Re: Predisone and the effects on my body

December 1, 2004

Hi ,

Sorry you need to start on Prednisone. I have only been on it once, and only

for a month or so a few years back. I found that my emotions were hard to

control and it did increase my appetite. Other than that, I will have to defer

to other members who have more experience with Prednisone.

I wish you all the best with it!

In a message dated 12/1/2004 11:28:15 AM Pacific Standard Time,

lisa.a.nowlin@... writes:

> I am going to have to start taking predisone in the very near future,

> and I have had many concerns as to what it might do to me. I have

> heard that it causes drastic personality changes, much weight gain,

> horrible acne, depression. You name it and it seems to do it. Could

> some of you that take this drug tell me how it is effecting you, what

> I need to look forward, etc.? If it does cause alot of weight gain,

> what avenues can I take to keep it off? I know exercise, but what

> about meals, etc? For personality changes, I deal with many people

> in a day's time, and the last thing I need is to go spastic and try

> to stangle someone!

>

> Please, someone give me a good feedback on this drug, so I can set

> my mind at ease.

>

> Thanks,

>

December 1, 2004

Hi :

You will probably get a lot of different responses on the effects

Prednisone will have one you. I haven't had a lot of the personality

change problems many speak of, but I am also on Effexor which I

suspect may be helping a lot.

As for weight gain, I do have a moon face and some swelling in my

abdomen, but the benefits are far outweighing the temporary effects.

No doubt I am looking forward to weaning my dosage so I can know what

I really look like now. I was diagnosed in May 2004. Immediately

after diagnosis I went on 80mg/day, currently I am at 40mg/day. Then

due to the aggressive nature of the disease I have and not having any

appetite (due to such a high dosage), I lost 60lbs and became

malnourished. I have gained back about 15lbs, but no more.

Like I said, everyone's story seems to be a little different and some

cannot tolerate Predisone at all. So just bare with it and see if it

works. If not, then you will probably be able to come off of it.

Good luck.

J.

>

> I am going to have to start taking predisone in the very near

future,

> and I have had many concerns as to what it might do to me. I have

> heard that it causes drastic personality changes, much weight gain,

> horrible acne, depression. You name it and it seems to do it.

Could

> some of you that take this drug tell me how it is effecting you,

what

> I need to look forward, etc.? If it does cause alot of weight

gain,

> what avenues can I take to keep it off? I know exercise, but what

> about meals, etc? For personality changes, I deal with many people

> in a day's time, and the last thing I need is to go spastic and try

> to stangle someone!

>

> Please, someone give me a good feedback on this drug, so I can set

> my mind at ease.

>

> Thanks,

December 1, 2004

Dear ,

This is just my experience with prednisone so yours may be different.

At first your weight stays under control. After a month or two, that's when you

really notice the difference. For example the first month on 10 mg I gained

about 2 lbs. The next 2 months, I gained about 10 lbs.

What to do about it? Well firstly, prednisone will change your body shape even

if you manage to keep the weight off. Your face will become puffy, as well as

your lower legs. Your weight will settle around your waistline more, as well as

under your soulder blades and in the back of your neck. Your arms and legs tend

to lose their muscle tone and become skinny. You bruise and bleed easily. When

you start taking it , you may experience some mood swings- for me they got

better after a few weeks. You do get more acne, but not horrible. You are more

susceptible to infections, like yeast infections, bacterial infections, ingrown

toenail infection ect...You can control some of that with good hygiene.

Prednisone will make your BP go up a little, but if it's helping your kidneys it

won't be too high at all, especially if you are already on a BP med. You will

feel wide awake after you take it and more tired at night. Usually it's taken

in the morning. After a few months on more than 7.5 mg dose, prednisone will

take over your adrenal glands' job. That's why you have to taper slowly if you

are on it past a few months, to give your adrenals time to " wake up " and start

doing their job again.

Prednisone will raise your blood sugar. This is controlled with diet- just do

not overindulge with the sweet stuff. It can give you symptoms of low blood

sugar between meals ( dizziness, nausea, weakness) so eat lots of healthy

snacks.

If you're like me, you'll find that certain foods or drinks do not mix well with

prednisone. For example, prednisone and orange juice, and believe it or not,

prednisone and milk. I take it with yoghurt right after breakfast and that

seems to work well for the stomach upset. Always take with food, and try not to

taste it- it tastes absolutely horrible.

Diet: In- vegetables, fruit, small portions of meats, whole grain bread, eggs.

out- most sweets (enjoy in moderation), spicy foods, acidic foods (like tomato

sauce)

Prednisone makes you want to eat more. The secret is to have alot of healthy

snacks all day long. Like carrot sticks, cheese, fruit.

I have oatmeal for breakfast and soup for lunch. At dinner I try to eat smaller

portions.

Exercise: it's very important to keep your muscle tone. I can do about a mile

per day walking, and that's the limit. Without any exercise, you will tend to

gain weight pretty quickly.

The benefits: Kidneys usually love prednisone- proteinuria goes way down,

ect... It makes you feel great. Your aches and pains are gone, you have

energy. It doesn't make me depressed, it makes me happy. Prednisone and coffee

in the morning and for a little while I can maintain the illusion that I'm not

sick. Then again it's different for me because there's some disease attacking my

muscles and joints that prednisone stops.

It's all risk versus benefit. For me the benefits definitely outweigh the

risks. It's really not as bad as it sounds.

Best wishes ,

-beth

December 2, 2004

,

I did not realize that it have been six years for you! That kind of track

record is very common for MPGN patients. Thanks for such a positive post.

We're in your club. The benefits of pred far outweighed any problems for

us.

Cy

Re: Predisone and the effects on my body

>

> ,

>

> I have been on prednisone for over 6 years now (5+ pre-tx, 51 weeks

after). I have had some side effects, mostly " mood enhancement " (that's a

nice way of saying that the high doses really made me an a-hole). I started

at 120 mg/every other day, and now I am on 5 mg/day post tx. The high doses

are very hard on your body, mentally and physically. I had more energy at

first, but my emotions were all over the board. I could be calm one second,

then explode for absolutely no reason (like the salad fork being closer to

the plate than the dinner fork - have these people no manners??).

Fortunately, my wife and family really let me have it, and I ask for help

from my neph. She gave me the miracle drug Zoloft, and within a week I was

back to normal. If your neph is going to start you on high doses, I would

highly recommend asking about a anti-depressant like Zoloft.

>

> As far as my body, I did get a little moonface (I can only see it now in

pictures), but that has gone. You will need to watch your appetite, because

you will tend to eat and snack more. I work in the food manufacturing

business (I think you do too from the address), so I had to be a little more

careful. You also need to watch your bones, and take calcium and/or a drug

like Fosamax so your bones do not lose too much density. I did not gain

weight on the drug.

>

> I did become prednisone dependent, so I was not able to come off the drug.

But once I got down to the level I am currently on, I have no real issue

with it.

>

> Good Luck.

>

> nowlinlisa wrote: