Side Effects

[anonymous]

Howdy...Just hoping u all could add ur knowledge and inform me (as well as others) of the side effects of prednisone. I mean, we are all on it from time to time, but i can't seem to find any reasonable information on the long-term side effects. There are often references on here that suggest that pred is really bad over a long time (i.e. several courses on-on-and-off in our life) but, what are these effects? Anything u could think of would be great. Its not that i'm at all paraniod (in fact, i'm rarely on it) but moreso curious of what the big hoophah is over (and why doc's are so hesitant to prescribe it at high doses). Thanks a bundle (cause i know u know all about this!).....

 

[anonymous]

heya!i have been on pred for years, maintanance dose is usually around 10-15 mg for me......the biggest long term side effects i know of are a)it can induce drug related diabetes/underlying predisposition to diabetes and b) it can weaken your bone density causing osteoporosis and related complications.i have now developed CFRD (diabetes) and they say it is related to the steroids but i probably had a predisposition to it. also i take residronate to combat errosion of calcium off my bones....thats all the info i have really, sorry its not particularly in depth, but hope it helps! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[kybert]

steroids are the devil, but boy do they make you feel good [at first]. ok there are the things the person above said, diabetes, osteoperosis. heres some other side effects, cataracts, insomnia, hair loss, hair growth [in all the wrong places if youre a girl], weight gain, psychosis, paranoia, constipation, hyperactiveness, lowered immune system, withdrawal symptoms if stopped suddenly, thinning skin, easy bruising, glaucoma, acne.... THE LIST GOES ON. not trying to scare you, but, 90% of these things happen to me. some side effects wear off and some hang around.there is a book around called 'coping with prednisone '. this book tells you the dos and donts of steroid therapy and its nice to know there are others out tere going through the same thing.by the way, i hate ABPA!

 

[anonymous]

The person above covered a lot of it. It can also stunt your growth and cause your body's defense against stress to shut down. I was on Prednisone for 17 years (40 mg every other day). It caused my sight to deteriate considerably. My elementary through high school photos show how bloated I was at the time. I am 4'9 everyone else in my family has hit 6 feet (females included). I also developed what my doctors call bone melt.I have been off of the drug for almost two years now. I've thinned out a bit. Because, prednisone caused my adeno glands to shut down I have to take a small dose of an ihaled steriod just to help me get through everyday stress. I have to take Fosamax to conteract some of the bone melt and I take Diflucan to conteract the yeast infections (that could be caused by other drugs as well). Basically, prednisone caused me a great deal of pain while growing up (was on it since age 3). If you don't seriously need the drug I'd suggest you stay away from it.

 

[anonymous]

Last I was on Prednisone, I did a lot of research on it - go to Google.com, type in:side effects Prednisone, and click on any of the sites that pop up -all of the sites list pretty much the same thing. It has a LOT of side effects, you'll notice, and a lot contradict each other (ie. feelings of depression, feelings of euphoria, skin rashes, clear skin...etc.) this is because typically, it enhances the problems you already have (ie. depression) or it literally can bounce back and forth day to day. The big thing is bone mass loss, muscle weakening, joint problems, and diabetes. Also - go to Google and type in prednisone chat boards, there are a lot of chat boards dedicated to it where people support each other - I found them very helpful!