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Newsgroups: sci.med Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu!fs7.ece.cmu.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!gatech!willis1.cis.uab.edu!spam.dom.uab.edu!user From: uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu!gila005 (Stephen Holland) Subject: Re: Prednisone...what are the significant long term side effects? Message-ID: Followup-To: sci.med Sender: root@cis.uab.edu (Operator) Organization: Gastroenterology - Univ of Alabama References: <1993Apr4.134300.6050@kpc.com> <1993Apr5.162257.17213@aio.jsc.nasa.gov> Date: Mon, 5 Apr 1993 21:46:31 GMT > >I have been taking prednisone 5mg twice a day for a while to control > >Ulcerative Colitis. It seems like if I reduce the dosage, the problem > >becomes worse. At this point, i see myself taking prednisone for a long > >long time, perhaps for ever. I was wondering about long term major side > >effects, things like potential birth defects, arthritis etc. I have been > >putting on weight, my face looks puffed and round, experience sudden mood > >swings. As I understand, these are all short term. I second what Spenser Aden said in reply. Additionally, it is hard to say what type of response you ar3e having to prednisone since you did not say how long you have been on it. Patients are generally kept on steroids for months before thinking about tapering. Alternatives to daily dosing are every other day dosing, in your case 20mg every other day would be a start. Another option if it is not possible to get you off prednisone is to start azathioprine. Like Spenser said, you should generally be on another drug in addition to your prednisone, like asulfidine. A lot of the specifics about options, though, depends on severity, location, and duration of disease, as well as histology, so take advice off the net for what it is worth. I treat patients with UC and Crohn's. An educated patient is a good patient, but let your doctor know where the advice came from so things can be put in context. You should also be a member of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. 1-800-932-2423 office / 1-800-343-3637 info hotline. Best of Luck to you. Steve Holland. gila005@uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu
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