Prednisone

[Blake nighsonger]

I had a doctor who told me Prednisone over the long term could help with kidneys, but if your kidneys are borderline and you take it, it could cause ESRD. Just before mine failed, I was given prednisone. Of course, there was no way of knowing I was on the brink of ESRD.

[AaishaDar]

If youre on prednisone and you dont feed your hunger meaning you eat healthy normal portion meals do you still gain a lot of weight? I was on it as a kid and i was chubby dont want to get like that again now that Im an adult.

[smartcookie]

I think if you regulate your diet you are okay.  You might still have some facial puffiness, however.  That is from my experience.

[Charlie B53]

When I was taking prednisone daily it increased my appetite which did drive me to eat more than I should have and gained weight.

It is a very difficult task to control your appetite.  Some people manage perfectly well.  I am not one of those people.

[AaishaDar]

Do you need yo stay on prednisone as long as you have a transplanted kindey???

[smartcookie]

Most people do, but not everyone.  When you first get your transplant you are on fairly high doses and then the doctor takes you down to a maintenance dose.  I have heard of a couple people being taken off completely, but I do not think that is the norm. 

[Simon Dog]

My doc told me that when he was a renal fellow, his attending had a patient doing very well long term on an xplant with 5mg prednisone only.   They concluded the dose was so small as to not make a difference, so they discontinued it.    The kidney promptly failed.

The Xplant center I am using tells me that they use a "prednisone free" protocol, which really means prednisone for a few days only.

[AaishaDar]

I understand prednisone is extremely important but I really hate the side effects. Im very familiar with these medications but I cant remember the one that made me lose hair I believe it was cyclosporine.

[PrimeTimer]

I was just put back on Prednisone. Don't know how long I can last. Feel barfers and omg the pain. Feels like my kneecaps are being pried off with a crowbar and my arms pulled from their sockets. Breaking out in sweats. Red blotches on my face and then turned white as a ghost tonite. Just lost 33 pounds but oh well. HAD to go to Krispy Creme. Was the first time in over 5 years. Hubby said if you are going to be bad, make it worth it. I brought home a dozen just for tomorrow. Nope, not going to last like this.

[Charlie B53]

When gout flared up making most every joint in my body feel like it had sharp sand or glass chips in them the Dr's prescribed 10 MG 3 X Daily.  Other than the MASSIVE feeding, I didn't notice any other adverse side effects.  40 pound weight gain before I tapered off and quit taking it.

I have to admit I was skeptical about using prednisone for pain, and it did take almost a week to have a noticeable effect.  I was amazed that it did.  I didn't think anything would help me but a large bore bullet to my brain.

[Simon Dog]

Watch out for upper thigh/hip pain, and insist on an X-Ray and possibly MRI if you have it. 

It took three visits to my primary MD to get an X-Ray at which time I heard "Oh, you have AVN ... you're gonna need a new hip ... prednisone can do this".

[Charlie B53]

Insufficient blood flow to both hips and legs causes massive aches and pain with hardly any movement.  Multiple stents placed in both illiacs immediately after the main arterial 'Y' has relieved the majority of the leg problems however the small branches that feed the hips remain majorly occluded, thus still severely limiting movement before the onset of aches and pain.  X-rays do show what they are calling onset of arthritis. No movement, no pain.  I stay careful.

[PrimeTimer]

I've learned to take it more at the end of the day now with dinner instead of with breakfast. I have too much to do during the day to let pain and nausea get in my way.

[PrimeTimer]

I tapered myself off. Had to. Couldn't take the side effects anymore. My hunger was out of control. Ate a lot of junk and got sick. Continued eating everything in sight anyways and surprisingly lost a few pounds. We recently moved and I've been doing a lot of unpacking and running around so maybe that explains the weight loss. But the hunger, OMG! Got the tiny red spots thing going on, too. Also breaking out in terrible sweats. Freezing one minute, water dripping from my hair the next. And itchy blisters on my hands. Antihistamines help with that. Just couldn't handle it anymore. Hats off to those who can.