Hey I just wondered if anyone else has swelling in their face due to some medications? I have been googling and seen people call it “moon face” which I currently look do look like a moon! I barely recognise my self I’m so self conscious generally but this swelling in my face is awful 
will it ever go down?
I’m on mycophenolate, hydroxychlorquine, prednisolone and others at the moment
Thanks
Hi Nessa, I currently have a face like a chipmunk due to prednisalone so I empathise xx
oh bless you. Ugh I seriously hate it!! I hope my doctor lowers my dosage I’m currently at 50mg xx
50mg of pred will do it. Do you have a plan to taper?
I’m not too sure. I’ve got a doctors appointment on Thursday so I’ll have to mention it then!
You poor thing! It will go down when you are on a lower dose or off the prednisolone.
Thank you! Hope I come off them soon x
Just ask for a clear plan about tapering. Although bit is a high dose they must have their reasons for doing it, or Organ protection
Go with your questions written down as I finds that helps.
Let us know how you get on, we're all here for you.
HT 🌷
Thank you! I'll have my questions written and ready as i have terrible memory haha!
Thanks again, big hugs! x
Yes . Smart people write, stupid ones remember. As others say please confirm the prednisolone dosage. How long have you been taking it and what symptoms are they helping with. I get puffy with any amount more than 7.5mg. Im sure people arw different, but that's my max for looking normal. Dont worry and hipe you will be able to lower the dosage eventually. I had to be puffy at 20mg for couple of years and slowly went down. Now i look ok.
Definitely the prednisalone. Other bits of your body might also balloon due to fluid retention (me legs and lower abdomen did). It will go down as the dose tapers. I found that walking helped too if you are up to it.Also be aware that the pred. can also increase your appetite and make you put on weight, but it most definitely didn’t in my case, probably due to my stomach struggling with the cocktail of meds I was/am on (very similar to yours it seems). Good diet has been a help: lots of fruit and raw veg, low salt, high fibre intake and plenty of live yogurt to keep thrush at bay (another unpleasant side effect).
Hang in there, it is all to make you feel better 🙂
I’ve had “moon face “ twice, it’s prednisalone that’s the culprit. Was on them for a year starting at 50mg as well. I’m pleased to say when you get off them your face comes down slowly, I hated being on them but I guess they do work. Hopefully you will be tapering soon. The fat pad under your chin also goes and the one at top of your back. Only thing I’m left with is a wrinkly bit where the fat pad was, I was on them a long time but I can cope with that. Best wishes, it won’t last for ever xx
Hey!
Thank goodness! That really did reassure me, thank you xx
Also although most of it us water retention, there is a lot of fat too. My doctor told me to watch my weight. Fat from prednisolone mostly goes into you belly and chin so dont give in to overeating as prednisone will i crease your appetite, especially when going down on the dosage. Good luck.
It's called Cushing's syndrome and the cause is too much cortisol .I've been steroid dependent for 7 years and have only managed to come off them twice in that time . It does go when when you stop taking them...takes about 4 weeks.your adrenal gland is currently on holiday so your body wont make it's own cortisol until you are down to 7.5mgs so you must drop them very slowly do it too quickly and you risk an adrenal crisis . Kind regards x
Corticosteroids - prednisolone - will cause moonface especially at high doses. It is due to fat deposits - the corticosteroids change the way your body processes carbs, and it also lays down fat around your middle and at the back of your neck. Someone posted this on my home forum a couple of days ago:
healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...
It will improve as the dose falls. All of us on my home forum are on pred for years and one of the things we push is to cut your carbs drastically, especially processed carbs and added sugar and limit fruit and root veg both of which hide lots of carbohydrate - even healthy sugar is sugar! Some avoided the fat bits almost entirely and some were lucky enough to avoid moonface - but most people do develop a chubbier face even if they don't gain much weight overall.
You CAN lose a lot of it while still on pred - I lost 35lbs of PMR and pred weight gain by cutting carbs and another lady posted her diet experience last year, losing over 2st. We were both on a lot less than you, 15mg at the time, but we had a lot to lose! Both of us need to lose a bit more ... And prevention at the high doses is far better than cure later 
I and a lot of others have found this site
really helpful for learning the basic principles and the pictures of what to eat and what to avoid are really easy to remember. You don't need to join anything - once you learn the principles you can apply them to how you cook and eat. There are recipes all over the internet - free! A first useful step is to keep an honest food diary - and identify the culprits! Once you are able to cut the carbs and sugar, you also find the cravings for carbs fades as the blood sugar levels moderate - another benefit is it reduces the risk of steroid-induced diabetes.
Cutting processed carbs - and processed food in general is a really good start as processed foods have sugar in places you would never think and it all adds up! It also reduces your salt intake - also important when on pred as it contributes to fluid retention and that weighs too and also tends to settle around your eyes. I can't tell you how much - everyone is different and some have to get lower than others to lose weight. Maintaining your weight on pred is easier - despite next to no exercise for the last 2 years (two years husband ill and not going out for a daily walk and the last year in tight lockdown) I have gained under 5kg. It's Lent - and I have decided that's enough, time to buckle down and not only be even more disciplined about eating and drinking but walk more and get fitter.
I wish I had been given dietary advice when I started on pred.
So, I suspect, do a lot of people. Apparently they do in France. But in the UK most doctors at all levels seem dismally unaware of the role of diet in illness and with medication side effects.
Yup, I am ashamed to say that I fished them out like smarties at work. Mostly for short term relief but had no idea about the real long term effects. I knew the long-term effects that I was supposed to know but as a patient your knowledge is totally different.I just wanted to eat the entire fridge.
Hi NessaThats the very well known effect of steroids unfortunately! But as you taper the dose and come off the steroids it will resolve and you will feel more normal.
All the best
I will definitely bring it up to my doctor this Thursday as my confidence has completely dropped in my appearance I don’t look like me! I have been on prednisolone for about a month now! Feeling abit unaware about everything atm it’s all still really new for me but I have my questions ready for Thursday.
Thank you for your message
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