Prednisone : Long Term Use Side-Effects

[Fairwind]

Many of us here take Prednisone as part of our cancer treatment. But after a period of time this drug can have some nasty side-effects all its own..Also, you can not just stop taking this drug cold turkey. This can lead to an even worse situation. Patients are warned they must taper off this med slowly, reducing the dose over a period of time so their adrenal glands can recover normal function..Have any of you guys had experience with this ?

[pjoshea13]

"Long-term side effects include Cushing's syndrome, steroid dementia syndrome,[25] truncal weight gain, osteoporosis, glaucoma and cataracts, diabetes mellitus type 2, and depression upon dose reduction or cessation.[26] Prednisone also results in leukocytosis.[27]"

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predn...

"Short-term side effects, as with all glucocorticoids, include high blood glucose levels (especially in patients with diabetes mellitus or on other medications that increase blood glucose, such as tacrolimus) and mineralocorticoid effects such as fluid retention.[22] The mineralocorticoid effects of prednisone are minor, which is why it is not used in the management of adrenal insufficiency, unless a more potent mineralocorticoid is administered concomitantly.

It can also cause depression or depressive symptoms and anxiety in some individuals.[23][24]"

-Patrick

[SeosamhM in reply to pjoshea13]

Just so you know, PJ, you are NOT getting the Sunshine Award this week....!

Cheers, Joe M.

[pjoshea13 in reply to SeosamhM]

Apologies, Joe! I try to avoid negative posts, but Fairwind warned of nasty side effects & someone was bound to ask.

I haven't heard of anyone complaining of SEs in the past 3 years, so perhaps the probabilities are quite low.

Anyway, now you know what they are & can be prepared if one creeps up on you.

-Patrick

[SeosamhM in reply to pjoshea13]

Oh, I know....it's strange to that we have to endure what amounts to friendly fire, and information like this is one of the great things about this forum that is available nowhere else! Thanks for all your work, PJ.

[j-o-h-n in reply to SeosamhM]

A day without sunshine is.....night

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Monday 05/06/2019 6:12 PM DST

[Magnus1964]

I took prednisone for 3 1/2 years, low dose, 5 mg with no side affects. My research doctor said this low dose only replaces what Zytiga takes out of you.

[Tall_Allen]

Prednisone at 5 mg/day is given as a replacement dose to replace the cortisol that is lost with Zytiga for mHSPC. Because the dose is so low, it does not have the long-term effects you speak of. (the right replacement dose may need adjustment, depending on individual variation)

You are right that you have to taper off. Stopping abruptly causes the pituitary to secrete ACTH, which will cause a paradoxical large increase in cortisol.

[Fairwind in reply to Tall_Allen]

I started on Prednisone 3 years ago (5mg) when I started Zytiga. When I moved on to chemo (carbotaxel) they upped the dose to 10mg / day. Now, I'm done with chemo but I'm still taking the prednisone 10mg. We were traveling last winter so I was being seen by different VA doctors. Back home now, I'll see my primary Oncologist in a few days to discuss my options now..In the meantime I have developed some symptoms that COULD be related to prednisone use so I have reduced my dose to 5mg for the time being..With guys like us, you never know if it's the drugs or the underlying condition that's causing the problems....

[Tall_Allen]

It sounds reasonable. I'm sure your oncologist will have instructions for tapering you off. The prednisone with chemo is controversial since both can depress the immune system - but it was tested that way, so most prescribe it, but some think it's unnecessary.

[tango65]

This articles has a good review of exogenous glucocorticosteroids and undesirabe side effects.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2...

[Hidden]

My husband tapered off presnisone very quickly per the MO's instructions. I cant remember exactly but it was 3 or 5 days from taking one 5 mg pill a day to zero pills a day.

[TommyTV]

7.5 years for me and no side effects.

[Firespooks]

Bothers my stomach and gives me insomnia.

[leo2634]

10mg. 15 months now. 750mg. Zytiga daily. Got used to the new gut I never had before along with the occasional restless night but all in all I'm still alive and able to complain about taking too much Prednisone.

[mcp1941]

I was on two 5mg pills a day when taking zytiga. When I stopped Zytiga I cut back to 5mg daily for one week then one pill every other day for a week then stopped altogether. No problems.

Mike P.

[Hidden]

It can be nasty and one must taper off under MO direction. Me? It was part of my 2004 chemotherapy-ADT trial. 30 mg a day for 180 days -taken 20 mg in am and 10 mg in pm. Gained 80 pounds and increased to 100 pounds six months later. Tough to take off after 15 years I have lost 75 of those pounds.

I would do it again to kill the little bastards.

Heal well,

Gourd Dancer

[RogerThat]

After about 3 years on Prednisone my only complaint is the constant bruising of my forearms from every little bump or scrape. I wear protectors and long sleeve shirts even in summer, but the problem persists.

[zenbee13 in reply to RogerThat]

4 months after stopping and still I see the damned bruising on my forearms! Oh and I just stopped cold turkey after taking 5mg twice a day for 2 years.

[Arthur479]

The bruising is totally annoying.

One time I ran out for a weekend and I felt like hell by Sunday morning.

Once I stopped Zytiga, I had to taper off over a month. Any quicker and I felt tired and out of sorts. Seems like the bruising tendency is slowly getting better, however.

[Hidden]

I was on Zytiga and Lupron along with two 5mg Prednisone daily for 8-9 months. PSA went down from 5.7 to .04. My MO told me to reduce Prednisone entirely over 6 weeks which I did. I am not aware of side effects (but who knows?)

[monte1111]

Started 2 5mg prednisone end of Aug. 2017. With xtandi. Cut to 1 5 mg. Jan. 2019. (My call. MO said I needed to take for fatigue Aug. 2017.) Cut to 1 2.5 mg April 2019. Will discontinue totally in one week. I have been on a total down hill trend with fatigue. Prednisone withdrawal? Don't know. Determined to cut loose. Just me.

[Mkeman in reply to monte1111]

Haven’t had a prednisone problem but am wondering about long term effects of Zytiga and living without testosterone. I have read that t Itincreases risk of Cardiac arrest.