9/4/2022 0 Comments experience with prednisoneMy experience with Prednisone started when I was first diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2018. Prednisone is a steroid used to decrease inflammation in the body. More specifically, it is a corticosteroid used to decrease inflammation and keep and overactive immune system in check. Prednisone comes with a whole list of side effects since it affects the entire body. The main side effects include infection, body fluid retention, mood changes, gastric acid hypersecretory conditions, insomnia, weight gain, facial edema, skin atrophy, and many more.
I was put on Prednisone right at the beginning of my diagnosis to decrease the overall inflammation in my large intestine. This was crucial to get my inflammation to a lower level in order to switch to a more manageable drug. I was on Prednisone for 4 months and let me tell you those where the longest 4 months of my life. The first 3 months I was on my full dose of Prednisone, and the last month I began weening off and transitioning to a different medication. Weening off Prednisone was extremely important, because it was such a high dose. During these 4 months, I experience many side effects. The main ones were body fluid retention and depression. A primary place the body will retain fluid is in the face, which is also called "moon face." This was the hardest part for me. I started gaining weight and looking really plump. With this came my depression. I was extremely self-conscious of how I looked. As I began weening off Prednisone, I started my senior year of high school. I was extremely bummed out that I was taking my senior pictures with my moon face. At this point it had gone down a little bit, but it was still very prominent. It did go completely back to normal after a couple of months. Overall, I did not enjoy being on Prednisone and would like to avoid it in the future whenever possible. Here I am including 3 pictures. The first picture is right before starting Prednisone. The second picture is approximately 2 months in to starting the medication. And the third picture is my senior picture as I was starting to ween off the medication.
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This blog will consist of IBD related content, including its side effects. If blood, diarrhea, or any other symptoms of IBD are bothersome for you, refrain from reading some of the content.
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