Sodium and Fluids Although you can add some salt to your dishes, avoid adding too much when you're taking prednisone. This also means reducing your intake of foods that contain high amounts of salt, such as canned foods, pickles, potato chips, crackers, and bacon.
Prednisone may cause sodium (salt) and fluid retention, which can raise blood pressure and contribute to swelling. A small amount of salt in cooking is usually acceptable in helping to control this retention, but excessive salt use should be avoided.
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. This helps keep blood sugar low. Limit saturated fat and cholesterol. Choose lean meats, poultry and fish.
It's best to avoid drinking alcohol while taking prednisone or other corticosteroids (“steroids”). Alcohol can make some steroid side effects worse. It can also sometimes worsen the underlying condition being treated. On their own, steroids, like prednisone, and alcohol can suppress your immune system.
Prednisone can cause your body to hold onto extra water. This causes swelling or puffines, usually around your eyes and ankles, and can also cause high blood pressure. Too much salt in your diet can make this problem worse.
Drinking plenty of water and exercising can help with fluid retention. Weight gain and increase in appetite – Sometimes if you are also taking an immunosuppressive, the appetite might be decreased.
Serious side effects
a high temperature, chills, a very sore throat, ear or sinus pain, a cough, more saliva or a change in colour of saliva (yellowish and possibly with streaks of blood), pain when you pee, mouth sores or a wound that will not heal – these can be signs of an infection.
Avoid contact with people who have recently received live vaccines (such as flu vaccine inhaled through the nose). This medicine may cause stomach bleeding. Daily use of alcohol while using this medicine may increase your risk for stomach bleeding. Limit alcoholic beverages.
But there are steps you can take to decrease the risk of unwanted side effects. Things to avoid (or cut back on) while taking prednisone include: Caffeine: Caffeine can add to the unwanted stimulant effects of prednisone. Combining caffeine with steroids can keep you awake at night or make you feel jittery and anxious.
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.
The higher the dose and the longer the duration of treatment, the more likely you are to put on weight. You can control fluid retention by eating a diet low in sodium and eating more foods that contain potassium such as bananas, apricots, and dates.
Steroids may increase your risk of developing ulcers or gastrointestinal bleeding, especially if you take these medications along with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen or aspirin. If at all possible, don't combine steroids with NSAIDs.
Corticosteroids and Nutrient Depletion
To add to that side-effect, they promote nutrient depletion. According to the Natural Medicines Database, corticosteroid drugs such as prednisone deplete calcium, vitamin D, chromium, zinc, potassium and magnesium from the bodies of those who use them.
A person taking prednisone may want to avoid alcohol until they finish the treatment. Alcohol can worsen some side effects of prednisone, such as immune system suppression, bone weakening, and weight gain. It is best to speak with a doctor to avoid serious complications.
“If corticosteroids are to blame, gradually tapering off them can help with weight loss and facial swelling,” Dr. Guo said. “You'll take less and less until your body adjusts, and you might be able to safely stop the steroid. You need to have normal adrenal gland function before you stop long-term steroids.”
Take this medicine exactly as directed by your doctor. Do not take more of it, do not take it more often, and do not take it for a longer time than your doctor ordered. To do so may increase the chance for unwanted effects. Take this medicine with food or milk to avoid stomach irritation.
There are many medicines that can affect the way prednisolone works, or increase the risk of side effects. It's very important you check a medicine is safe to take with prednisolone before you start taking it. This includes anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen and aspirin.
Also, increase your intake of low-fat foods that have high calcium levels. Some of these include corn, sardines, almonds, broccoli, milk, yogurt, cheese, tofu, cooked soybeans, boiled white beans, and salmon.
I also recommend some simple and usually safe over-the-counter treatments such as melatonin or chamomile.
How long to take it for. 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.
Common short-term prednisone side effects include nausea, weight gain and headaches. More serious side effects include fetal toxicity, allergic reactions and high blood pressure. Prednisone side effects are more likely to occur with larger doses or long-term therapy.
Prednisone generally works very quickly — usually within one to four days — if the prescribed dose is adequate to reduce your particular level of inflammation.
If symptoms such as abdominal pain, fever or unusual digestive problems (diarrhea, constipation) occur during corticosteroid therapy, notify your physician.
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.
The fear of using corticosteroids is so common that it has its own name: corticophobia. For topical steroids, this fear stems from well-known and severe adverse effects like Cushing syndrome and permanent skin atrophy.