Feeling Horrible after short term prednisone use

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Ugh please fell me someone here can relate to how im feeling. A few days ago I took a short term dose of prednisone. It was supposed to be a longer dose that included a taper, but my allergist instructed me to just take a short dose and stop. I took 40mg for the first 4 days, and was going to stop after that, but took one more dose for a 5th day of 30 mg. So only 5 days total. My PC told me as long as its under 5 days i dont need to taper. Well around the last day or so, I started to not feel so great. A few days later and ive had tension headaches on and off everyday,muscle aches/pain espically in my neck and back. ive been extremley tired, moody, and just dont feel myself. Ive tried taking ibuprofen and tylenol and nothing helps. Ive also been getting SO bloated after eating or drinking, ive for sure put on weight, and my skin is HORRIBLE. I seriously feel like im falling apart and feel so alone. My doctor thinks how im feeling is unrelated, but ive seen many people on here posting that they felt similar even after a short term dose. Has anyone else felt like this? How long did you feel the way you did and did it take long to go away? I just wanna feel normal again. I wont ever be taking this again, even short term. Ive gotten so much anxiety from this, and its not worth feeling how i feel now.

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3 Replies

  • Posted

    That's horrible buddy!

    3 years back, I also used to take Prednisone when I was suffering from Lichen Planus . I took this for 6 months. Started with 40 mg and gradually decreased the dose. I had some side effects like puffiness of the face, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite.

  • Posted

    I did a 40-40, 30-30, 20-20, 10-10 prednisone dosage 2 years ago and still haven’t recovered. My feet and legs swelled up like balloons, I had open sores with lymph fluid running down my legs. I think I may actually be getting that part under control. But the crazier part is I also was adversely affected with something called Lumbar Epidural Lipomatosis (LEL). My spinal canal is full of fat caused by the prednisone. It has produced moderate to severe stenosis, back pain and weakness in my legs. I may need back surgery. One of my Doctors called me hypersensitive.

    It is recommended in the literature that those who have LEL should not take any glucocorticoids in the future, i.e., cortisone shots, etc. You might consider applying this advice for yourself. I have depended very heavily on weekly physical therapy to get through all this. Acupuncture (old Chinese), has also worked quite well to deal with symptoms. In my experience you can expect very little from your doctors who typically deny giving you a drug that harmed you. So, another solution that sometimes works is to get new doctors, ones that don’t see any reason to defend themselves. In my experience they are more likely to work toward a solution. I don’t know about getting normal again, but you should be able to get a lot closer.

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