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Support for taking prednisone

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/31/2019 11:28 AM (GMT -6)
Hi!

I’ve been dealing with a stubborn mild flare for almost a year now after my pregnancy. I decided to stick with my ASA-5, oral and rectal enemas, added LDN and I’m on the SCD diet. I was feeling about 98 percent better two weeks and all of a sudden, it’s become the worst it’s been out of the blue.

I’m starting to contemplate taking the 20 mg of prednisone with the taper for 5 weeks. I’m just terrified as I’ve never taken it before. Any support, advice?
Posted 10/31/2019 11:48 AM (GMT -6)
What were your symptoms flaring and what are they at this point?

q
Posted 10/31/2019 12:20 PM (GMT -6)
Symptom before was just a tiny bit of blood. But formed stools, 1 to 2 times a day.

Now it’s Diarrhea with more blood. Feels like I have to go but don’t need to. Ugh
Posted 10/31/2019 12:33 PM (GMT -6)
>Now it’s Diarrhea with more blood. Feels like I have to go but don’t need to. Ugh

I would take the prednisone and plan on 2-months being the start to end timeframe. Pred is great at working rocketship fast in relieving us from the worst of our UC flare symptoms. Yes pred is the devil, but unfortunately a necessary evil at times.

Are you doing this without consulting a doctor? You should be working with your doctor. You should get a test to determine your current inflammation levels (to assess whether pred alone is the best course, or whether you also need stronger medications going forward, like Imuran or Humira). It's always good to get a stool test for infections to make sure you didn't pick up a nasty bug like C Diff.

What's your current dose of the 5ASA oral and rectal? You should be taking 4.8 grams oral, and 4.0 grams rectally.
Posted 10/31/2019 12:39 PM (GMT -6)
I used to be like you, afraid to touch prednisone. I totally understand, believe me. Everything you read about it is scary, and true. However... my reluctance to hit my flares hard meant that the inflammation became more extreme and did far more damage to my body.

In the first year I flared, I was so afraid of prednisone that I only took 15mg of the stuff. A few weeks later I had a fulminant flare and was in the hospital on 60+mg of IV pred anyway.

Prednisone is not going to seriously harm your body unless you're on it cumulatively for years. Do whatever you can to stop your body's inflammation so that you can keep your bowel healthy and unchanged for as long as possible. You don't want runaway inflammation to cause scarring, narrowing and other complications. Take it from someone who learned the hard way. You have to think long-term, beyond this flare and into the future when there will be other flares. Each flare does cumulative damage, so the more you can control it now, the more you will spare yourself problems down the road.

Post Edited (MarkWithIBD) : 10/31/2019 12:44:29 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/31/2019 12:59 PM (GMT -6)
It's not that bad and it usually helps us feel better very fast. 20 mg is a very low dose to start on. Usually it's started at 40 mg.
Posted 10/31/2019 2:53 PM (GMT -6)
I've been on and off Prednisone for 10 years. I tended to be very responsive to it and could usually pull the worst flares down with exactly what you are describing - a 20mg taper. And that is a low dose.

There are side effects but overall Prednisone is a wonder drug. You do you, but I don't think a single 20mg taper is going to break you. And then you will understand one of the tools you can use to control your UC.
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