Side effects of prednisone disappearing

[katarzena]

Next week I will be put on 8mg methylprednisolonum (equals 10mg prednione)
What are your experiences with side effects disappearing on such low dose?

[elephant]

Moon face...this is just me....started to disappear. Less sweating and hot flashes. I had more energy. You may have less acne. Everyone is different, I' sure the other's will inform you too. :)

[katarzena]

Ah the moon face. Hopefully it will be completely gone.
All of my side effects were gone when I was on 20 and my moon face definitely got smaller. But I can still see it. I must admit I tolerate steroids pretty well but still. Wiish it would completely go away. It's about time :)
I wonder about other's replies when they lost their moon face..?

[Sangye]

I don't remember-- I think it was about 20mg. I was much more bothered by the huge weight gain I experienced. I started on 1,000 mg IV pred and tapered from there, though. The huge doses have far worse effects.

[katarzena]

Can't imagine being on such high doses :/ I believe you've been through much much worse then some of us and I'm still complaining. :/

[Sangye]

LOL-- it's all relative.

[elephant]

Don't feel bad, it is good to vent here and get it all out.

[Col 23]

Ah the moon face. The weight gain, the moods and melt downs. All meds affect us all differently depending on doses and biological factors. Im still grieving for my before Pred body, personality and am still embarrassed by the crazy melt downs Ive had. Now Im a little more positive and feeling a little bit better but I bet I sounded crazy when I first started posting. Maybe Ive just got use to being this way however Im too scared to read my early threads just yet. Hang in there.
Col 23

[elephant]

I am down to 8 mg of prednisone, hoping quietly the wegeners doesn't flare real bad. My moon face is all gone! I still get moody, and when I am ready for a melt down...I head out to "whole foods'...comfort food. Oh yea!
Col your not crazy, your normal....

[Sangye]

Elephant, I'm so glad you're down to 8mg!!! That's 20% less than usual, right? Every little bit helps. Each time I've lowered by 0.25mg and get stuck there a few days, I think "If I never could get below this, at least it's lower than where I was."

[elephant]

Sangye, yes I am down to 8mg, and I am nervous because after I exercised today my ears clogged up and I sound like I have a cold. I know if I don't exercise I will have less sinus issues. But I feel great after I exercise, except the sinus and ear didn't like it. Darn it!
Sangye how much prednisone are you on now? 2.75?

[Sangye]

I'm down to 2.25 but tomorrow is my first day at 2.0 mg. I don't have any joint pain and other Wegs symptoms, so I'm really glad.

Elephant, I have a suggestion. Each time you drop to a new level, it takes awhile for your body to compensate and level off. I think it might work if you did extremely low-level exercise for a week or two each time you drop a bit, until you feel like things have settled down. You're producing endorphins after exercise, which may be masking the exertion.

Do you ever notice a slight feeling of sleepiness while you're exercising? It's like your body has energy but you're head is falling asleep. I get that when I'm doing too much. Very strange sensation, but I know to listen to it.

[elephant]

Sangye that is great! So when will you be completely off it? I have not felt sleepiness, just tired sometimes while exercising. I will have to keep an eye on that. Tomorrow no exercise. Just lay like broccoli. :)

[Sangye]

It's the tired thing. For me it feels like someone suddenly injected anaesthetic. No warning first-- no sense of physical fatigue. The moment it hits I stop. The best is to stop before it even hits. I'm getting better about that.

I'm planning to be off pred by June 26, which is my 4 year anniversary of Wegs dx. It just worked out that way.

[jola57]

Yeay Sangye, I so hope you will finaly start to get better and better.

[elephant]

Sangye, June 26 will be a big day for you! Can't wait for that day!

[Sangye]

Me neither! Today was the first day of taking 2mg. It was great not to have to split any pills into halves or quarters. I take it first thing in the morning and my fine motor skills are not online yet. If I split them ahead of time I'd still have to handle the itty bitty pieces.

[Col 23]

Sangye and Elephant, thrilled to hear good news for you, I too am reducing Pred but my Rhuemy doesnt know yet. Well if she took my calls she would. Im down to 15mg two days ago. Yes I did speak with my GP doc, he did tell me to taper slowly but I took it down by 5mg from 20mg instead of the 2.5 he suggested. I had been on 20 for a month and after a few minor flares was okay. If the 15mg is okay, I will be reducing by 2.5mg after that and slower after that. I will be having a chat to my Rhuemy about this on Wednesday.
Im still on 25mg of Methotrexate and I hope I will be able to go lower on that soon. I actually had some energy today. Wow... Fingers crossed. Could also be the extra antidepressants have kicked in and masking things, we will see.
I have been monitoring your tapering and learning from that so thanks heaps for the posts on your progress.
Col 23






Col 23

[Sangye]

Col, I bet I'm not the only one wincing that you're lowering the pred faster than your rheumy advised. Please take it slowly so you can avoid repeated flares.

It may well be that the antidepressants are balancing your brain chemicals better. They don't mask anything though-- just return things to a normal balance. At any rate, I'm really happy to hear you're feeling better. :)

[Cindy M]

Sangye, I am so glad to hear that you will be off the preds soon. I am down to 40 mg a day which is the lowest I have been on since I started in Jan/09. I really like your explanation about the head feeling like its gone to sleep, didn't quite know how to explain it but you said it perfectly. I went for a bone density test a couple of weeks ago and the results came back great. My rhuemy said they were better than good, but with that said, I was somehow pulling the sheet from under me in bed and ended up hurting myself. I went for xrays last thursday to see if I had fractured a rib, I reinjured it on Sunday by just getting off the couch. I have been in so much pain...laying down, getting up, forget trying to cough of sneeze, hopefully it will get better. I am wondering if I maybe pulled a muscle or something else.

Anyway Sangye, the end of June will be a great time for you and me. I finally get my new place on June 30th. I have been living with my sister since Jan 15th so I am ready to get my own space. I think she is too. It's been okay but I am really excited to get my own place.

[Sangye]

Cindy, I'm so glad to hear your bones are doing well. You must have had "supernormal" (above average) bone density before you started pred. I did too and it has saved me.

I wonder if you misaligned a rib. Did you feel it pop or slide out of place? A rib misalignment can be quite painful-- stabbing pain, hard to take a breath. They usually don't realign themselves, and the longer you wait to get it fixed the harder it is to keep it in place. The good thing is that a chiropractor can get it in place very easily and you'll feel great on the spot.

I'm glad you're getting a place of your own. I like living with me. You sound like a nice person to live with. I bet you'll enjoy you.

[Cindy M]

Thanks for the nice words.

I am not sure what I did, when I was in bed I was trying to pull the sheet from underneath me and felt a sharp pain and then depending on what I was doing it got worse. It was more manageable as time went on. But then on Sunday when I was getting off the couch I reinjured it, it felt like another sharpe take your breath away pain. It is still tender to touch, but is getting a bit better for movement although I am limited. Sunday to Tues were almost unbearable. I still have not gotten the results back from the doctor. It will be a week tomorrow (thursday). I can take a deeper breath now so maybe I just pulled a muscle or something. I guess time will tell.

By the way, I am not sure how everyone else is doing with the heat, I have never been a big fan of the extreme heat and even less now. I tend to pray for rain and cooler days, wind blowing and nice gentle breeze.

[elephant]

Hope you feel better soon, I know how you feel when taking a deep breath it hurts, after my thoracic surgery last year....it was so painful that I was scared to take a deep breath. OUCH!

[Sangye]

The past few days here have been really cold-- like late fall. I'll take cold over heat any day. I'm glad your rib is feeling better, Cindy. Hang in there-- :)

[Doug]

Aw, Cindy! Cold or coolish weather for me, too!

[coffeelover]

It's the tired thing. For me it feels like someone suddenly injected anaesthetic. No warning first-- no sense of physical fatigue. The moment it hits I stop. The best is to stop before it even hits. I'm getting better about that.

I'm planning to be off pred by June 26, which is my 4 year anniversary of Wegs dx. It just worked out that way.


Sangye,
I am so glad you are getting off the pred! I know the little time I was off I had that very tired feeling that you talk about....but I assumed it was because I probably should not have been off the pred? Anyway, I am rooting for you and so glad for you that you can eliminate that awful, yet miraculous medicine from your daily routine. I am still on 10 mg for another few months then at my rheumy appt yesterday, we decided that after the next few months we may drop it my 1 mg for a few months and move on from there. Keeping my fingers crossed!

[elephant]

Coffeelover, sounds like a good plan!

[Sangye]

I hope you can get off the pred, Lisa! Your plan sounds reasonable and safe. :)