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Re: Hello from Shawny
I've heard Pred described as the devil's tic tacs. I couldn't agree more. They will certainly mess with your emotions, and as Andrew stated, the weight gain is unavoidable (I put on 35 pounds from my weight before being sick). They make me very paranoid, even at the 5mg I am currently taking. However, I can function and live my life so it is just a side effect I've learned to deal with.
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Re: Hello from Shawny
A word about prednisone: People's reactions to it seem to vary widely. Some can't tolerate it, period. Others actually enjoy it, as it gives them more energy for various household projects, etc., and they like how it can quickly clear up symptoms.
I know that pred, as a steroid, is NOT the same as the anabolic steroids athletes use to improve performance. I just searched and found that kind is actually synthetic testosterone! We don't want or need that! Prednisone is a corticosteroid, also synthetic, I believe, and designed to supply extra cortisol beyond what our bodies make, for the purpose of clearing up the inflammation caused by our disease. It is used along with an immunosuppressant, once we have been dx'd. There are other corticosteroids, and one I remember someone using instead of pred was hydrocortisone, not sure if injected or in pills. I'm thinking it was less problematic in some way due to a longer half life. I could be wrong about that, but perhaps worth a search of the archives. It could possibly be an alternative for someone who can't tolerate prednisone. And could be easier to withdraw from?
That's all I can say without my lack of complete understanding becoming obvious! So do some research if you want.
Anne
Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk
Anne, dx'ed April 2011
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Re: Hello from Shawny
Thanks for the responses. I saw my pulmonologist yesterday and she went over the high resolution CT scan that I had this week. It was great news in that no new nodules and the ones there have gotten smaller. However, my labs are still crazy; she said to wait to go over them with my rheumatologist next week. Trying to enjoy the good news of the CT results, but I know something is definitely wrong. I’m on prednisone right now due to severe respiratory difficulties last Friday. She started me on 40mg and I’m tapering off now. Thankfully I’m not having many side effects on this. I’m not sure what the dose is for WG. Anybody able to give me a general idea?
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Re: Hello from Shawny
@Shawny
At disease onset, you may get very high doses of pred. I started at 60 mg. I think there are people on here who have been as high as 80.
Just a word of caution. Don't taper too fast. Your disease symptoms may return, and you may experience pred withdrawal. Neither is fun.
Pete
dx 1/11
"Every day is a good day. Some are better than others." - unknown
"Take your meds as directed and live your life as fully as you can." - Michael Chacey, MD
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Re: Hello from Shawny
Welcome to the family, Shawny.
Sorry about your disease and about your divorce (you wrote about on another thread). I hope you can find a way to reduce the stress and get enough support. We are here for you.
What are your labs ? You wrote that they are crazy.. ?
I didn't gain any weight on the pred ever. Not even on 60mg. I was on 60mg for 5 months when wg strated and one of my wg symptoms was loosing weight. I didn't gain it back. Also I suffer from Colitis and have lots of nausea and diarrhea so it might also explain why I didnt gain weight on the pred. Anyway, I think the secret is to eat carefully, fixed 5 small meals a day. No junk food, no sugary drinks - only water, no oily food, no snacks, etc. No food after 18-19:00 in the evening.
Pred can make us more emotional, even more raging. I had also a nice side effect of the pred: on high doses I cook better. No idea how it works. So whenever I cook something especially good, my older son asks how much pred I am taking
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