Have you ever taken Prednisone?

[Aurora63]

My doc gave it to me this past week to help w/ my bronchitis symptoms. She said it would help w/ the coughing, help ease the inflamation. That it did.

But the first day I started taking it, I was severely irritated. Very very angry all day for no real reason. I even had angry dreams that night.

I am pretty sure it was going off the meds that caused this, but I wondered if any of you had any experience w/ this stuff. Everyone said I would bloat, but that did not happen, thank goodness.

 

[janette]

I haven't taken it but my youngest DD has and it changes her from moody to , thankfully it isn't too often.

 

[BethanyF]

I have taken prednisone in the past and it always messes with me. I get irratable, hungry and bloated. As much good as it can do, the side effects are horrendous. I always dread going on it, even for a shirt term.
As soon as you wean off of it, the effects will go away. Good luck

 

[wilderness01]

Yes, it made me crabby too but it was worth it. I couldn't breathe! I did not get bloated as that is usually a longterm effect and I was only on it a week. Good luck. Hope you feel better.

 

[browneyes]

Yes. I loved that stuff! They put me on it when I was pregnant with my son to stimulate my platelets. I was on it for about 3 months, I think (it seems so long ago). I wasn't crappy (even though I was pregnant), I didn't bloat or gain weight while I was on it (no more than I should have while pregnant), and it made my joints not ache so bad.

 

[AZKathy]

I breathed a lot better with Prednisone. Did not sleep much on it the first few days and was crabby, but it helped my problems with asthma a lot. My DH thought I was difficult to live with when on it.

 

[Dakota_Lynn]

Many people have a love-hate relationship with prednisone. The doc first started making me take it for asthma and allergies when I was 24. I protested every single time I had to take it. It made my insomnia worse, it made my hungry, messed up my periods, made it very easy to gain weight, and it turned me into a *****kitty on wheels. I hated the side effects so much that I would lie and tell the doc I took it when in fact I didn't.

Fast forward to being thirty something, victim of several car accidents and fibromyalgia...I LOVE the stuff and actually ask my doc for it. Yes, it still has side effects and I don't like them. When the dose is high (60- 80 mg daily) I go days without sleeping. BUT...that stuff KNOCKS the inflamation away and the pain goes away. I ended up on prednisone over the holidays because I developed bronchitis. For ten wonderful days, I didn't have to take any vicodin at all. I felt great.

There is one thing that happens to me during the first day or two I'm on prednisone and I'd like to ask if anybody else has this side effect. My muscles hurt really bad...it's a deep awful ache. There is this desire to put pressure on my limbs. I've found that exercise and activity helps the problem, but really, it can be bad. I don't cry from pain easily, but there have been times that I've laid in bed in agony to a point of tears. Now this pain doesn't happen at low doses. And even at high doses it stops by the second day. It's really odd because after that point, it relieves all the pain. Isn't that odd? Does anybody else have this problem???? I've never met anybody else who understands this so I think it must have to do with my own strange body chemistry.

 

[Pugdog007]

Dakota: I've never taken pred but have had those same symptoms with antidepressants. The way I've described it: my extremeties (hands, feet) hurt and feel like they need to be doing something. It's awful.

I've heard of some rescue pugs being put on pred with negative feedback similar to what is stated here for people. The consensus among rescue groups is that you should avoid pred if at all possible for your animals.

 

[TEENEE]

I took it once for about a week. It was awful. Every joint in my body hurt. I hope I never have to take it again.

 

[BabyTigger99]

I have to take prednisone with my chemo regiment for five days afterwards, 160 mg a day. I get food cravings, and a little bloated. I hate when my muscles start aching the next day or so after I go off it. Painful even to the light touch. I have trouble sleeping with it, too, no matter how early in the morning I take it.

 

[cgcw]

I took it for a couple of months with my first pregnancy and almost the entire 9 months with the second. I just remember the weight gain/bloated feeling......but maybe it wasn't the medicine doing that.

I do remember when I stopped taking it that the doctors weaned me off of it very slowly.

 

[luvwinnie]

I was on a low dose for about 8 mths to help my connective tissue disease symtoms. I felt like a new person in about a week! My face did get puffy, but I wasn't crabby.

 

[CindyLouWhoo]

My sister took this for an asthma attack once. She couldn't sleep for days. She was sooo wired. But it did help. It is strong stuff and has side effects - but does its job!

 

[luvmydogs]

Ooooooo...Prednisone makes my ds8 EVIL!!! He had croup a lot up until a year or two ago, and dh and I always dreaded when we saw "Prednisone" on the Rx pad! I took it once to help with a nasty sinus infection, and it made me nervous and jittery. It works great, but can have some none-too-pleasant side effects. Hope you're feeling better soon!

 

[Crankyshank]

I gained 80lbs on it

 

[Robinrs]

It seems they give that stuff out for ANYTHING...

My Dad was on it for his emphysema, they even put my CAT on it when he has cancer!

I watched the chipmunk cheeks, the bloating and the mood changes on my Dad and friends so when my doctor suggested it for my IBS I told him, no thanks! Glad I did, too because it turned out my IBS was food related and didn't need meds.

I am convinced all of the medications they put us on is the reason so many people are having liver problems.

 

[Dakota_Lynn]

Originally posted by Crankyshank
I gained 80lbs on it

Been there, done it, still trying to lose it!

I was on it for an five months once and gained about 35 pounds. I was far more active than usual during that time (the pain was gone so I could do more things) and I ate less, but I still gained. The doctor told me I'd lose it easy after I stopped taking the meds, but I'm still struggling...mostly because they put me back ON that stuff ever month or so!

Yes, they do give this drug for many reasons. Prednisone has strong anti-inflamatory properties, so it will help things like IBS or any other illness that involves inflamation. It is fabulous for asthma. No matter how sick I am with allergies, that prednisone knocks it right out of my body within hours.

If only it didn't have SO many side effects.

 

[korzmom]

yes, iwas on that for about a month for my RA , didnt have any side effects but i do think it caused me to get an infection(not a pretty story so i wont say where) but my DSIL was on prednisone and she got really crazy with it, serious depression and everything...be careful and just inform the doc about these symptoms you're having.maybe theres an alternative.....

 

[Micca]

I was on it for 5 days just a couple of weeks ago. It was the second time I've tried it. I had a severe sore throat for over a week, doc gave me the steroids, and BAM! Sore throat was gone within a day or so If there were any side affects I didn't notice because it was such a relief to feel better

 

[MeanLaureen]

I hate the stuff! Prednisone doesn't work for me for some reason (and it's a common med for AOSD) all it does for me is makes me crabby as heck and miserable.

The put me on Dexamethasone (Pred's "cousin" and a lot stronger) for about 4 months - although you are supposed to be on it no more than 2 weeks..lol

I didn't have the moodiness and for the first month or two I didn't have the swelling. It did help the pain. Then the second month... I woke up, looked in the mirror and the reflection staring back at me looked like what I would imagine I would look line done as a Macy's Thanksgiving day balloon!

They finally took me off of it when it started doing more harm than good - that an when my ankles reached the size of redwood trunks!

Oy.. never want to go there again!!