Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis Support Group

I've been on Prednisone several times over the years. This last time I was on it from August 2008 until just about a week ago.

Here are some of my side effects: Hungry all the time, weight gain, night sweats, mood swings, the first week normally lots of energy, wired & jittery, trouble sleeping, dry skin, blurred vision, joint aches, depression....but the good thing is that it did help get the crohns under control.

Good luck to you.

I'm on prednisone at the moment, have been for about 5 weeks and i;m on a stepping down does for the next 5 weeks. Hate to say it but YMAMOT is right. I experienced all of those side effects plus my hair has been falling out as well. If it's only a short time then it may not be as bad. And every drug can effect everyone differently to.
The things we go though to try and be healthier hey :)

I have been on pred twice. The first time was over the summer when I had a bad rash and my derm gave me an Rx. It was for 3 weeks. It cleared up the rash and UC symptoms within 2 days.
I've been on it again for the past week b/c my UC flared up after I was on anti-biotics. I will be on it for 2 months slowly tapering. My symptoms are increased appetite and energy. I take it right after breakfast and have had zero problems sleeping. Not everyone gets the terrible side effects. I was very against taking it when I was first dx'd w/UC but as long as it's used only in the short term I don't think it is that bad.

I have really grown to not like taking pred. Usually, I get the jitters and get hyper; I usually don't sleep well when I am on it, and I have mood swings from nice to mega-bitch. I usually tolerate it b/c it stops the inflammation and bleeding in my colon. I have also noticed that my hair gets pretty dull. Some people have problem with acne.

HI MissLucy,
I have been taking Prednisone now for about 2 weeks and I have had all of those side effects, however a little FYI (1)I have UC and (2) Asacol has alot of those bad side effects as well. I am what I consider a hardass Infantry Staff Sergeant and I have cried like 4 times since I started taking all of the Meds they have me on. Just so you know though I started off feeling better with the Prednisone then I some how got worse and have been that way till presesnt. Best of wishes to all you and I hope they find a cure soon this is Miserable.

After a flair that lasted 18 months, I was put on Asacol and Prednisone. I was better in three days. I'm in the fifth week of the six week course of Prednisone. I've experienced all of the side effects mentioned by the others. However, the only long term side effect is osteoporosis, but you really have to be on a high dose for a long period of time. Six weeks is doable.

I was on Prednisone for a bout 12 weeks and i had very few side affects--unfortunately my UC wasn't controlled very well by it. but the worst i remember feeling from prednisone was blurred vision once or twice. tho i realized that if u keep a positive--"im not going to get these side affects attitude" it does a world of wonder. so look at it as a benefit to ur body and it might help avoid these problems. good luck!

I've been taking prednisone for over 2 years straight now. Honestly, the side affects are horrible, I now have osteoarthritis in my knees, however if I don't take it, because my crohn's is steroid dependent, I can literally spend all day everyday in the bathroom. So thanks to the prednisone I can leave my house :) We have attempted to take me off it, and it was rocky at first, couldn't get down to 15mg (from 40mg) without having a BM. Now I am trying to 20mg daily, hopefully I can get down to 15mg next week. This is how my doctor has me doing it.. Week 1-30-20-30-20-30-20-30
Week 2 20-15-20-15-20-15-20 etc till it's 0

Hope this helps

Hey there MissLucy,

As much horrible advice there is about Prednisolone, I find it so helpful for my Colitis. I just got out of hospital on Friday and have a course for the next 4xweeks to help me improve. It really works well, Yes I gain weight, but I manage to hover around 65kgs which isn't too much above normal. I watch what I eat (Dont over indulge with the urges) and make sure I exercise even when I think I cant.

Not much other bad side effects, other than achy muscles. Will pray it helps your symptoms ASAP and your flare settles down.

Missboo.

My son has been on Prednisone twice now in the last year (about 2 months each time) and it did what it was supposed to - reduced the inflammation. This is good! Focus on the good! He did have some joint achiness when he was tapering, but the only other side effects were the usual bloating (his face got puffy, which is tough on a teenager, especially when you have always been very thin), and a couple of incidents of scary mood swings. But when he learned to recognize that his mood was because of the steroids and not "him" being out of control, he was able to deal effectively with it. (We'd ask, is it Roid Rage? And he'd say yes and we'd just hold him till it passed. This only happened a few times in the combined 4 months, so nothing to get anxious about!)AND the puffiness went down when the steroids left his system. Hard to love the stuff, but as Risk v. Benefit goes, it seems to be worth the risk. Feel better!