1. < Transplants

Help me deal with PREDNISOLONE side effects

Posted by webiondev @webiondev, Oct 12, 2019

Hello everyone. Its been sometime since I last posted. Developed a rejection. I am alsmost 2.5 years post LTX. Since rejection I have been put on 20 mg prednisolone for some time now and my doc wants me to be on this long term as I am responding well to it BUT i have started developing the horrible side effects of this drug such as elevated blood sugar, high cholesterol, overweight BMI! How can I prevent these from getting worse and even reversing?

NOTE: my transplant doc is not interested in dealing with these at the moment and he seems not to be bothered by these BUT i do not want to face a point of no return situation!

Thanks in advance everyone

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livertrex | @livertrex | Oct 12, 2019

That is concerning, I am a transplant up only 3 months. I am on prednisone and I don't like the side effects. If I were you I would try to contact that doctor and see if you could meet with him face-to-face. Is this doctor with Mayo?

REPLY
1 reply
JK | @contentandwell | Oct 12, 2019

@webiondev I am sorry that you suffered a rejection episode. I’m sure that you must have felt that you were out of the woods and would be fine as long as you took your prescribed immunosuppressants.
I was on a higher dose of prednisone but that went down to 5mg where it has been for a long time. I am three years post transplant.
When I had a higher dose I had blood sugar problems too.
If you trust your surgeon and have confidence in them, then you need to go with their recommendations. I think that generally these transplant surgeons are the best doctors around. If you have doubts you should get a second opinion, at a different transplant center. It’s my belief that doctors at the same hospital will not oppose each other.
I will be interested in hearing what you choose to do. In thinking about it, I would get another opinion. I’d rather do that than regret it later.

@livertex More than likely, your prednisone will be reduced somewhat soon as mine was. Some people eventually are able to discontinue prednisone entirely.
JK

REPLY
1 reply
webiondev | @webiondev | Oct 12, 2019
In reply to @livertrex "That is concerning, I am a transplant up only 3 months. I am on prednisone and..." + (show)
@livertrex

That is concerning, I am a transplant up only 3 months. I am on prednisone and I don't like the side effects. If I were you I would try to contact that doctor and see if you could meet with him face-to-face. Is this doctor with Mayo?

Jump to this post

Unfortunatley not at Mayo. In Singapore

REPLY
webiondev | @webiondev | Oct 12, 2019
In reply to @contentandwell "@webiondev I am sorry that you suffered a rejection episode. I’m sure that you must have..." + (show)
@contentandwell

@webiondev I am sorry that you suffered a rejection episode. I’m sure that you must have felt that you were out of the woods and would be fine as long as you took your prescribed immunosuppressants.
I was on a higher dose of prednisone but that went down to 5mg where it has been for a long time. I am three years post transplant.
When I had a higher dose I had blood sugar problems too.
If you trust your surgeon and have confidence in them, then you need to go with their recommendations. I think that generally these transplant surgeons are the best doctors around. If you have doubts you should get a second opinion, at a different transplant center. It’s my belief that doctors at the same hospital will not oppose each other.
I will be interested in hearing what you choose to do. In thinking about it, I would get another opinion. I’d rather do that than regret it later.

@livertex More than likely, your prednisone will be reduced somewhat soon as mine was. Some people eventually are able to discontinue prednisone entirely.
JK

Jump to this post

Thanks @contentandwell . I will try to get another opinion. I am unable to reduce steroid as the moment i reduce to 10 mg my LFT gets worse. I dont know why is this. Even if my cellcept or tac increased it does not help. Only prednisolone dose keeps my LFT somewhat normal.

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Oct 12, 2019

@webiondev, I have to believe that the main priority is the health of your transplanted liver. Do you agree?
After my liver and kidney transplant I was prescribed prednisone and I wanted to get off of it because I, too, feared the side effects. My doctors explained to me that even with the potential risks, prednisone is a drug that works. My doctors based their decision for keeping me on prednisone (low dose) for many years, on their (Mayo) research which showed that in my situation it was the best for me. I took it for around 5 years.
I would like to share discussion with you. I invite you to post your concerns about prednisone. - Prednisone good and bad.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/prednisone-good-and-bad/

Here is a link about Prednisone. In it I found some information that might be interesting to you. I encourage you to read it all. Here is part of what I read:t
"Prednisone provides relief for inflamed areas of the body. It is used to treat a number of different conditions, such as inflammation (swelling)....Prednisone is a corticosteroid (cortisone-like medicine or steroid). It works on the immune system to help relieve swelling, redness, itching, and allergic reactions."
"If you will be taking this medicine for a long time, it is very important that your doctor check you at regular visits for any unwanted effects that may be caused by this medicine. Blood or urine tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects."
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/prednisone-oral-route/description/drg-20075269

Have you asked the doctor "Why?" he wants you to continue at this dosage? Has he given you any suggestions for the side effects that you find bothersome?

REPLY
2 replies
gaylea1 | @gaylea1 | Oct 12, 2019
In reply to @rosemarya "@webiondev, I have to believe that the main priority is the health of your transplanted liver...." + (show)
@rosemarya

@webiondev, I have to believe that the main priority is the health of your transplanted liver. Do you agree?
After my liver and kidney transplant I was prescribed prednisone and I wanted to get off of it because I, too, feared the side effects. My doctors explained to me that even with the potential risks, prednisone is a drug that works. My doctors based their decision for keeping me on prednisone (low dose) for many years, on their (Mayo) research which showed that in my situation it was the best for me. I took it for around 5 years.
I would like to share discussion with you. I invite you to post your concerns about prednisone. - Prednisone good and bad.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/prednisone-good-and-bad/

Here is a link about Prednisone. In it I found some information that might be interesting to you. I encourage you to read it all. Here is part of what I read:t
"Prednisone provides relief for inflamed areas of the body. It is used to treat a number of different conditions, such as inflammation (swelling)....Prednisone is a corticosteroid (cortisone-like medicine or steroid). It works on the immune system to help relieve swelling, redness, itching, and allergic reactions."
"If you will be taking this medicine for a long time, it is very important that your doctor check you at regular visits for any unwanted effects that may be caused by this medicine. Blood or urine tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects."
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/prednisone-oral-route/description/drg-20075269

Have you asked the doctor "Why?" he wants you to continue at this dosage? Has he given you any suggestions for the side effects that you find bothersome?

Jump to this post

I was taken off prednisone about 3 months after transplant. Apparently for me it was unneccary. I was happy to be off it.

REPLY
gaylea1 | @gaylea1 | Oct 12, 2019
In reply to @webiondev "Thanks @contentandwell . I will try to get another opinion. I am unable to reduce steroid..." + (show)
@webiondev

Thanks @contentandwell . I will try to get another opinion. I am unable to reduce steroid as the moment i reduce to 10 mg my LFT gets worse. I dont know why is this. Even if my cellcept or tac increased it does not help. Only prednisolone dose keeps my LFT somewhat normal.

Jump to this post

I was taken off prednisone and cellcept after 3 months post transplant. I only take 1mg tacrilomus every 12 hours. I am now 10 1/2 months post transplant.

REPLY
2 replies
webiondev | @webiondev | Oct 13, 2019
In reply to @rosemarya "@webiondev, I have to believe that the main priority is the health of your transplanted liver...." + (show)
@rosemarya

@webiondev, I have to believe that the main priority is the health of your transplanted liver. Do you agree?
After my liver and kidney transplant I was prescribed prednisone and I wanted to get off of it because I, too, feared the side effects. My doctors explained to me that even with the potential risks, prednisone is a drug that works. My doctors based their decision for keeping me on prednisone (low dose) for many years, on their (Mayo) research which showed that in my situation it was the best for me. I took it for around 5 years.
I would like to share discussion with you. I invite you to post your concerns about prednisone. - Prednisone good and bad.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/prednisone-good-and-bad/

Here is a link about Prednisone. In it I found some information that might be interesting to you. I encourage you to read it all. Here is part of what I read:t
"Prednisone provides relief for inflamed areas of the body. It is used to treat a number of different conditions, such as inflammation (swelling)....Prednisone is a corticosteroid (cortisone-like medicine or steroid). It works on the immune system to help relieve swelling, redness, itching, and allergic reactions."
"If you will be taking this medicine for a long time, it is very important that your doctor check you at regular visits for any unwanted effects that may be caused by this medicine. Blood or urine tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects."
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/prednisone-oral-route/description/drg-20075269

Have you asked the doctor "Why?" he wants you to continue at this dosage? Has he given you any suggestions for the side effects that you find bothersome?

Jump to this post

Thanks so much @rosemarya My doc I guess will explain on next visit. I will raise the issue too face to face with him. 20 mg works good on me and imporves my LFT . I do not know why other immunosuppresion is not working as good as prednisolone.

REPLY
webiondev | @webiondev | Oct 13, 2019
In reply to @gaylea1 "I was taken off prednisone and cellcept after 3 months post transplant. I only take 1mg..." + (show)
@gaylea1

I was taken off prednisone and cellcept after 3 months post transplant. I only take 1mg tacrilomus every 12 hours. I am now 10 1/2 months post transplant.

Jump to this post

WOW ..your lucky! Hope you tolerate this long term

REPLY
JK | @contentandwell | Oct 13, 2019
In reply to @gaylea1 "I was taken off prednisone and cellcept after 3 months post transplant. I only take 1mg..." + (show)
@gaylea1

I was taken off prednisone and cellcept after 3 months post transplant. I only take 1mg tacrilomus every 12 hours. I am now 10 1/2 months post transplant.

Jump to this post

@gaylea1 WOW, You were lucky. That’s the soonest that I’ve heard of being taken off prednisone. I hope that eventually they will take me off of it. I was off of cellcept rather quickly.
JK

REPLY
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