prednisone side-effects and effectiveness?

Question

I've been diagnosed with a rare/obscure disease called Eosinophilic Esophagitis and have been given prednisone for it ....10 MG four times a day for the first five days, then three times a day for the next five, then two for the next five, then one for the next five, then 1/2 a tablet for the next five. I started the drug three days ago, Tuesday afternoon. Two questions: how long before I start feeling its effects (pain relief...please Lord!) and second, what are the side effects? I am a 42 year-old 5'3" 140 pound female. Thanks!

Answer 1

The effects of prednisone usually start showing up within a day, but maybe the reason for the initial 5-day course is that it takes this long for things to kick in for this particular condition.

Common prednisone side effects are weight gain, puffy face, difficulty sleeping, feeling hot, muscle aches and cramps, and excess energy.

It might be a good idea to call your docs office before Day 5, and let them know about the pain. The doc might want to try a higher dose before tapering off the meds. Additionally, the side effects are greatly reduced by taking the medicine in larger doses in the morning, for example taking 80 mg every other morning, instead of 10 mg 4x day. If side effects are bothering you, you could also ask the doc if it would be OK to switch to fewer and larger doses.

Answer 2

Prednisone is an oral steroid which is used often to treat severe inflamation. Some physicians might use it on EE and some would treat with an inhaled steroid that treats the esophagus directly. Prednisone has a lot of side effects that your Dr. should have explained to you before prescribing the medication. Also you should definately read the information that should have been given to you by the pharmacy to see what those are. It is not really a "pain" relief med, but with steroids, as swelling is decreased you should feel some relief. If you are not sure about taking the oral med, get a second opinion on the treatment of EE and ask about inhaled steroids vs. oral steroids, the inhaled steroids usually do not have as many side effects.

Answer 3

The steroid is probaly prednisone. This is a normal side effexct of this medication, may also cause stomach pain, and possible bleeding. If it does cause bleeding get back to your gastrentroloigist. As far as getting the swelling down it will subside when your body adjusts to the medication, I was on this for 3 years off and on, and I am sorry but there is no way to reduce the swelling. Other meds they may put you on in the future are flagyl, it is an antibiotic, also asulfazine, as well as varios other drugs. I have been on alot of different meds for my chron's, have had it since 1983. have had multiple bowel resections, because of obstructions caused from the chrohn's. Follow all your doctors advice, take all your meds and eat whatever you can tolerate,. There is no specific diet for chron's and there is no cure, The best we can do is follow our doctors advice, BUT, It is your body and if something your doctor tells you does not seem to be working let them know. Know one knows your system the way you do, Eat what you can tolerate , for example I had a doctor who put me on a high fiber low protien diet, WRONG, didn't work found out that I could not tolerate the fiber content due to the fact that i had a very thin passge of the bowel by the illium. Hope this helps and good luck, it is an unrelenting disease but with proper diet and the right doctors YOU will be able to live a somewhat normal life, Just be sure if go on any long trips, to know where every rest stop is , that is what i do for the obvious reason. good luck to you . P.S. Ask your doctor if you may be a candidate for remicaid it is a very effective drug for chron's. Depending on how sever your own personal case is. Everyone is diffferent and it may take awhile to get the right combination of diet and meds, Whatever you do you stay up, It can be a very depressing disease. Don't let it get you down, took me years to get that through my head. Sorry this is so long but there is alot of info available on the net search the chron's and colitis foundation they can be of help also.

Answer 4

You're on what we call a steroid taper, which is a gradual lowering of the dose to prevent any adverse effects from stopping it suddenly. Unless you're diabetic, you shouldn't have any side effects from using prednisone that way for that length of time (though some people report depression and sometimes confusion, but those are more common in elderly patients).
As for whether or not it will help the pain and when, that's much harder to predict. Within a few days it should be having some effect, but I would finish the course even if you don't feel anything, taking steroids can suppress your body's ability to produce them by itself (temporarily) and the taper is to gradually allow your body to resume production.

Answer 5

I don't see you getting any pain releif from this medicine. It is a steroid and you should NEVER NEVER take it for longer than what's on the bottle. It is a powerful medicine and don't mess with it. The side effects should have been enlcosed with the prescription from the pharmacist.If not, look it up on your pc(MedMD) is pretty good.