I've had UC since 2010 and the first thing they gave me was prednisone.
If you neeeeeed to take it for very short periods of time and in small doses, do what you have to do, but whatever you do, dont let them bully you into taking something like 40mg a day for a few months. This stuff is OF THE DEVIL!! And you will have PERMANENT issues that started with prednisone, regardless of what they tell you.
Nevermind that you get so hungry that once you've eaten everything in your house.... the fridge itself, and possibly your own arm... Add to that: getting moody and easily frustrated, impatient, and angry, and so tired from it messing with your sleep, that you just want to cry. I now also have to pluck my chin. yay. It made me gain about
30 pounds... which I never lost the weight they promised would just come off when I weaned off it. After that 30 pounds, I have steadily gained (with a few yo-yo's), to where now I'm about
80-100lbs overweight.
But the WORST thing was that it caused me to get pancreatic attacks. I don't know if you're familiar with what that is or not, but its the most painful thing I've ever experienced..on par if not worse than childbirth (because with a pancreatic attack there is no respite...even labor contractions die down for a minute so you can breathe. This gets increasingly worse with no breaks until you think you are going to and want to die). My Dr. didn't know what caused the attacks at first, so I would spend a week in the hospital hooked up to IV pain meds and fluids and on a clear liquid diet only. Then when I was well enough to return home, the next day I had to go back to the ER because I got another one. This pattern repeated itself 2 more times and not counting the single days I was at home, I spent about
a month straight in the hospital, until the Dr. finally realized it was the prednisone...(too high of a dosage for too long). At the end of each week I was terrified to be discharged even though I wanted to go home, because I was afraid it would come back. I would avoid it like the plague if I were you, esp if you are sensitive to stimulants.
After several kinds of oral meds didn't work, they finally prescribed Humira, which has kept me out of the hospital for about
7 years. I still have discomfort and occasional diarrhea (but not bloody or with mucous) when I eat things I know better than to eat or if I am going through a particularly stressful time, but as far as flare-ups go, I've not had any bad enough to go to the hospital. So Humira has worked great for me... however, I would not just take Humira and forget about
it. It is a chemical drug, and zero of those are good to take for a really long time.
They say autoimmune diseases cannot be cured, and they are correct if you only use conventional medicine. (This is where I lose a lot of people and they start to roll their eyes).
Conventional medicine is reactive and only treats symptoms, not the cause. They always say the cause of an illness is not known, but it's because they don't look for the cause... let alone a cure.
If you use Humira to let your gut heal, you can heal yourself with the right diet, and eventually come off the drugs. I've known people to do just that and have been clear of their "chronic" illnesses for upwards of 20 years.
I'm not a person that is good with sticking to a protocol or routine so it has taken me longer, but there are things I have slowly added, substituted, and eliminated from my diet that has helped me tremendously. A cashier randomly gave me a book called "patient heal thyself" Author Jordan Rubin, N.M.D., C.N.C., survived terminal Crohn's disease. His story of his experience with alternative medicine. Now he works with Dr. Josh Axe, a medical doctor, chiropractor, and now incorporates natural health to help his patients fight and prevent illness and disease. I bought his book "Eat Dirt" and it has been a tremendous help in my process. I hope this gives you an idea of where to start. Good luck!