Off Prednisone!

[BigLoser]

I have been on Prednisone for 2 1/2 years. I finally took my last dose about a month ago. I am wondering if it takes a while for this to get out of your system. How long does it take to get rid of any side effects, moon face, etc?

I was not on any medication when I was diagnosed with PMR. With Prednisone came high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol. Oh! and weight gain.

I am hoping now to be able to lose some weight and perhaps get off other medications. I was wondering what experiences others have had.

Thanks,

DW

[piglette]

They reckon it can take a year or so to get back to normal after you stop taking pred.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

I already has raised blood pressure before I started Pred , but it didn’t increase … sugars did initially [on GCA doses] but reduced as I got lower. Weight reduced rapidly after finishing Pred, but adrenals can take up to a year to be back to normal.

Think it’s probably an individual thing…

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Some people lose weight without trying, it just sort of melts away. But others need to work on it - after all. it is perfectly possible to lose weight when on pred if you go about it the right way which, for most, is cutting carbs drastically, especially processed carbs, added sugar and certain fruit. I lost 35lbs while still on 10-15mg pred. It also is the best way to reduce the risk of steroid induced diabetes. Several of us can say we had no diabetes problems by consistently eating low carb, The moonface is due to steroid-influenced fat deposits that are actually linked to the changed carb metabolism as well.

So you can almost certainly speed up the process by cutting carbs even now. Weight loss is the single best approach to non-pharmaceutical control of BP and blood sugar. Care with fat in diet will help the cholesterol but the pred itself raises cholesterol so no longer being on it should lead to it falling and weight loss also contributes to that.

Never too late to change your diet a bit!

[CAWP]

I have been off Prednisone for one month. Still have muscle aching in morning. Hoping This will go away.

[Pollyanna16 in reply to CAWP]

Mmm….. I wonder if you should be off pred in that case. Don’t let it get a hold!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to CAWP]

Wouldn’t bank on it …. As Pollyanna16 says don’t let it build up again… even a very small dose may get help.

Nothing on your profile to say how long you were on Pred, and how you tapered off the low doses.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to CAWP]

If it gets worse, even slightly/slowly it may well be a sign the PMR is at a very low level of activity, needing maybe 1/2mg per day, and zero pred is simply a step too far. The unmanaged inflammation won't just disappear if that is the case - it will build up slowly until you need a higher dose of pred to sort it out. Left indefinitely you can end up back where you started.

[SnazzyD]

It quite individual it seems. My face deflated quite well before I got to zero. My adrenal function took another 18 months. My muscles a few years to stop getting muscle stiffness whenever I had the audacity to try something a little extra. My muscle loss has never got back to before Pred. I had to keep a relatively low carb diet going for a few years and even nearly 4 years on, I need to be mindful and not have carbs on every plate. My metabolism has definitely changed. I didn’t however, put on weight during Pred because I started a very low carb diet very early on after starting on 60mg.

[Wizards]

I was on prednisone just shy of 9 yrs. I had almost every side effect of prednisone.

Moon face, high blood pressure, extreme weight gain even on a keto/diabetic diet, pre-diabetic, insomniac.

Moon face started to leave during low doses 2mg. Some of the weight started to come off under 4mg but I hit a wall after 25lbs., 60 more to go.

A1C returned to my normal within 1 mos. Adrenals 1yr 3to 4 mos and getting better. This is when I finally could feel like I could get off the couch and do something for a longer period of time. Prior I needed rests.

Everyone is different. You were not on prednisone as long as most of us so hopefully you'll bounce back faster.

Good luck