pred, the gift that keeps on giving!

Hi Deborah, I am glad that at least the pred is helping the pain. I was not just hot, but felt I was in a shower. It has got better as I reduce though. 

I'm warmer than usual and I have hot flushes, particularly in the evenings (I take my dose at breakfast). I've also noted that it happens more when I'm changing doses, either up or down.

Yes Deborah I feel hot most but not all the time. Interestingly I have also had thyroid problems. Some 40 years ago it was very overactive and they cured it by a dose of radioactive  iodine (I have given instructions that I am not to be cremated as it might cause a minor nuclear explosion!). A few years back it has gone underactive and I take 125mg thyroxine pd but this never varies. Why do they chop and change your dose? Seems a bit odd.

first let me send you my sympathies. Prednisone and diabetes is a "fun" combination. Add thyroid and I can't even imagine the "joy". I hope all of that gets settled out soon and you get the correct meds.  

I do feel hot on occasion, but for the most part it's when i'm tapering. I don't have a fever, I just have some weird night sweats or feel warmer than I normally do. Thankfully I'm normally cold so adding a little heat is a good thing . 

Audrey, in 1993 I had a partial thyroidectomy due to me being very overactive. Within a few months I had to start thyroxine as I was now underactive. By 1999 it had regrown and made me overactive again! I then had radio iodine which within a month made me really underactive again. I could barely walk or stand up it was so bad. Since then it has never been stable, hence the ever changing thyroxine dose.

Hi Deborah, yes i find that i am hot all the time, like hot flushes used to be, as a newbie i think it is part and parcel  of pred, sorry i cannot be more of a help. 

Cutting your carb intake will help a lot with the blood sugar problem - it can be done but does require a lot of discipline. Nefret on this forum is also diabetic and I'm sure will be along at some point to offer some suggestions from her personal experience.

Yes - lots of us feel we have permanent central heating but it may not only be the pred. I had PMR for 5 years without being on pred and I was always warm then - caused massive disputes in our house as my husband is permanently cold! Same problem once I was on pred - so it could be either, or both.

Yes it does make you feel hot, I never had hot flushes before, now I find that I get very hot and my face goes a delicate shade of pink!! 

Hi Deborah, yes I can identify with you regarding feeling hot.  At the beginning of my pred journey it was as if I had my own built in thermostat.  I remember it was something like -9 degrees and I was so hot, I was tempted to sleep on top of the covers.  Now being on a lower dose I don't have as much overheating.  Good luck on your journey.  Regards Pat

Thanks for al your replies. Last night we were at a pub quiz with some friends, the other two women were wearing jumpers and said it was a comfortable temperature. I was wearing a thin short sleeved top and sweating horribly. Even the back of my knees were damp with sweat. It's quite embarrassing isn't it?

Yes Deborah I have some mild hot flashes everyday and some increased episodes of sweating, but not as bad as when I had the drenching hot flashes due to menopause. 

I also have had thrush since I started on 15 mg. of prednisone.  I have been taking nystantin swish and swallow for the thrush 4 times a day everyday for months now.  I think I will have to take it daily until I can lower the prednisone dosage.  The nystatin only keeps the thrush at bay but doesn't cure it.

The thrush has caused me to lose my sense of taste.  Everything tastes very unpleasant.  I only eat because I need the nourishment.  What did your doctor give you for your thrush issue?  My doctor just keeps giving me a prescription for more nystatin but no other information.

Has anyone else developed thrush and/or have gotten over it? 

My doctor gave me canestan combi which helped slightly but it didn't go away so he's now given me two doses of fluconazole which is one tablet then the other a week later. Touch wood it seems to be helping.I saw my gp yesterday and told him that I was concerned about the effect the prednisolone is having on my diabetes as he's now had to give me something else to lower my blood sugar. He said that he won't take me off prednisolone due to the risk of sudden blindness with PMR. My inflammatory markers haven't come down as much as he'd hoped and my thyroid

Is still undertreated and he's now put me on 275mg of thyroxine. It's also caused a swelling on my thyroid and I'm now waiting for a scan on it. I (did) feel sooo much better on the pred but I don't know if it's worth all the trouble it's causing.