Prednisone horrors

I see there are many several threads but I feel like I am crazy right now! I am on prednisone 40mg/day for 2 weeks and then a 5mg/week taper after that. I am on day 4. I can't do 10 more days at 40mg. I feel like an psychiatric ward combined in one right now. I don't sleep. I am depressed. I am manic. I cry. I laugh. I am losing it. I need off this medication!

Today the ravenous hunger began. I have an eating disorder, but for the last few years it has been pretty okay. The last year in particular was great for me. Now with the crohn's, for the last month, I have been losing weight fast and eating hurts and the eating disorder is creeping back up. Adding ravenous hunger to it is so upsetting. I am ignoring the hunger. That makes me feel ever worse. Eating hurts too.

The worse part is that the prednisone isn't helping at all. I got super constipated but now that has switched to D. For the first time there is mucus in it and it seems that is not a sign of getting better. Eating still hurts. I still can't tolerate solids. Nothing intestines wise has improved at all. Instead I just feel like I am absolutely crazy, just more sick.

I don't know what to do. It is a Friday and I could just stop taking it at this point since it has only been 4 days. I could also do a fast taper since the side effects are hitting me so hard. Tomorrow 20 and then Sunday 10 and then nothing on Monday. I could go back to the ER where they put me on the crap but I do not want to be admitted. I could also just wait it out til Monday and beg my doctor to fix this somehow.

I cannot survive this. This is awful!!!!!!

Background:

Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago. CT scan saw terminal ilietis. CRP is 91, ESR is high too, Iron and B12 are low. negative for parasites and C diff. 22 yr/o female with a family history of IBD stuff. Still waiting for the GI consult and official diagnostic stamp but everyone is already calling it crohn's, including the GI I saw in the ER. This is the first treatment we have tried.

Hi there
Could you put a call in to your doctor's office and see what they advise? It's still early days to tell if it's working or not. The mucus might be a sign of the inflammation starting to heal. But if mentally you are feeling really rough, I would definitely seek some medical help and advice.

I took my dose this morning and I am going to see how I am by mid afternoon. I think it may be exasperated by another med I take called baclofen, a muscle relaxant. Everything seems to get instantly worse once I take my dose of that. My pharmacist said there was no known interaction between the two but I suspect there is something going on there!

If it gets bad again I will go to an ER. If I can tough it out til Monday I will.

I spoke to my pharmacist tonight who suggested I cut it back to 30mg tomorrow and see if that helps. If not, go to a hospital. I am just scared it will make my doctors mad if I do that!

It won't or shouldn't make your doctors mad! If you read the instruction leaflet for Pred, they advise getting to an ER if you are experiencing severe mental side effects.
Did you cut back your dose? Not sure if that would make much of a difference.

I did cut back the dose today. I went down to 30mg. We will see what the day brings...

Prednisone makes me absolutely crazy when I have to be on it. My GP prescribes .5 daily Xanax to balance me out while I'm having to take the steroids. It makes a huge difference for me.

Yeah, I dropped to the 30 today to see if it will help. The day has been MUCH better so far. It made me super constipated and that finally resolved itself this afternoon. I am less on edge and I am less ravenously hungry - It also wasn't helping my pain so being super hungry and eating was making me feel worse and it was a vicious cycle. The psychological side effects come on at night, after I take my other night meds for other things, so tonight will be the real test. I have been much calmer today though and it gives me hope for tonight.

We will see what my doctor says about the 30mg. I am willing to do this at 30 for now, but without it really doing anything (at least from what I am feeling and experiencing) I am not sure if it is worth it but I will do what my doctor wants...except for the 40mg!

I took xanax to help with the crazies. And ambien to help me sleep. My kids call prednisone my "mean pills". After 9 months of increasing and decreasing dosage, and 3 different GI's, I finally refused any more prednisone. THEN I went into remission. Go figure. Good luck.

Saw my dr today. She was fine with the 30 and said that I can drop it more if I need to but the 30 is fine so I am going to stay here until it is time to taper down anyway. 1 more week before that!