Reviewer: just dandy, 55-64 Female on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)

Comment:
A year ago I was in the hospital and was being given Predisone via IV and also taking it orally. In a very few days I was enormous. My face was a moon. I'm still trying to lose the weight. In addition, I had trouble sleeping, being hyper, having some bipolar symptoms and terrible swelling. I realize that one man's trash is another man's treasure, so I can only judge my experiences with ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
A year ago I was in the hospital and was being given Predisone via IV and also taking it orally. In a very few days I was enormous. My face was a moon. I'm still trying to lose the weight. In addition, I had trouble sleeping, being hyper, having some bipolar symptoms and terrible swelling. I realize that one man's trash is another man's treasure, so I can only judge my experiences with the drug. A few days ago my doctor prescribed prednisone 5 pills for 2 days, 4 pills for 2 days, 3 pills for 2 days, etc. I did take the first dose, then realized just what I was doing. I refused to take the rest of the pills. Such a relatively low dose/short term regimen might not have caused any ill effects, but I decided I didn't want to find out. So many of the reviewers here have had much more serious problems to begin with than I, and equally, much more serious adverse reactions to prednisone; however, I felt I needed to speak out about my own experiences and reactions.
Hide Full Comment

Reviewer: AVNmom, 35-44 Female on Treatment for 1 to 6 months (Caregiver)

Comment:
My daughter developed osteonecrosis (also known as Avascular Necrosis) (meaning bone death) as a result of this medication. This is not disclosed to the Consumer, but is on the Professional page's adverse side effects. She took this drug for 4 months and she has bone death in her right shoulder, both elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles confirmed with an MRI. If you choose, and I realize some ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
My daughter developed osteonecrosis (also known as Avascular Necrosis) (meaning bone death) as a result of this medication. This is not disclosed to the Consumer, but is on the Professional page's adverse side effects. She took this drug for 4 months and she has bone death in her right shoulder, both elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles confirmed with an MRI. If you choose, and I realize some have no choice, to take this drug, watch joints for pain/swelling and DEMAND an MRI because Osteonecrosis will not show up on regular x-ray in its early stages and early diagnosis is essential for early treatment to prevent the collapse of your joints.
Hide Full Comment

Reviewer: (Patient)

Comment:
If anyone tells you prednisone is safe, don't believe them. It's dangerous and an evil drug: it ruined my life. It gave me cystic acne that scarred my skin; I became suicidal and very depressed and my entire personality changed; I became bipolar; I had and still have heart problems from it; I now have thyroid disease; and I have a lot of other problems as well. I really wish I had been ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
If anyone tells you prednisone is safe, don't believe them. It's dangerous and an evil drug: it ruined my life. It gave me cystic acne that scarred my skin; I became suicidal and very depressed and my entire personality changed; I became bipolar; I had and still have heart problems from it; I now have thyroid disease; and I have a lot of other problems as well. I really wish I had been assigned a different doctor. When I became sick, I was assigned someone, Anne Sullivan, whose medical interests supposedly are adolescents and chronic disease--and because I was an adolescent with a chronic disease, I suspect that's why I was assigned this doctor. She told me prednisone was safe and not to worry about side effects; I believed her, as I would've believed any doctor. I never would've taken this drug if I knew about the side effects. I started experiencing side effects right away and the doctors denied them--and now they're permanent, because they refused to treat them. Also: prednisone didn't help my disease at all. In fact, just weeks later I was told I was going to die and my mom and I had to drive five hours all the way back to Iowa City, to the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, to see my doctor. The reason why I, a teenager, was going to do, however, was related to the stupid advice my doctors in the hospital gave me, not my disease. Basically what I'm saying is find a good doctor; most likely a good doctor won't put you on prednisone unless it's a last resort and you know what you're getting into. Also you should know, once you're on prednisone you can't just abruptly stop taking it or it can kill you. I wasn't told this. I didn't stop taking it--I followed their orders exactly--but some people I'm sure would just stop taking a drug if it gave them bad side effects, particularly teenagers, so it's really pretty bad that I wasn't told I could die if I stopped taking it. I really wish I had stopped taking it though and just taken the risk.
Hide Full Comment

Reviewer:

Comment:
Prednisone is far more dangerous than most illegal drugs. It is one of the most dangerous drugs you could ever take. I HATE it with a passion for what it did to my life. I will NEVER take it again. Side effects experienced: Depression, osteoporosis, diabetes, acne, roid rage, suicidal, mood swings, moon face, shortness of breath, anxiety, dry eyes, purple veins on face, 80lb weight gain, memor ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
Prednisone is far more dangerous than most illegal drugs. It is one of the most dangerous drugs you could ever take. I HATE it with a passion for what it did to my life. I will NEVER take it again. Side effects experienced: Depression, osteoporosis, diabetes, acne, roid rage, suicidal, mood swings, moon face, shortness of breath, anxiety, dry eyes, purple veins on face, 80lb weight gain, memory loss, loss of muscle, acid reflux, blurry vision, shaky hands, insomnia, frequent urination (sounds minor but is annoying; there is a pill for old men for this "going too often?"; you've seen the commercial), stretch marks, skin atrophy.
Hide Full Comment

Reviewer: 19-24 on Treatment for 6 months to less than 1 year (Patient)

Comment:
I loved my life before taking prednisone; now I hate it. I hate every day of my life because of this drug. I had perfect skin before taking prednisone; prednisone changed that; it gave me cystic acne. I asked my doctors what to do. They said it would go away on its own and not do anything. It didn't. Instead, it left scars and ruined my skin. I never had a problem with depression before taking ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
I loved my life before taking prednisone; now I hate it. I hate every day of my life because of this drug. I had perfect skin before taking prednisone; prednisone changed that; it gave me cystic acne. I asked my doctors what to do. They said it would go away on its own and not do anything. It didn't. Instead, it left scars and ruined my skin. I never had a problem with depression before taking prednisone. Prednisone, however, made me severely depressed. I thought about committing suicide; I tried to commit suicide; I was impulsive and it impaired my thinking. I was manic. It gave me panic attacks severe anxiety. It made the whites of my eyes bright red and they're still bright red, so dry I can no longer wear contacts. It also gave me dry skin, extreme insomnia, profuse sweating, yellow skin (possible liver damage), thyroid disease, increased appetite, weight gain, and slowed healing ability. Regular cuts would scar and not heal properly. Prednisone can thin your skin, making you get cuts and bruises easier--and then, because prednisone inhibits your ability to heal and suppresses your immune system, these cuts, at least for me, leave scars--that's why the scars from the cystic acne are so bad. I never even should have been put on prednisone--it's not a first line treatment for my disease, and I was just diagnosed. Some people never taken it because of its risks and side effects. I wasn't given the option though. I wasn't told about side effects or my treatment options. I was only told it was safe and not to worry about side effects. If I had been told about its side effects, I never would've taken it. With what should have been the first-line treatment, I was able to put my disease in remission on my own. So this drug was completely superfluous, a complete waste; it didn't do anything positive. It only ruined my life. So now, although my disease is finally in remission, it doesn't really matter.
Hide Full Comment