Prednisone Side Effects

I wouldn't know if prednisone is causing aches, pains, and fatigue. I have Polymyalgia Rhmatica. Prednisone is used to treat it. I do have other sides from prednisone - weight gain, irritability, insomnia.

I have had Polymyalgia Rhmatica for ten years also suffer insomnia....I think that a high prescription of a statin drug caused mine...
I took the statin for three years and did complain of aches and pain but was encouraged to take it anyway.....I am very gradually recovering but cannot do much physical work because of this......

Hi Don @donkrause -- welcome to Connect. I have no medical training or background but have been on prednisone twice to treat my Polymyalgia Rheumatica. Both instances of PMR were treated with a dosage of 20 mg which was tapered until I was able to get off of it and not have any PMR associated pain. The first time the tapering took almost 3 years before the PMR went into remission. The second occurrence I was able to taper off in less than 2 years. Weight gain was the only side effect I had but the second time around I was able to control the gain by better controlling my diet. Each of us are different when it comes to side affects.

May I ask if you are taking any other medications which could interact with the prednisone or also may be causing your side affects? Also, I would recommend having a discussion about it with your doctor if you have not already done that.

Mayo Clinic has a list of drug interactions and side effects here:
-- https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/prednisone-oral-route/side-effects/drg-20075269?p=1

Hoping you find some answers soon.

John

Hi @beryl -- welcome to Connect. I also suffer from PMR but it is thankfully now in remission for the second time. Are you able to share why the statin drug was prescribed for you?

Here are a couple of sites you can use to check side effects for medications:

FDA - US Food & Drug Administration
-- https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm196029.htm

Drugs.com
-- https://www.drugs.com/sfx/

I have recently met with a Lymphedema specialist for some health issues I'm having with my right leg and knee. One of the tests he ordered after talking with me was a sleep apnea test where I took home an oximeter and connected a probe to one of my fingers while I slept. I was really surprised to find out I don't sleep as good as I thought I did. The test results showed I have an abnormal sleep disorder. During the night the oximeter recorded 209 events with a total duration of 138.7 minutes with an average duration of 39.7 seconds. I haven't had my follow up with him yet to go over all the test results so I'm not sure what I will have to do other than probably start using a CPAP mask at night (not looking forward to it). The reason why I mention it is that maybe it could be a reason for the insomnia and you might want to ask your doctor about it.

Good luck!
John

Hello John I was given a statin drug for high cholesterol....60mgs a day .....B

I also don't know if prednisone causes my pain in the muscles I also have ligament pain which is worse I think....can't do the things in the garden that I love to do ...Beryl

My doctor tried to prescribe simvistatin to me for "high" cholesterol but I said no because it's known to make neuropathy worse and in some cases cause neuropathy. I told her I would work some lifestyle changes with the diet to work on lowering cholestrol numbers which I didn't think were that bad anyway and all within the high end of the desirable range for value. I might have a different feeling if my numbers were life threatening but they aren't and the data shows there would be higher risks of making my neuropathy worse if I took the statin.

The implications of statin induced peripheral neuropathy
-- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3103035/

Statin Neuropathy Masquerading as Diabetic Autoimmune Polyneuropathy
-- http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/28/8/2082.1

Medication Induced Neuropathy
-- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11910-003-0043-8

Currently taking Presnidone for Gout. But only on my first prescription .No pain so far.

Hi Glenn @glenner075, I see that you are new to Connect so I would like to add my Welcome and thank you for sharing about taking prednisone. I've been on prednisone twice for the two occurrences of PMR. I recently was able to taper off this past February. I had a flair of gout back in 2007 but was given a different drug colchicine which helped get rid of the uric acid crystals I think. The PMR was a miracle drug for the PMR. The pain was pretty bad without it. I think most of the side effects from prednisone are from long term usage.

John

John, Great information ! And thanks for the welcome! Glenn