Fluid retention can cause weight gain but as steroids are reduced, fluids will usually reduce as well, along with some of the weight gain. Drinking plenty of water and exercising can help with fluid retention.
The best thing you can do to minimize side effects from taking prednisone is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. That means eating smart, exercising regularly and getting plenty of sleep. While taking prednisone, you should avoid smoking and drinking alcohol, and add supplements to your diet.
Some people only take prednisone for short periods of time. But even with short-term use, prednisone can cause changes in your appetite and mood, sweating, and insomnia. Your blood sugar levels can also go up. Typically, these side effects should resolve after you finish your course of prednisone.
Prednisone can make you feel jittery, which can lead to insomnia. Taking it early in the day can help ease those symptoms by bedtime. Eat a healthy diet. That means plenty of fruits, veggies, whole grains and reduced-fat milk and cheeses.
This medicine may cause changes in mood or behavior for some patients. Tell your doctor right away if you have depression, mood swings, a false or unusual sense of well-being, trouble with sleeping, or personality changes while taking this medicine.
Prednisone affects areas of the brain that manage the regulation of different neurotransmitters, including serotonin and dopamine — the “feel-good” hormones. Feeling happy is a great side effect some people feel with prednisone. Other responses are more menacing, especially if you don't know what to expect.
A gradual reduction in prednisone dosage gives your adrenal glands time to resume their usual function. The amount of time it takes to taper off prednisone depends on the disease being treated, the dose and duration of use, and other medical considerations. A full recovery can take a week to several months.
A 5-day course of prednisone can cause short-term side effects, including changes in mood, appetite, sleep, and energy. The severity of the side effects depends on the dose of prednisone. Low doses are less likely to cause adverse effects than high doses of prednisone.
Acute prednisone side effects
When starting a moderate or high dose of corticosteroids, such as prednisone, there are key symptoms to look out for. These can occur within days to weeks of starting the medication and may be cause for adjusting or even stopping the medication (with guidance from your doctor, of course).
Prednisone is often given to treat inflammatory flare-ups of medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, asthma or severe skin rashes. You may feel sleepy or tired while you recover. If your tiredness does not improve, contact your healthcare provider.
If symptoms such as abdominal pain, fever or unusual digestive problems (diarrhea, constipation) occur during corticosteroid therapy, notify your physician.
Prednisone can have a negative effect on metabolism. Cravings seem to be heightened so drinking water, eating fruits and vegetables can help. Sometimes fruit or vegetable smoothies can fill us up. Protein in the morning (eggs and cheese – flavored soy cheese is good) might help with cravings during the day.
Prednisone can irritate the lining of your stomach and should always be taken with a meal. If your stomach still feels sore after taking prednisone with food, try taking an antacid. If the discomfort persists or gets worse, talk to your doctor.
Side effects can range from mild to severe, and they may worsen over time, especially with higher doses of the medication. Side effects may include: Personality/mood changes.
Prednisone has a tendency to raise the level of glucose, or sugar, in the blood, which can cause increased body fat or diabetes in some people. It is important to avoid "simple" carbohydrates and concentrated sweets, such as cakes, pies, cookies, jams, honey, chips, breads, candy and other highly processed foods.
You may only need a short course of prednisolone for up to 1 week. You may need to take it for longer, even for many years or the rest of your life.
Specific medications in this group include (in no particular order) Flovent, Pulmicort, QVAR, Asmanex, and many others, both brand-name and generic. These are medicines that are similar to prednisone, but the dose is much lower than prednisone taken by mouth, and the side effects are dramatically reduced.
Even short-term use of prednisone can bring on side effects like mood swings, weight gain, and increased sweating. Your health care provider will determine the lowest effective dose you can take for the shortest amount of time to minimize the side effects of prednisone.
Psychological withdrawal symptoms could last for 2 to 8 weeks. The doctor may give you blood tests to check your cortisol levels as you taper off prednisone. You may need to taper off more slowly or go back to your regular dose if you have severe symptoms.
Official answer. Prednisone usually works very quickly, within a few hours to days of taking the first dose depending on the condition you are treating. If the prescribed dose of prednisone is effective at reducing your inflammation, then you may notice an effect within hours.
Most of the time, your recommended medication will help brain fog by easing the rest of your arthritis symptoms. But every now and then, steroid-based drugs like prednisone might cause side effects like brain fog, anxiety, and sleeplessness, says Dr.
Mild side effects that have been reported with prednisone include: edema (swelling due to excess fluid) muscle weakness. bloating (swelling due to excess fluid or gas, often in the abdomen)
If you stop taking prednisone abruptly, your body isn't prepared to resume production so quickly and withdrawal symptoms will occur. These include weakness, fatigue, decreased appetite, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
Compromised immune system
Turns out, prednisone's greatest asset is also its greatest weakness. The very action that makes prednisone so effective — its ability to mute the immune system and relieve symptoms — can also lead to an increased risk of illness and infection, since your body's defenses are low.