosage you were on when side effects occured is purely coincidental.
Posted 6/25/2015 3:33 PM (GMT 0)
Some side-effects take a few weeks to appear, plus not all people get side-effects at the same rate. Some people get a moon face almost straight away for example, while for others it takes a few weeks.

Most of the time I was on 8-week courses of Pred, starting at 40mg and reducing by 5mg/week. I never really saw any side-effects from that regime, apart from more energy at 40mg (that would go away as soon as I started reducing). Once I spent a few weeks on 40mg, and then I did get the moon face, weight gain on stomach, etc. The moon face went quite quickly after I was finally off Pred: the stomach weight is still here two years later :-/
Posted 6/25/2015 4:38 PM (GMT 0)
As someone already kind of stated, there is a difference between side effects and withdrawal symptoms in regard to steroids. Side effects are usually going to eventually happen no matter what whether you're tapering or not. Timing of that can be different in everyone so the side effects might not show up until you start tapering. Withdrawal symptoms only happen during the taper and they are often worse at the lower doses than the higher doses. Usually there is a difference between side effect symptoms and withdrawal symptoms but it isn't always easy to tell which is which.
Posted 6/25/2015 4:52 PM (GMT 0)
Mine never occur during the highest dose because I usually taper down after a week or two. I am usually thin and sick and I can't tell that side effects are starting to creep up. When I get down to 20mg, I always have a HUGE face and I am gaining weight like crazy. It's awful. I hate steroids.
Posted 6/25/2015 4:54 PM (GMT 0)
I think side effects can kick in at any time and on any dosage. Right now I am on 20 mg of pred for a completely unrelated condition (I had a sudden severe attack of plantar fasciitis on Monday). Prednisone is the only thing I can take for the inflammation -- I was barely able to walk and was in pretty excruciating pain. Pred in a horrible miraculous drug. It can do amazing thing very quickly (I can walk almost pain free after just 2 days) but it can also have really bad consequences. I am experiencing irritability right now and find myself responding to things I would normally just blow off. Not that I think I am wrong to be irritated ;) Just that I don't usually let things bother me too much. I am going to take the day off work tomorrow so I don't get fired lol Thankfully I will be off this stuff by Monday.

Curiously, I have had a different response every time I have been on pred. On higher doses my main issue was sleeplessness. But the last time I had to take a high dose last summer I didn't have any side effects.
Posted 6/25/2015 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
I've generally found that the side effects are related to how well I've been when I've started taking pred.

There have been a couple of times where I have been really not well when I've started taking it and in those cases, I've felt side effects much more than when I've taken pred to knock a flare on the head early.

It effects different people in different ways so I would not worry too much about side effects like moon face, sleeplessness etc. The most important thing is that it is doing its job and that you can taper down and maintain a solid remission!

Post Edited (Jonny_Murray) : 6/25/2015 11:12:54 AM (GMT-6)

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