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Side effects of medrol vs. prednisone?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 11/2/2015 6:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hey all,

Can anybody give me a heads up on side effects to expect from medrol and how it differs from prednisone?

The last time I took steroids, I was on them for the better part of a year and while they helped my UC, the side effects were horrible.
Also, have you found one to be more effective for flares than the other?
Posted 11/2/2015 9:26 PM (GMT 0)
Medrol and prednisone are both synthetic versions of cortisol, steroids with the same exact side effects and warnings. Methylprednisolone (medrol) is just a stronger steroid than prednisone.
Posted 11/2/2015 10:29 PM (GMT 0)
I've been on both IV methylprednisolone (solu medrol) and prednisone. I didn't notice much of a difference, however, I have read a lot of people who have tried both in the oral version tolerate medrol better (less side effects). If that's the case, I wonder why the GI's always seem to prescribe prednisone instead.
Posted 11/3/2015 2:03 PM (GMT 0)
I've been one of the lucky few who has never been on pred for my UC but I have been on steroid enemas plenty in the past. One time I was placed on pred for a week after a bad reaction to Remicade when I first started it. Due to my long stint of steroid enemas I am now sensitive to steroids in general and get immediate side effects.

On oral pred I get hyper, emotional, hunger and insomnia. With Solumedrol (which I get now before my Remicade) I just get insomnia. I'm not quite sure of the difference of the two chemically but my GI did say the Solumedrol is stronger than pred which is why they don't like to prescribe it because of the detrimental effects of steroids long term.
Posted 11/3/2015 3:40 PM (GMT 0)
The dosing is different so 5mg pred equals 4 mg of medrol.

Ippop, It is essentially the same drug but they are metabolized differently. I switched from pred to medrol and within a week I noticed my anxiety was reduced and my appetite was not as big as it was with prednisone.
I still had insomnia and got puffy.
If you are taking the same amount they
(40 medrol/50 pred) you will respond the same to your flare.
Good luck.
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