If a person experiences insomnia while taking prednisone, taking the medication in the morning may help minimize the disruption to the sleep-wake cycle. Alternatively, a doctor may suggest splitting the dose between morning and night.
Dr. Roach: Prednisone is a powerful anti-inflammatory and immune-system suppressor that is used for many conditions. It can cause some degree of insomnia in 50 to 70 percent of those who take it, but the higher the dose, the more likely the insomnia.
If possible, try not to lay down for a few hours after a dose of prednisone to avoid symptoms of heartburn.
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.
Eating extra calcium and taking calcium supplements are very important for anyone taking prednisone.
When a person stops taking prednisone or other steroids abruptly, they may notice symptoms similar to adrenal insufficiency. These include lethargy, low appetite, weight loss, and a general feeling of being unwell. Prednisone is a corticosteroid that doctors prescribe to treat swelling and inflammation.
It mimics the stress hormone cortisol. When taken for extended periods, prednisone interferes with the body's natural production of cortisol. As a result, it is not recommended to stop prednisone abruptly. Doing so can cause body aches, fatigue, fever, and other uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms.
Mood swings are common, too. In rare cases, people experience disorientation and hallucinations — a condition called “steroid-induced psychosis.” This is more likely if you're taking high doses of prednisone for a longer period of time. Restlessness: In addition to mood changes, prednisone can increase energy levels.
Fluid retention is one of prednisone's most famous side effects. “'Moon face' is common, which is swelling in the face that can occur after you've been on steroids for a long time,” Dr. Ford notes. “You can also get swelling in the legs and midsection.”
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.
Getting plenty of rest is also essential. This can be difficult because prednisone can interfere with sleep. One way to cope is to improve your sleep hygiene. This includes avoiding food and electronics before bedtime and sleeping in a cool, dark room.
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.
If you take oral corticosteroids for a long time, your adrenal glands may produce less of their natural steroid hormones. To give your adrenal glands time to recover this function, your provider may reduce your dose gradually.
Sleep disruption caused by exogenous administration of steroids is thought to trigger other psychostimulant effects, such as mood swings, nervousness, psychoses, and delirium.
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.
Prednisone, and all the glucocorticoids, is very activating. Meaning, it can rev up your system. This is a big reason most people feel great while on moderate to high doses. People experience less pain and higher energy.
One explanation for anxiety that may come with prednisone use is that it can disrupt the body's natural stress response. When a stressful event triggers the human body, the adrenal glands release the stress hormone cortisol, kicking off a cascade of behind-the-scenes bodily mechanisms to deal with the stressor.
Can coming off prednisone cause insomnia? Yes, stopping prednisone may cause sleep difficulties. This can be part of a condition known as steroid withdrawal syndrome. Steroid withdrawal syndrome is a group of symptoms that can occur when a person suddenly stops taking prednisone or other steroids.
However, there's a chance it will return after treatment stops. This is known as a relapse. Do not suddenly stop taking steroid medicine unless your doctor tells you it's safe to stop. Suddenly stopping treatment with steroids can make you very unwell.
This depends on your health problem or condition. 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.
Steroids won't cure your condition, but they're very good at reducing inflammation and will ease symptoms such as swelling, pain and stiffness. Usually inflammation is the body's natural reaction to infection or bacteria.
Corticosteroids may increase the body's loss of magnesium. Some doctors recommend that people taking corticosteroids for more than two weeks supplement with 300–400 mg of magnesium per day.
Prednisone generally works very quickly — usually within one to four days — if the prescribed dose is adequate to reduce your particular level of inflammation. Some people notice the effects of prednisone hours after taking the first dose.