Started steroids

Davey, steroids can have potential side effects especially when taking high doses long term.  It very much depends on what they have been prescribed for as to how quickly you can reduce from the higher doses but most medics will aim to get you quite quickly down to the lowest dose that maintains the symptoms.  Difficulty sleeping is, as you have found, one of the most common side effects but this can be helped by taking the pills all in one go as early in the morning as possible.  Eating a 'live', probiotic yoghurt before taking the steroids will help to protect you from any stomach side effects, and taking a calcium plus Vit D tablet will help to protect your bones if you are expecting to take them long-term.  I hope that helps but do come back and ask any other questions that arise and I will do my best to answer them from my long-term experience on the steroid, Prednisolone, a few years ago.

Hi Davey72, I started off on 30mg of prednisolone 12 weeks ago and was sleeping for about 2 hours a night for the first fortnight, I took my tablets as early as I could all at once, however due to exhaustion and rapid heart beat I was put down to 15mg which enabled me to sleep for 4 hours a night, I felt full of energy and felt better in my self, my kidney function went up, after about 4 weeks I was down to 10mg, where I found I was sleeping 7 to 8 hours and feeling more tired during the day, I'm not on 5mg and am feeling totally exhausted, sleeping 10 hours at night, im due to go down to 2.5mg for the last fortnight and I can't wait to finish them, as much as they helped my kidney function initially oit dropped as I was reducing the dose, but now seems to have settled at 44, ive experienced side effects like weight gain, and stomach cramps and headaches as I was reducing the dose and for the first time in my life my blood pressure has gone from its normal 125/75 to 160/92 which the gp is hoping is another side effect of the steroid, although as you probably know hypertension and renal problems can go hand in hand any way...good luck and stay healthy!

When I was put on steroids it was because I was getting chronic gout. I was eating too much meat. I was in stage 4 at that time. I was on the steroids for a long time and I gained a lot of weight from them and I never felt completely full. They did help me manage everything for a significant amount of time and for that I am grateful.

I believe boxing day is on Dec. 26th which happens to be my birthday.