Weird benifits of Pred?

Well...not sure what is going on, but since I started taking Pred. I have been having some really weird things happening.  Mostly good.

Not only has the blood, mucos and urgency almost stopped, but.....

My psoriasis on my face is gone, my gums stopped bleeding, my sense of smell (that has been very diminished) is back 100%, my sense of taste is enhightened dramatically, I had scar tissue in some spots that was always sore, that is gone, dry scalp is almost gone, my newly formed fissure from 2 weeks ago is almost gone, my energy level in the morning is outragously high, my mind feels very sharp (almost scary obsesive/compulsive sharp)

Now Ive been on pred. for 12 days now at 50mg. and am starting to notice a couple side affects that are a bit of a pain.....litte insomnia, wanting to have intense conversations or mini arguements, cant stop eating, feeling a little wigged out (like I have to rush all the time) mega dehydration.

Just found this interesting, as I only was finding a lot of negatives about Pred.  Nice to find out that there are some possitives.

Yeah it helps my psoriasis also. Nice perk. ALmost makes up for the insomnia and hunger :-(

Dang, have to change my sig, back up to 40mg pred AND on 50mg Imuran.

My only positive was my plantar fascitis pain went away and hasn't returned the whole time I've been on Prednisone. (Tapering now and should be off in about a week after being on since April 2006. Remicade was the only thing that made my taper successful this time.)

so far, I have been having headaches (not too bad....yet) and had a couple of hot flashes at work, not sure if it's b/c of the screwy temperature changes in my office and stress??

trying not to take any pills for the headaches, have some peppermint aromatherapy stuff from origins and it is actually helping (you put it on your temples, behind your ears and I put a little dab of it on my forehead). I don't know why but it is soothing to me.

Prednisone is both a miracle drug and an evil curse at the same time. I took it about 6 years ago and it was wonderful for the first month. It cleared up all my UC symptoms within 3 days and made me feel like Superman. A month later all the usual side effects appeared, acne, moon face, weight gain, insomnia, mood swings and being tired all the time but couldn’t get much sleep. I couldn’t go below 20mg per day without flaring. After 6 months I finally got off it but I had to go back on a month later for 3 months. I then went into a 2 ½ year remission. When my current flair started, May 2005, I was determined not to go back on pred again. I will not use it again unless I have consistently 15 BMs per day or more.

Good side effects? More time to read because I can't sleep at night? That's about it. But I can definitely leave w/o such perk.

I've been on it since May, in varing doses from 40 to 5mg, currently at 25mg. Recently I was working outside a lot and not drinking enough, and I think my sodium level got high (body supposedly can't get rid of it as easily on pred) - moon face got bigger and I could taste salt in my mouth for a week straight! Trying to make it go away by reducing my sodium a lot and drinking more. The sides of my hands (bones?) hurt sometimes. I think its a pred side effect, but not sure. Vision is affected some. I feel jittering some days.

Ben

Because I started at a somewhat lower dose (40 mg) and am tapering by 5 mg each week, I've actually had nothing but good experiences this time around. Knock on wood. UC symptoms improved dramatically within a day or two, almost like a switch had been flipped. I have energy. I feel good. I wake up rested and ready to go. I don't feel like I need a nap mid afternoon. I've been very careful with my diet and exercise and haven't noticed any swelling or water rentention. I also haven't had the insomnia, constant hunger or night sweats I had when I was on a higher dose.