Predisone and the effects on my body

December 1, 2004

,

Welcome to the group I'm glad you found us. Why are you going to be

starting on prednisone? Just curious...

I have been on prednisone for 14 months now...don't worry most people aren't

on it for this long. I have had great luck with the drug reducing my

proteinurea from 3900mg/24hr to 140mg/24hr. I also have had many of the " minor "

side effects like weight gain, moon face, acne, and on and on and on..... First

off though let me say it was well worth it since the drug did do what it was

supposed to do and I didn't end up with the major side effects like glaucoma or

the onset of diabetes in people pre-disposed to it already.

I didn't have time to research the side effects of prednisone before I was

on massive IV doses of a slightly different steroid, then onto 80mg daily doses

of prednisone. I think I would have been a bit more worried had I had time to

look into things. )

The acne you just live with, nothing will clear it up as it's not a 'true'

acne it's drug induced. Just keep your face clean so you don't end up with

secondary infections and I found that Bare Minerals makeup works wonders on

covering things up without making them worse. The acne can be very deep and

painful at times, again not much to be done for it except let it heal on it's

own. When you hit about 10mg daily it does start to clear up and by about 5mg

daily it's basically gone.

I'm struggling with my weight right now. The first 10 months I did really

well and didn't gain anything...then the stress of my husband possibly losing

his job caused my weight to jump by about 15lbs. I haven't been able to shed

that yet. Eating well, watching your snacks, and keeping up with exercise will

help quite a bit. As my neph said to me when I was upset about working out 3

times a week and GAINING weight " Don't give up on it...it's doing something, you

just can't see it yet. " Meaning by staying up with my exercise program it will

make the weight easier to drop once off the pred and in the meantime it's

helping keep the calcium in my bones.

I had some nasty mood swings early on. If they get too bothersome others

here have had great luck with some of the mood smoothing drugs out there. Your

GP can get you an Rx to counter any major moodiness. I work out of my home and

run my own business so when I was in one of my manic moods my family would just

send me to my room. I have a Game Boy I use in place of Zoloft. )

You need to make sure you are taking some sort of calcium supplement while

on the prednisone to help preserve the calcium in your bones. I take 600mg of

calcium 3 times a day with meals. You have to spread out the calcium intake or

your body will just excrete the extra as waste. Weight bearing exercise is also

highly recommended, low impact stuff like walking or swimming.

One of the other major complaints many people starting pred have is joint

cramping, mainly in the knees and legs at night. Drinking a lot of water in the

evenings will help with this as long as you aren't on any type of fluid

restrictions. The cramps are like Charlie horses in the joints...and HURT like

all get out for hours at a time. Ice packs and drinking enough seem to help if

you have one start up. As your dose is reduced the frequency of the cramping

seems to let up.

Please feel free to ask anymore questions here or you can e.mail me privately at

purrfect@... if you'd like.

Welcome again!

Amy G.

Predisone and the effects on my body

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,

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Thank you

December 2, 2004

,

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: