I’ve been a prednisone a couple times over the years. Like most folks here, on a short-course the wieght gain/bloating is very minor. You might notice if you weight yourself every day - but the good news is the fluid gain (that’s what it is early on) gets pee’ed away quickly once you’re off the drug.
It’s increased hunger in general. Not increased craving - increased hunger. You want to eat more.
As for cravings… I craved fat and salt when I was on it. But then, that IS my normal craving. I almost never crave sweets but I do like my salty grease. So maybe whatever you tend to crave you’ll crave more.
If you’re very concerned eat low-fat and exercise a little more while you’re on it. Except it will be much harder to control your food intake while you’re on it. On the up side, I usually get a burst of energy while taking it, so more exercise comes easier.
As for the mood swings - this varies enormously from person to person. I ride the Emotional Roller Coaster - depressed to manic to bitch to comic in .0006 seconds. The higher the dose the worse the effect, but on a short course starting at 50 mg even I wouldn’t get too wacky. If you’re concerned, stay with a friend who can keep an eye on you and give you feedback on your reactions for the first day or two (after which you’ll be on a lower dose - if this is going to show up it will do so quickly)
It’s my observation, which is far from a scientific study, that women seem to be more prone to the mental effects of prednisone than the men.
On allergists - it’s important to find one that’s willing to take time. I haven’t been to one myself in years, partly because the last one I went to was so unhelpful. He did the traditional skin tests for about 40 typical allergens, and I responded positively to almost everything. But my understanding is that skin tests aren’t very precise - they’re poor at measuring the intensity of a reaction, and that’s what you really need to know in order to manage your life. In my case, the allergist kind of wrung his hands, prescribed basic antihistamines, and let that be the end of it.
I recall hearing that more precise tests are now available, but they’re more work and more expensive. But if they’re better at telling a patient what to worry about, I’d say they’re worth it.
When I was on prednisone for my ulcerative colitis, I was on it for just 2 or 3 months and my face never got puffy and I wasn’t irritable (of course that’s my opinion).
I did get one side effect of which I wasn’t aware until a few years later - premature cataracts on my eyes. But if I had to choose between the condition I was in before prednisone or the cataracts … I’ll go for the cataracts and prednisone
I was on it for a short time for a chronic lung condition.
It did indeed make me hungry, and I also experienced buring in the soles of my feet and the palms of my hands. Plus, I was up four times a night to pee.
Forthunately, I was only on it for a month. I’d rather be short of breath than go back on that stuff again. The only good thing about the stuff is how cheap it is. Our 20% copay for the month was only a buck-sixty.
When I first developed chronic hives, my allergist put me on Prednisone for almost a year - between 100 - 200 mg/day. Oh the mood swings! As bad as fertility shots (and that’s pretty freakin’ bad!) And never getting full. Not so much craving as manic eating with me. And I’ve never been a mood eater before. But it’s time to admit there’s a problem when you’re salting peanut butter before you add it to ice cream. Moon face - massive weight gain. Wasn’t too surprised when I developed steriod-induced diabetes.
Also, when you’re in chronic pain and the only thing that helps is this massive dose of steriods, even though you know they’re bad for you, you’ll do anything to keep it up. I never understood addicts until this. But now I’m paranoid the other way. I hate prednisone and avoid it at all costs. Once, when I refused this course of treatment, my doctor pointed out that he could only treat me until I stopped breathing. The big meanie.
Now my husband had prednisone (for about 2 weeks) this year for a very bad infection in his leg. And he handled it beautifully. No weight gain, no massive mood swings. And it’s amazing how quickly it helped him.
I bought a box of Splenda, and am going to make lots of concoctions with it and nonfat milk and bananas and stuff. Milkshake-type things always make me feel full, so maybe that will help, and also trick my sweet tooth at the same time.
I’ve done short courses for lung inflammations a couple of times (5 days each time; I don’t remember the dosage, but it was in a prepacked tapering thingie starting with 6 tablets a day and moving down to one). No side effects whatsoever, and it killed the damn inflammation right away.
I thought it was worth a try, since I’m fond of breathing freely and all. But I might be more hesitant to try it for a skin condition without exhausting EVERY other possibility, and it sounds like a trip to the allergist couldn’t hurt anyway.
Day one, and I’m feeling fine. No more hungry than usual. I felt a bit speedy & dizzy earlier when my SO and I were out shopping, but after a nap, I feel much better. We’re even going out to an underground party tonight. So let’s hope I don’t start experiencing side effects in the next few days.
Oh, and my hands are healing incredibly fast, what with the soaking in lukewarm salt water (who woulda thunk?), the ultra-strong topical steroid, and the Prednisone is helping too, I guess.
The Catch-22 there is that washing my hands frequently - especially with the kind of industrial-grade soap in public washrooms - makes my eczema worse. Anyway, I’ve been prescribed antibiotics for infection.
Again, my hands are healing quite nicely - finally! - and I’m not having any untoward side-effects from the Prednisone. Yet.
Day three, and no puffiness, no increased hunger. The only thing is that I did get really speedy yesterday evening, decided to get a bunch of things done in a rather manic way, and did. But my hands are healing wonderfully.
