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Skin Side Effects with Prednisone

Posted , 16 users are following.

Elijo
Elijo

I posted a new discussion yesterday re: skin breakouts w/ pred and gave the name of excellent products recommended by my dermatologist which have greatly helped me.  Is there no one out there who have had breakouts besides me?  I have not heard any responses!  Help, let me know about you all!   El

1 like, 44 replies

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  • ptolemy
    ptolemy Elijo

    Posted

    Like others I have purpura which can bleed which is a bit messy. These are bigger than petechiae type blood spots in my case. I look as if I have been pruning the roses badly sometimes. I have not had any acne breakouts though. My vascular surgeon said it was caused by the pred. Sometimes I can look as if I have been dragged through brambles. 
    • faye______00403
      faye______00403 ptolemy

      Posted

      The Physician's Assistant I see at the Dermatologist office told

      me to put coconut oil on my arms.  I get the slightest bump

      and you can see the blood under the skin.  I do put the coconut

      oil on my arms, it's pretty greasy and just sit or lay in someway'

      that doesn't touch any bedding etc. for about 30 minutes and then

      take wet paper towels and wipe off what excess I can get off.  It

      doesn't prevent the brusing but the spots are much smaller and

      not as dark.    I'll probably get deleted but then put Arnica Gel

      on the bruises and they go away in about half the usual time.

      I'm not totally clear but my arms look much better.

    • EileenH
      EileenH faye______00403

      Posted

      The Diprobase or Doublebase creams are pretty much non-greasy - if you use your search engine to look them up you can take the "recipe" to your pharmacy and find what your country has that is the same. 
    • ptolemy
      ptolemy faye______00403

      Posted

      I have given up on bruises as I am continually covered in them. As they do not hurt particularly I suppose I am not worried. I even get finger prints from my osteopath! I am not sure why I get the purpura, but it does not seem to be anything to do with bumps and knocks. They fade after a couple of weeks only to be replaced with more somewhere else. Normally on my arms, but also on my legs occassionally. 
  • JandaPea
    JandaPea Elijo

    Posted

    I have had PMR for at least 4 years. Now on 10mg pred and coming down ever so slowly. Desperately seeking the elusive maintenance dose as it seems that I am in for the long haul, tried Metotrexate, Leflunimide and another one I forget with no good result. I too have skin problems which I am sure is as the result of pred. Skin very thin and subject to bruising at the slightest knock and what is scary is the ease at which my skin tears into triangular flaps, and take at least 6 weeks to heal. A complication is that I am taking Warfarin as I have AF and so it takes ages for the bleeding to stop. My balance is also very bad and I am subject to falls. But on a more positive note I find that if I annoint my skin especially forearms and elbows with Doublebase Gel a very effective moisteriser that the tearing is less.

    Wish you luck on your journey.

    • Elijo
      Elijo JandaPea

      Posted

      Thanx for the tip!  I'm a newbie to PMR, 6 wks. on 30 mg. pred.  I have your skin problems!  Wow!  At least I can function.  The warfarin does cause more complications for you, I'm so sorry!  Have a very happy holiday and a healthful new year!
    • EileenH
      EileenH JandaPea

      Posted

      Is your INR well adjusted? I'm on Sintrom, similar to warfarin, for a/f and my husband takes warfarin for a protein C deficiency but neither of us bleed much at all. Maybe we're just lucky.
    • EileenH
      EileenH Elijo

      Posted

      The Doublebase gel and another similar product called Diprobase are usually available on prescription in the UK - and used for eczema patients. They are just emollients but very effective for delicate skin. They can also be used instead of soap products for cleansing - showering just with water is really all you need these days, we don't get really dirty unless we do a lot of gardening or sport. Using soaps (or any other products that foam) just strips the natural oils from already desperately dry skin and makes things far worse.
    • JandaPea
      JandaPea EileenH

      Posted

      My INR is 2.5. and have been for about 3 months.The target is 2.5. I have a blood test every 6 weeks now as I am so steady. Took your advice and eat greens but small amounts and I try to keep the same daily intake.

      Merry Christmas. 

      JandaPea

    • Tastyron
      Tastyron EileenH

      Posted

      Having just started my journey, I'm trying to get my head around all the possible side affects of Pred. Having found out here that a possible bleed problem under the skin from rupturing of small blood vessels is one of the pesky little things to look out for, I was wondering if it would, in any way, be a likely heightened cause of a stroke. (Apologies for the length of the last sentence 😃) or am I over thinking things?

      Happy Solstice everybody.

      Ron

    • EileenH
      EileenH Tastyron

      Posted

      For a start - I'd suggest you don't try to get your head around the risks of pred! There are over 80 listed side effects of pred, some are minor and some are not. Of all the relatively common ones there is none that is worse than the risk associated with GCA of losing your sight. It does have some nasty side effects - but they are very rare. Learn to love your pred - fighting against it just wastes energy that you can use far more profitably elsewhere! When you accept the situation - that isn't giving in by the way - the peace that results is a great healer.

      There seems to be an increased risk of ischaemic stroke in RA (due to reduced blood flow in the brain) - and probably also in other forms of inflammatory arthritis and vasculitis. To some extent pred reduces that risk. I don't think it increases the risk of haemorrhagic stroke (due to bleeding) - the skin being more delicate is a slightly different thing.

      You probably will be at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases because of the GCA/PMR - it would probably be even higher without pred which manages the uncontrolled inflammation of the blood vessels which leads to the long term damage.

    • macas02
      macas02 EileenH

      Posted

      You have mentioned side effects of pred. Can you help me please?

      I have had PMR for nearly 6 years, about 2 years ago I lost all sense of taste and smell, its pretty miserable but it appears there is nothing that can be done. My GP says its not due to pred. Has anyone else had this?

      Thankyou.

    • Tastyron
      Tastyron EileenH

      Posted

      Thanks Eileen. You are a great help and very knowledgable. 

      As I've said before, I feel lucky that I found this site before starting my medication and by reading other peoples experiences has given me confidence. I had already accepted Pred at the start but am just keeping an eye open. Forewarned and all that. 

      Ron

    • EileenH
      EileenH macas02

      Posted

      It isn't a listed side effect of pred as far as I know but several people with PMR/GCA have mentioned their sense of smell/taste is poor. 

      It may not be a direct effect of pred but I wonder if there is some effect on the hypothalamus/pituitary/adrenal axis which causes it - a friend at university had a pituitary problem that meant she had no sense of smell/taste. They are really the same thing. I remember her saying that she liked foods on the basis of their texture rather than their taste.

    • macas02
      macas02 EileenH

      Posted

      Thank you Eileen, like your friend  " I like the feel and texture of food".

      I really miss my sense of smell, I had such a strong sense of smell before this happend, but as we always say it could be a lot worse.

      Have a lovely Christmas in beautiful Italy and as for all of us a pain free New Year.

      Maryx

    • macas02
      macas02 wendy43316

      Posted

      I really don't know,  It just happened about 2 years into the PMR, so I have had it now for nearly 4 years, I can't imagine that it will ever get better now.

      GP has no idea how it happened and hasn't really shown any interest.

      It would be more worrying if I lived alone as I wouldn't smell burning or

      gas or if there was a problem with the food. 

    • wendy43316
      wendy43316 macas02

      Posted

      I'm 6 months into pmr .im not happy I'm 60 years of age and very active .all the differant side effects keep coming on here and really frightens me I'm trying to carry on a normal life .ive got pains, in my bum cheek like some one has been kicking me continusly. Don't know if it us pmr , or somthing else.
    • faye______00403
      faye______00403 wendy43316

      Posted

      If pain is only in one cheek check into sciatica.....the

      sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body and it runs

      down the side of your spine splits off at top of "buns' and goes

      down each leg.  the bad pain is usually in just one cheek

      and leg. ( I didn't have any pain running down my leg)  It

      was the worst pain I've ever had and lasted for weeks.

      See you doctor if this is what you are experiencing. You

      will need some pain meds....

    • JandaPea
      JandaPea faye______00403

      Posted

      Pain in one 'cheek' could also be a sign of piriformis syndrome and both sciatica and piriformis could occur at the same time. I also had the most horrendous disabling pain, but only in my right 'cheek' for years. It was eventually eased by a course of a Bowens procedure. I can if I wish go back to the practicioner for a maintenance treatment. If you are not aware of Bowens may I suggest you either Google it or look on this site for the many posts on the subject.

      Good wishes.

      JandaPea

    • EileenH
      EileenH wendy43316

      Posted

      Wendy - that sounds as if it could be something called piriformis syndrome, as Jandapea has also said. Physiotherapists can provide exercises that may help the pain but as Jandapea also says, Bowen therapy is alo very useful - works for some sorts of sciatic too. Both can be due to muslces being in spasm and pinching the nerves - sort out the muscle spasm and the nerve pain will improve. This is particularly the case where patients say they have had x-rays and there is nothing to see at the spine - x-rays don't show muscle problems.
    • EileenH
      EileenH wendy43316

      Posted

      Meant to say this in the other post - there are well over 80 listed side effects of pred. No-one gets them all and some people get almost none or only mildly. At present, having got to 5mg, I think I can fairly say I have NO pred side effects - or if I do I don't notice them. 

      Carrying on a normal life is what we should all be aiming for - but being able to ask if others have had a particular side effect or how they dealt with it is the real purpose of forums like this. When there is a real live support group you can sit over a cup of tea and talk about it - when there isn't people come here so sometimes it does sound as if the side effects/problems outweigh everything else as we all hear and comment. There is nothing to be frightened of - in a way it is a bit like going out to the shops, there are all sort of things we know COULD happen, some nasty, some minor and some pleasant, but the nastier ones have probably not happened to us nor ever will so it doesn't stop us going out.  

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