Prednisone during marathon training????

[irishtwins1112]

So.....the stomach virus I thought I had appears to be my ulcerative colitis flaring. I haven't had a flare for over a year. I called the dr today to get an appointment and he is already on vacation. The nurse was able to get in touch with him and he called me in a 3 week long prednisone taper to get the flare under control. Flares involve fiery bouts of diarrhea, stomach cramps, and nausea.....so I need this to be taken care of if I expect to continue to train for and finish the marathon. Does anyone know if there is any reason why I couldn't do the marathon while taking this medication? Of course..... I googled it.....like a dummy and now I am concerned about tendon rupture. I mentioned it to my nurse and she said she had never heard of that. I will discuss it more thoroughly with my Dr next Thursday, at my appt but was just curious if anyone had any experiences with it in the meantime.

Thanks!

 

[KristinU]

I recently had a round of prednisone for a bad poison ivy rash that I couldn't shake. It was I believe a 10 day taper, so a little shorter than yours, and I'm also not training for a marathon currently, but I'm training for a half and average about 20 miles per week. I also practice power yoga and do some indoor rock climbing, just to give you a background of my activities. Anyway, I did fine with it. I was worried about dizziness as a side effect, which seems to be one of the more common ones, so I was a little tentative in yoga during the first few days of the high doses, and I avoided inversions and poses that really focus on balance. Otherwise all was OK for me.

The colitis sounds like not so much fun at all...I hope this does the trick for you and you don't experience any ill affects!

 

[WhereInFlorida]

I have done a similar therapy for the same symptoms before and had no ill effects but was only in mid-season training without the intensity leading up to 4 weeks before a marathon.

It is a steroid and anti-inflammatory so those should be good things for those small aches and pains that come up

 

[irishtwins1112]

Just looked at my prescription bottles......It is a two month taper . The last time I had to take steroids for this long I gained about 50lbs and my face swole up like a beach ball.......I am soooooooooooooo NOT looking forward to this process!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cewait]

It is definitely worth a visit with the doc when you see him. I cycled with a guy who was on couple rounds. A couple times we had to whoa up for a case of dizziness, but otherwise, he was OK. I would talk with the doc and get his input on how to deal with the dizziness, should it occur. Otherwise, as a coach, I am not aware of anything else that would keep you from running the mary.

The good news is that any other tendonitis may heal up while undergoing the treatment.

Good Luck and get well

 

[mom4graceandlogan]

I did my first half at Disney a few years ago while in the middle of a prednisone taper for ulcerative colitis. I also read about and was worried about tendons but did not have a problem. The prednisone actually probably helped me finish, physically felt great. The down side was the difficulty sleeping, the prednisone rage kind of feeling(although being a Disney greatly helped) and an extreme fear of would I be able to finish vs. being stuck in a bathroom. I was sicker than normal the morning of the race, I think from anxiety, but got up early enough before the race so my body could kind of work things out before race time.(could not sleep because of the pred anyway.)

I will be running the half again next weekend and I too also just went into a flare after not having one for almost two years without meds. Unfortunately I don't have a doctor right now to go see, can't get in to see one until after race. Would love to get my hands on a dose
of prednisone prescription even though I hate the side effects soooooo much. I am very worried about finishing the race without any problems urgency issues. Currently I am bad shape for the first two hours and the rest of the day is not so bad. If the race was a 3 p.m. I would be fine. The morning start time has me panicked. I have a prescription for Canasa with one refill left and am taking slippery elm bark powder and the vsl-3 probiotic. Last time I had a flare the slippery elm bark powder and vsl-3 got me close to remission before I could get in to see my doctor. If you have not taken it before the slippery elm bark powder really helps calm the urgency issues. Good luck, I would recommend getting something from your doctor to help you sleep while on the pred. for before the race.