Prednisone Side Effects

Thank you, I will ask her.

Thank you, I look forward to getting on a lower dose. Started on prednisone 15mg got down to 8 but severe pain returned so back to 12.5. Just now started 10mg. Fingers crossed 🤞

Hi,

I was diagnosed 13 months ago. It has stopped all my activity that I once loved, hiking, biking, walking long distances daily. I continue to walk, but just around my apartment complex.

I took myself off Prednisone for a couple of weeks, doing the tapering. Pain was just too much. Went back on, but promised myself at a low dosage of 5 mgs…it works pretty good, I have bad days but usually due to too much activity. I live on 2nd floor and can only use stairs to get out. Now moving to my daughter’s single family large home. Stairs are the worst so I hope to get better when I move there.

HOWEVER, I PURCHASED A BODY HEATING PAD THAT HEATS THE UPPER PART OF MY LEGS (MY WORST PAIN RIGHT NOW IS THE TOP/BACK PART OF MY LEGS), AND UP TO MY SHOULDERS. WHEN I WAKE ITS EXTREMELY HARD TO WALK. I RELAX IN My CHAIR WITH THE HEATING PAD N MORNING CUP OF COFFEE FOR 25-35 minutes AND I AM GOOD TO GO. Keep moving all day, don’t sit too long.

I have been on and off prednisone, mostly on, for 30 years with PMR but rarely over 10 mg. The biggest problem that I know that I have had is thin skin, which may bruise or bleed easily. Other than that it is a great drug for me. Age 78+

I'm so sorry for your situation. Yes, as others have stated, lower dose = fewer side effects.
I too got PMR after the shingles vaccine . Mine was 2019 I think. Took forever to get a diagnosis.
Also, I hoped to be done in 18 months, but here I am nearly 5 years later... on 2 mg. Was off for sever months ( yay) but after contracting a flu/ virus this summer, it flared again. I guess our immune systems are on high alert and the controls are not working properly. I hope this will go away one day but I'm prepared for the occasional flares.
Stopped dairy and gluten to try to improve my recovery. Seemed to help ( also helped the gut). Have gluten now and then when dining out ( hard to avoid 100%).
Tried acupuncture. Good results. And I don't push as hard at my physical activities.. cut back by 10-20%. These are things that seem to help. Good luck everyone.

I read about the side effects when I started on Pred. So I was prepared. I take a Biotin supplement every day for my hair and thankfully you only need to take one a day of those. I ate 3 dried soft prunes every morning in case of problems with constipation. I make a weekly brew of a parsley infusion. Parsley in a pan with water brought to the boil then turned off and left to go cold. Can add ginger and lemon. Sieved, then placed in a jug and put in fridge. Small glass of that every morning helps everything. The few weeks before I started Pred I found it hard to eat so lost a few pounds so was glad to get my appetite back but I was aware that Pred can make you think you are hungry when you are not. I am an eat to live and not a live to eat person (my hubby is the opposite and drives me mad). I was not going to let Pred win so started eating an orange after my dinner and telling myself this will pass and I will win. I am very aware of things that make inflammation worse and weight gain is defo one of them. You have to take control and be aware of everything you eat.

Thank you, I will try the parsley tea.

Everyone is different, I'm sorry you are having such a tough time.
Walking has turned out to be one of the most important things for me. It feels like a miracle when it comes to reducing daily discomfort, and even though I initially felt awkward limiting myself to just walking around my condo complex, I now know a lot more people, and a lot more dogs.
Exercise is really important too, though I have to be careful not to do to much. But light stretching with bands can be really helpful even on marginal days.

Due to a seemingly bloody left eye which came upon me 7 days ago I have been taking 6 tablets of prednisone every morning for the last 5 days while the lab tried to figure out my MRI and if I really had a need for prednisone. The bloody eye only lasted for 4-5 minutes and was then normal again.
Today I was informed that a biopsy they took from my brain was normal and that I did not need to be on prednisone. In the meantime, they will also do a cat scan in the near future to see if I have any aneurisms.

My Rx bottle tells me to reduce the dosage to 5.5 tablets next week, then 5 tablets, and so on until I am down to 3 tablets for the final week. Can I stop prednisone abruptly without risking further complications?

This would be a question for your doctor.