Autoimmune disease symptoms and conditions

I have been on prednisone continuously now for 15 years. I was put on it in March of 1995 for a lung condition called chronic eosinophilic pneumonia. I was 122 pounds when I first started prednisone. Now 15 years later I am 197 pounds. I am 35 years old with osteoporosis. I have dealt with depression, terrible headaches, stomach ulcers, hormonal imbalance, hair loss, swollen feet and ankles, I now wear glasses when I didn't before, I have thin skin now that looks older than my 35 years, I deal with night sweats, and in the summer out in the heat my very round moon face turns red as a beet. But, no one can get me off the prednisone. I have seen many specialists, and within 1-2 days of starting to wean past 10mg I get so sick I have to be hospitalized, I literally can't breathe or live without it. I hate this stuff and what its done to me, but I have no choice but to take it or I will die. Doctors have tried alternate medications, nothing but prednisone works. If there is ANYONE who has had to be on it as long as I have or have had success in getting off it after being on it for so long, I would love to hear from you.

i am not sure if this is a side effect of avelox. i started taking avelox last week and within a day or two started feeling itchy and have become concerned that it was a sign of another infection or autoimmune disease.

I was on Lisiniprol for 91 days as an ACE inhibitor for diabetes and kidney protection. All was find except for a constant feeling of burning blood all the time. It was tolerable though.

But on day 91 I developed hives. 14 days after that I was broken out from scalp to sole of my feet -- feeling miserable and no relief in site.

Dr. told me that I was allergic to something and to take benadryl. 3 doctors later I was told that I had hives and had to learn to live with it. He increased my benadryl.

I took myself off all my meds except insulin -- not knowing what was going on. I researched and discovered the this drug should NOT have been given to me because I also have SJOGRENS (an autoimmune disease akin to Lupus).

The hives got worse, my benadryl was increased by the drs. Finally I passed out due to benadryl toxicisity (overdosed) and they put me on prednisone.

To this day -- 6 months later -- I still have hive outbreaks that are miserable. I have missed a day from work every 7-10 days. The prednisone helps, but as a diabetic it sends y blood sugars through the roof. My rheumo has put me on doxepin (an antidepressant) because it has an antihystamine property that seems to be helping.

It is also useful for the rheumotoid arthritis that comes from Sjogrens and such. I am sleepy a lot -- but that could be from the doxepin.

I will never take Lisiniprol or any other ACE inhibitor. I am suffering and the worse part of it: the doctors and medical profession don't care and simply tell me to learn to live with it.

Here is our daughter's story, and believe me the tears are pouring down my face as I am writing this.
Our daughter, who had completed her series of 3 vaccinations has been experiencing considerable hair loss. Her first shot was in May 24, 2007, the second on July 26, 2007 and the third and final on November 27, 2007.
Here are the other specifics....our daughter was 13 turning fourteen.
She has had every blood test imaginable to rule out the obvious which may cause hair loss such as thyroid disease, polycystic ovary disease, diabetes, and the list goes on and on. Everything came back negative. We even have a future appointment scheduled with a rheumatologist this coming November 08. We have seen the Endocrinologist and two dermatologists (a scalp biopsy proved negative to any infection, disease, etc. Granted, she had a typical amount of stress during the school year, as any young teen would, but nothing to cause this. Everyday our daughter says to us, "you should see how much hair fell out in the shower today". She's so afraid to brush or comb it because of the extreme shedding. She literally, to date has half the amount of hair she had one year ago. Let me tell you she had beautiful hair. The hair loss is becoming quite visible at the forward part of her scalp. This has been devastating, hair is everything to a teen. (to anyone this is devastating) We must also mention that her periods have been totally out of whack. She went 6 months at one point without one. It finally came back, but it is so sporadic, getting every two weeks, at times extremely heavy, etc...
She also complains of intermitent dizziness. We are reporting this to Merck today (the Co. who makes this horriffic vaccine), along with the FDA. If anyone else is experiencing anything close to what we are, we all need to pull together and make the public aware of what's happening so we can prevent this from happening to our loved ones.
Please share your experiences. Feel free to write me if someone you know is going through this same tragedy.

I was prescribed prednisone (prednisone burst) for my endolymphatic hydrops (inner ear disorder). My initial dose was 80 mg for 4 days and then tapered down over the next 2 weeks. I took my last 5 mg today. I to have experienced the mood swings, along with extra energy, anxiety, fatigue, stiff neck muscles, sore leg muscles, weak leg muscles, nausea, sweaty palms and feet. I decided to go on prednisone after my doctor said it would help rule out autoimmune disease. I will never go on this drug again unless it is life threatening situation. It is a very nasty drug and my family has had to live with me during this difficult time. I'm leaving my condition up to the Great Physician!

Since HTML is not allowed...need you to find the links to the following:

"whether an oral contraceptive (OC) containing drospirenone (DRSP) (3 mg) + ethinyl estradiol (EE) (30 μg) (DRSP + EE) could modify psychological symptoms and whether it could modify steroids interfering with the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-A receptors.

Conclusion(s): The results suggest beneficial effects of DRSP + EE on psychological symptoms by

decreasing DHEAS."

Beneficial to lower the levels of DHEAS?!

"Women With Higher Levels Of DHEAS Have Better Cognitive Function"

"dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), inhibit the production of TNF in vitro and in vivo."

Who is at greater risk?

Those who have the HLA-DR gene type and already have allergies/asthma.

Adrenergically blockaded conditions = AdBCs include the following: respiratory allergies, skin allergies, and asthma.

IgE will go thru the roof. Allergic reaction. Th2 pathway.

""It has also been shown that young women exposed to intensive stress situations,

with low plasma of dehydroepiandrosterone
sulfate (DHEA-S),

and a recent use of contraceptive pills are most at risk for

onset of autoimmune disease."

I have been on Lipitor since 2002 and now I am experiencing numbness in my feet...mostly the right foot. I was thinking I had an autoimmune disease until I read everyone's comments. I am stopping Lipitor today.
Also, I have a lot of wrist pain, leg pain and I bruise easily.

I worry how I will control my cholesterol.

Joyce
8/6/08

PREDNISONE.... a word that is unknown to the naive and despised by the the knowledgeable. Before i begin i want to tell you that prednisone for lack of better word F***ed me up. So heres my story with the pill. About a year ago i was officially diagnosed with Minimal Change Disease, now remember i am eighteen at the time, and was prescribed prednisone to cure the disease. Now being unaware of the severity of the drug and disease i casually continued life while taking 80mg per day of prednisone. Well this was good and all because it did in fact put me in remission, but the side effects were starting go surface. My face ballooned up "moon face", started experiencing random series of depression, became insomniatic, and unfortunately gained several pounds. Well this was not the end of side effects as for me. I continued with the medication and after 6 weeks of 80 mg i began my 5 week course of 60mg. Then after that i started 4 weeks on 40 mg and began tapering 5 mg every 2-3 weeks afterwards. Toward the middle of 60 mg the drug started taking its toll on my body as my skin lost its elasticity so i started getting gruesome strecht marks all over my body. I also became constipated for whatever reason most probably prednisone was at fault. I became very frightened actually terrified so i started to research about the drug in hopes of finding ways to avoid some side effects. In doing my research i found out very disturbing information regarding prednisone. Along with all the side effects that i mentioned above, prednisone also causes cateracts, glacoma, diabetes via insulin resistance, and osteoporosis. Now these i consider as the more severe permanent side effects as the list unfortunately is much longer. Finding out about the side effects i became extremely paranoid and started a very strict diet to hopefully avoid some permenat side effects. I admit reading about the information on prednisone created my paranoia and/or possible phycosis which ultimately led to my stress which led to my severe depression. Now this wasn't any old type of depression, i was sersiouly in need of some help. Everyone around me could tell something was wrong and really i dont blame then for in fact i felt as if my soul had died, the very essence of my being. Now magin if you can someone taking away your youth from you, sucking the very life out of you... thats exactly how i felt. To add along with the depression my grades became a wreck in college as i dropped several classes, lost a friend, developed problems with my parents as they tired to help me, and disrespected family relatives with my uncontrollable mood swings. A few weeks in of dieting and exercising i lost a lot of weight (15-20 pounds). As far as side effects non had changed i still had to deal with all that was mentioned above especially with the fragile skin that was a real burden as i had even a few stretch marks on my face from sleeping on my side. At this point of my long and what seemed to be a never ending journey i become exteremly weak. My body had no energy to run on as i refused to eat and when i did eat it was either foods that are considered free foods or protein nothing else. Everything at this time had been taken away from me including smoking marijuana (marijuana drops blood sugar as this would cause me to start feeling faint and lightheaded), alcohol (same as marijuana drops blood sugar), and the fact that i was not comfortable in my own skin (literally). I was driving myself insane. Everyday i was behind the computer searching for more and more. I was obsessed and became my worst nightmare. Oh by the way half in the medication therapy i showed 1+ grams of protein in my urine which my doctor possibly thought it could have been a relapse. This news i did not take lightly i had lost it and was prepared of comiting suicide. I cant lie, i really did not want to live anymore i just wanted to end this and suicide seemed like a very real and convienent possibility. If it had not been for my parents talking to me giving me a 3 hour speech and lecture i do not know what i would have done. Suicide at that point became out of the question because i could not do this to my family. So i went and purchased urine dip sticks to monitor the protein. The doctor had given me a 2 week window or chance to get back into remission or else he was going to prescribe me cytotoxic agents aka chemo therapy drugs. This was horrible news to me. So as i monitored my protein i found out of a very interesting trend. I noticed that my protein levels in the afternoon were in fact positive for protein and were usually up and down as far as how much but in the mornings i noticed i was always negative. Now this give me a huge bit of hope because when in researching about MCD months earlier i found out that there is a coniditon called orthostatic proteinuria which affects mostly young adolecent males and is a condition described as for some unknown reason there is protein loss in the afternoon when the person is upright and active then when they are supine or laying down the kidneys do not allow any portein loss. This condition is in fact harmless. I was very happy from then news and i told my doctor, he was somewhat doubting, but i don't blame him he is looking out for my best interest, but sure enough after the 2 weeks had past i went in again for my appointment after testing and i was negative for protein as i had expected. We began tapering after that point and i continusouly monitored my own tests at home and eventually i got off the steroid, actually today is that day after a 9 month period of heartache and distress. You know people say that they went to hell and back in a hard moment in life, well i went to hell stayed there for 9 months then came back. I feel so everyone who as ever needed to take steroids for long periods of time, i know its tough but believe it as it is indeed a potent drug and in most cases a miracle drug. It gave me a second chance at life and no matter how hard it was or how much pain it put me through i cannot complain for it did in fact cure me and thats why i can never hold any grudges. So thats my story i kno its not pretty but what can i say it is indeed mine whether i like it or not.

Hello: I am so sorry that all of us are suffering since taking this pill. My experience with Yasmin was brutal and 3 years later I know am told that I have developed b12 deficiency or a very serious, but treatable condition called pernicious anemia. I never had it before then pill. I took Yasmin for only 5 months and felt sick the whole time. Headaches, strange moods, even a popping sound in my head some times, bizarre symptoms. I called my OBGYN and told he I was stopping. She said the pill did not cause this, but if I felt it was related to stop. AND IT WAS! She now admits to feeling bad for this. She did not mean it. Doctors only know what they read from the literature of a drug. I stopped taking it and was in the hospital within three days. I was in shock. Night sweats, tingling skin, no energy, stomach problems of every kind. Severe pain in my left ovary, suicidal depression and on and on. The worst part is that I began to get sicker and sicker. 3 years later of still being sick. The only thing that has helped my system is acupuncture and a serious diet change to aid my system, I find out that I have a serious b12 deficiency, which I never had. They call it an autoimmune disease which impedes you from processing b12 and all this starts in the tummy! I lost a baby during this time while pregnant, now we know it was this! The Yasmin pill has been pulled off the social medicine of some European countries due to such severe side effects. Their is a girl on this blog getting names together to start a class action suit. I am in. No one can get me my three years of suffering back, or my lost baby or my lost work. I am a professional flamenco dancer and let me tell you it is not easy to perform with a serious b12 deficiency which affects nerve endings, heart tissue and neurology! And the cure for this is b12 injections for life! If you want me to forward your name to the girl with the attorney you can write me at:****** Well I am going to keep trying to be well. I am young and have a whole life ahead of me.

I was just placed on Cellecept last week- 500 Mg 4 times a day-
for my autoimmune muscular myopathy- I was a body builder 6 months ago- now I can barely make it across the Target parking lot.
I am sure the myopathy is Statin induced as I was on Lipitor-)rather than Prednisone as my doctor said less side effects.
He said I should see improvement in about 6 weeks- is any body taking Cellcept for autoimmune disease?
Thank you.
PS; So far- side effects seem to be weakness- more shakiness-

I went on NuvaRing in June or July 2005. and in may 2006 I started having eye pain behind my eyes, which i thought was my sinuses but it turns out it is posterior Scleritis, which is a form of localized autoimmune disease, which of course, the doctors know nothing about and cant treat unless I agree to take steroids all the time or Methotrexate (the same medicine used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and which causes hepatitis as a side effect). no one has told me that the NuvaRing and Scleritis could be related but after reading the multitude of symptoms women have had on this site, i am starting to wonder if there is a relationship between the two. i have no history of anything like this, I'm 26 and otherwise very healthy.

I am 19 years old and I recently was taken off of it 2 years ago when I switched doctors. Prior to the switch I had been on it for 16 years. I prob have some of the worse side effects. Because it causes an increase in appetite I ate but I didn't eat all the time, and I ended up gaining over 100lbs. I have a black-brown ring around my neck and for the longest time I thought it was dirt that wouldn't come off so sometimes I scrubed my neck sometimes to the point that it was raw.I have bad acne on my back and its just horrible.I cry every single night because of the side effects.I just want to know if anyone on here can help me.

My husband was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that was attacking his shoulders, hips and knees, last February. The cause was unknown, perhaps a drug reaction to Amitriptylene, perhaps PMR, they still don't know. The doctors put him on prednisone. 15 mgs seemed to control the symptoms and he started to feel better right away. Weeks went by and he occasionally said, I seem to be losing weight. Then it was, I've lost 10 pounds. Next month it was five more. And he started getting weak. His muscles were just weakening and atrophying. He was thin to begin with and by September he had lost 26 pounds. He no longer had the strength to work and was put on temporary disability. We felt it was the prednisone because it all started happening together and we convinced the doctors to let him try to taper off of it. They put him on plaquenil and Immuran and let that build up in his system before they would let him begin to taper off the prednisone. He is finally off prednisone completely and he has finally started to gain a little weight back and feel a little stronger. The hardest part was convincing the doubting doctors. They all said, Oh no, prednisone makes people gain weight. Yet there he was standing in front of them. He certainly hadn't gained weight. But if a side effect is "typical" then they seem to insist that you have the typical side effects or you must be making it up. Of course, they could see he wasn't making up the weight loss, so they did a million tests looking for some other cause; cancer, etc. All were negative. He did go to the Mayo clinic who ran a bunch more tests and they did find one interesting thing: a super low testosterone level. They felt this might explain the muscle loss and weakness. So they started giving him testosterone. However, I say, which is the cause and which is the effect. He didn't have this low testosterone before he started taking the prednisone. That awful stuff messes with all kinds of things in your body--basic things like the hormone balances. When we got down to 2 mg per day we stopped cold turkey. Things are better now. It appears that he still has the underlying auto immune problem because the pain is coming back in his hips and shoulders. But he will not go back on prednisone for anything. That stuff was killing him.

I am 21 years old and was recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in my hands, fingers, and wrists. My doctor put my on 60 mg of prednisone at first and then had me slowly go down to 20 mg a day. I have since been trying to go off of it myself. I can't stand the side effects any longer. I have this constant charlie horse pain in my hips and legs, i am so hot and constantly flushed, i feel so depressed ( i am normally a happy all smiles kind of person ) i have done nothing but cry everyday for the past week because I just feel like so many people don't understand or believe anything I am saying. I thought maybe some of this was all in my head until I found this site. Is there any other medications out there that don't have all these terrible side effects? I feel as though the pain from the arthritis is far less worse than this.

I was born without a thyroid gland so I can't compare the way I feel now to the way I would've felt with a thyroid. I've been on Synthroid my entire life (22 years), and I'm up to 112 mcg now. I am very skinny (5'5", 104 lbs) and feel constantly fatigued no matter how many hours I sleep, what I eat, and how much exercise I get. I periodically get pain in my hip joints, heart palpitations, and intense mood swings. My thoughts race but I have very little physical energy. I feel restless and gloomy almost all the time for absolutely no good reason. My doctor tells me I'm depressed but I honestly have no reason to be depressed and I wish she would see it as a symptom instead of a diagnosis. I graduated from a good college, I've got a job I like, I have friends, I enjoy life and my hobbies, yet I feel overwhelmingly sad. This does not seem like depression to me.

I find that after I do aerobics I get a tightness in my chest, which makes me worry about my heart, but again my doctor doesn't seem to think this is cause for concern. I have been irritable/fatigued for YEARS and I suspect I'll feel this way for the rest of my life. The worst of it started when I hit 16 years old and started the 112 mcg. My tests are always normal and it frustrates me that my doctor disregards my symptoms. I've tried other doctors, but they always send me away with my 'normal' test results. Can anybody help?

Hi all,

I am 53 and from the UK. I was on Lisinopril for 13 years. First 5mg, later 10mg then a few weeks ago 20mg as my BP was 169/90. Afetr 8 days of taking this dose I felt strange and felt as if I was about to fall down when walking. Also had a feeling I was kinda walking sideways if that makes sense. Anyway, went for check-up with health worker at docs surgery and after 8 days on this stuff instead of my BP being reduced it was up to 210/120. The health worker took my BP 5 times and looked cncerned while trying to reassure me not to be concerned. She went of to consult the senior practice nurse and made me an appointment for the next day to see my GP. The next day I told my GP how I was feeling and he said he didn't know why my BP had gone higher on the double dose of Lis but to continue taking it along with nother drug he prescribed called Amlodipine 5mg, a calcium channel blocker. After another couple of days I felt very ill. Palpitations, dizzy, and a feeling every ten minutes or so as if my chest was puncched from the inside, a very uncomfortable feeling indeed. I decided on a process of ilimination and stopped the Lis but kept taking the latter drug. Almost imedietly I felt better even though my BP was round about 146/85. I started to realize that symptoms I had for 13 years were probably due to the Lis. Symptoms including, waking suddenly, literally choking on acid as my throat closed in a spasm, Strange nightmares, food sticling halfway down my gullet causing extreme discomfort etc. On top of this, nearly two years ago I was diagnosed with auto immune disease and had radioactive iodine treatment on an overactive thyroid, an overactive thyroid that instead of making me lose weight, made me put it on. A while later I was diagnosed as having type two diebetes which I tried to control with diet. Now since stopping the Lis my blood sugar readings have never been better, in fact I wonder now if I was ever diebetic at all. The most upsetting thing is, I now wonder if the thyroid malfunction was caused by the Lis. I feel much better like a veil has been lifted from my mind, no longer moody or having foggy thinking. I hope I have not gone on too long. I wish you all luck with your meds. I have started taking Hawthorn berry capsules which it's claimed help to lower BP naturally. My BP today is 140/80 but does fluctuate.
Lawrence

I took 500mg per day for 9 out of 10 days. On the morning of the 9th day I hopped out of bed but was SHOCKED by the amount of pain I had in my feet! I could barely put my weight on my feet or walk! It was like I was 85 years old!
I stopped taking it immediately but the symptoms continued to get worse over the next 5 days. By the 5th day I had pain in my feet, knees, hands, neck, back and shoulders! I went to the doctor; they refused to believe it was a reaction to the medication so the did blood work. I tested negative for rhematoid arthritis, Lyme disease or any other auto-immune disease. THANK GOD! The doctor still wont say it was the medication. He said it was caused by a "virus" . ya right - whatever! I didn't want to take anything for the pain so I started going to the gym 2x a day,( AM &PM) to sit in the hot tub and steam room. I also drank tons of water to flush my system. I at only foods that are known to be anti-inflammatory such as red grapes, 100% red grape juice, tuna fish, sardines, pineabble, soy milk, flax seet. I also took 1000mg of omega 3 fish oil capsules (iceland health brand) a multi vitamin (geritol brand) extra calcium with extra Vitamin D, and I switched from coffee to green tea. I drank about six cups a day in addition to about 8 glasses of water. I also gave up all foods suspected of causing inflammation such as meat, processed foods, and sugars. I also (for the first time) went to a one hour reiki session with a woman who was excellent. After about a week the pain in gone almost completely, except my feet still hurt a little bit in the morning untili they loosen up. I highly recommend trying this to see if it helps aleviate your symptoms of muscle and joint pain. Good luck.

Hello: I am a 31 yr old male and I am now on Prednisone as well. I recently had surgery and was diagnosed with a rare auto immune disease called PAN.

They started me at 80mgs the first 9 days and now I am at 60mgs which I will take for 3 months before being reduced.

Side effects: I can't stop thinking of food. No matter how much I eat I can't get full. I also can't sleep however I don't feel tired so I am working and doing things late at night. The sleep thing doesn't bother me to bad.

Joints and muscles pop a lot as well.

Oh well I guess things could be much worse right!! :)
Ryan

I am so glad I found this site. I have been experiencing severe joint pain and constant edema. I never even thought it could possibly be the toprol xl 50 mg I have been on for over a year now. I have had extensive blood work to find out why I have such joint pain and everything has been coming out normal! I am in pain EVERY day...and it has been getting worse. I do have a thyroid condition (which was also recently checked and all the blood work was fine), because I got terrible joint pain as a symptom of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (an auto-immune disorder) way back in 1999 when I was first diagnosed. So, when this terrible joint pain returned, I was sure it was the thyroid and that my medication for THAT would have to be adjusted. Needless to say, I was shocked and concerned that my thyroid numbers are all normal.
I cried today over this pain...I am only 44 years old and I feel like I'm 90 years old. Maybe fate led me here tonight. It may or may not be the toprol causing all of this pain, but at least I have some hope now. I am scared because since I do have an "auto-immune" disease, I am apparantly at a much higher risk of developing other auto-immune diseases....so perhaps it is not the toprol. I HOPE IT IS THOUGH...

I have been on NuvaRing for 2 years 8 months. I have been seeing a doctor for the past 20 months for a series of unresolved symptoms:

1) extreme exhaustion
2) unexplained weight gain/inability to lose weight
3) Gall Bladder attack
4) High Inflammation based on CRP (C-Reactive Protein), predictor for heart disease, alzheimers, stroke, cancer, etc.
5) Loss of mental focus - Constant brain fog.

Other symptoms digestion problems, bloating, zero sex drive.......

It just occurred to me this weekend that it might be the NuvaRing. I had a gall bladder attack in June of 2005, with no symptoms and not a typical profile for someone to have an attack. In May 2006 my husband and I took a trip to Hawaii and I skipped my period by inserting a 2nd ring when I removed the first. I did not feel good the entire trip (bloating, extreme headaches, sensitivity to sun, stomach upset), and even had a skin reaction to the tag on my swimsuit (sign of high inflammation). I have been through cancer tests, bone marrow test's, tested for autoimmune disease (all thankfully came back negative) and there is no explanation for the high inflammation I am experiencing. My inflammation/CRP levels are 2x what Lupus and Rhumatoid Arthritis patients experience.

I have been on an anti-inflammatory diet for 6 weeks, and the results were actually worse at the second test. So in trying to deduct what could be causing the inflammation and other symptoms it finally occurred to me that - BINGO maybe it is the NuvaRing! I read the potential side effects and was shocked - gall bladder disease, heart disease is one of them. I have been off for 2 weeks, and I already feel like a new person. I have not been tested again for inflammation (will happen in 2 weeks), but I am almost positive that is the cause.

Don't let this be you, do not let symptoms go as long as I did before realizing what you are doing to your body. Maybe the NR works for some people, but judging by the number of responses on this board, not many!

I am a 59 yo Male diagnosed with MG Myasthenia Gravis). MG is an autoimmune disease affecting the muscles. At it's worst I couldn't keep my eyes open, my speech was constantly slurred, I had double vision, and I had a hard time walking because my hip muscle sometimes would give out. I was on 60 mg of prednisone/day for 4 months and am on the "weaning off" cycle (decreasing the every other day dosage by -10mg at 3 week intervals then by -10 on the other day when the cycle gets to 60mg/0mg). The side effects are as previously mentioned: The good: My arms are like steel! My MG symptoms are pretty much gone. The bad: My Blood Sugar is so eratic and I have to take diabetes drugs to combat that. I am taking fosimax to combat osteoporosis (just in case as my Dr. says). My feet have swollen up really bad, my hands are swollen, my legs weep from all the edima (water retention), and I have a voratious appetite! The Ugly: My face looks like an Orangutan, My weight sored at least 50 lbs, I am moody as hell but the longer that I am on this drug the more tolerable it seems (by other people's obversations). I am having a hard time walking. I had to have a BiPAP machine so I could sleep at night. My memory is erratic and I hate that part.

Hope this helps someone.

I have been taking prednisone for five year for sarcoidosis,an autoimmune disease that targets first your lungs and then your immune system attacks any and can attack all muscles of the body. It left me with scaretissues in my lung.started with 70mg. down now to 20 and have been down to 5. every time i think i can come off my breathing gets worse but i think the medication also causes shortness of breath. i have lost vision in one eye ,no central vision since this med.break out in rashes.feels like iam disconnected mentally and phycially eye floaters in the other eye weight gain of about 50 pounds that will not move and i don't eat hardly anything.nervousness,moodswings and let me not forget the hypertension that i never had until this med. Now iam taking meds to doctor the problems the p rednisone created. CANNOT WIN FOR LOSING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was taking Levaquin and Medrol Dospak for an upper respiratory infection in the beginning of May 2006. On the fourth day I became violently ill-vomiting and diarhea every twenty minutes, weak pulse, cold clammy skin, low blood pressure, dry mouth difficulty swallowing, muscles spasms and extreme weakness. I was taken to my doctors office where I was given IV fluids as I was dehydrated. All medications were stopped. I went home to try to recover from what I thought was the flu. I had muscle aches and started getting severe joint pain and burning in feet. My mouth was painfully dry ...back to dr. he said I might have Sjorgens Disease (autoimmune disease) and Reactive Arthritis. I have never had anything like that before. He recommended a Rhumatologist...that Dr. said to keep doing what I was doing with first Dr...I was trying despartely to find out what was wrong and get well as my daughter was getting married in June. These symptoms increased and the fatigue was awful. All blood tests were normal except for a slight elevation of CRP which shows inflammation. I still do not know what caused this and what to do about it. I have started to feel better regarding the finger and wrist and shoulder pain as I was prescribed pain medication and more steriods. The pain in the joints of the knees and ankles and toes is lessening. The fatigue is still there. The scary thing is I never thought it could be from a medication and right now I am again on Levaquin and Medrol Dospak for another upper respiratory infection....I am on my second day of meds and after reading this I wonder if I should contiue??

I really didn't have any side effects at the time, however, I was getting injections in my nose for sinus-allergies. It did help. I probably had 4 injections alltogether. One day I called in to see if I could come in for one of the injections. The nurse told me that only one Dr. gives them - which was my Dr. and he was out of town.

I made an appointment to get one when he came back and went to the appointment. I expressed my concern that only he would give them. He said he would leave the room and I could think about it. I decided not. At age 50 probably 4 years later I got Good Pastures disease - an auto immune disease. It took my kiidneys. Now I sometimes wonder if the injections had anything to do with it.

I have been taking this drug for 1 year and 6 months. At the most it was 240/day in hospital. I was released at 60mg plus 100 mg of Imuran for autoimmune disease antisynthase syndrome anti jo 1. What a nightmare. I had just about what everyone else is talking about. Now I am off this drug and hav ereduced the Imuran to 25 mg. My symptoms are no longer present. Man, I am soooo tired. I can go a little then have to rest. How long before my energy comes back. i have been off (after reducing 1 mg a month when I hit 10) now one month. Thanks
Peg