Report any changes in mood or behavior to your doctor. Although experiencing side effects is unpleasant, it is crucial to avoid sudden discontinuation of this medication. Never stop or decrease your dose unless instructed by your doctor. Your doctor can instruct you on how to slowly decrease your dose if you need to stop taking this medication for any reason.
This article was first printed in the Foundation's patient newsletter for members. Click here to learn more about becoming a member. Self-care-tips: Since steroids can decrease your immunity to infection, you should have a yearly flu shot as long as you are on steroids. Your physician will take your age and risk factors into account when deciding which vaccinations you need.
If you have a history of tuberculosis, exposure to tuberculosis, or a positive skin test for tuberculosis, report this to your doctor. Gastrointestinal symptoms Steroids may increase your risk of developing ulcers or gastrointestinal bleeding, especially if you take these medications along with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs , such as ibuprofen or aspirin. Self-care tips: Report to your physician any severe, persisting abdominal pain or black, tarry stools.
Take the steroid mediation after a full meal or with antacids , as this may help reduce irritation of the stomach. Steroids can increase your appetite. Osteoporosis Steroid therapy can cause thinning of the bones osteopenia and osteoporosis , and increase the risk of bone fractures.
See this reference from the National Institutes of Health about how much calcium you need for your sex and age, and how to get as much as possible from diet.
The minimal daily requirement of vitamin D is international units UI daily, and most people on corticosteroids should take this amount. Your physician may check your vitamin D level and see if you actually need a higher dose.
Smoking and alcohol increase the risk of osteoporosis, so limiting these is helpful. Weight-bearing exercise walking, running, dancing, etc is helpful in stabilizing bone mass. Assess risk of falls. Make a thorough examination of your home and correct situations that might result in a fall, such as eliminating scatter rugs and any obstacles between bedroom and bathroom, and installing night lights.
Weight gain Steroids affect your metabolism and how your body deposits fat. Self-care tips: Watch your calories and exercise regularly to try to prevent excessive weight gain. But don't let weight gain damage your self-esteem. Know that the weight will be easier to take off in the six months to a year after you discontinue steroids. Insomnia Steroids may impair your ability to fall asleep, especially when they are taken in the evening. Self-care tips: If possible, the physician will try to have you take your entire daily dose in the morning.
This may help you sleep better at night evening doses sometimes make it difficult to fall asleep. Mood changes Steroids, especially in doses over 30 milligrams per day, can affect your mood. Self-care tips: Simply being aware that steroids can have an effect on your mood can sometimes make it less of a problem.
But, at times, this side will require that the steroid dosage be decreased. If maintaining the same steroid dosage is absolutely necessary, sometimes another medication can be added to help with the mood problem.
Corticosteroids are administered in many different ways, depending on the condition being treated:. Corticosteroids carry a risk of side effects, some of which can cause serious health problems.
When you know what side effects are possible, you can take steps to control their impact. Because oral corticosteroids affect your entire body instead of just a particular area, this route of administration is the most likely to cause significant side effects.
Side effects depend on the dose of medication you receive and may include:. When using an inhaled corticosteroid, some of the drug may deposit in your mouth and throat instead of making it to your lungs. This can cause:. If you gargle and rinse your mouth with water — don't swallow — after each puff on your corticosteroid inhaler, you may be able to avoid mouth and throat irritation.
Some researchers have speculated that inhaled corticosteroid drugs may slow growth rates in children who use them for asthma. Injected corticosteroids can cause temporary side effects near the site of the injection, including skin thinning, loss of color in the skin, and intense pain — also known as post-injection flare.
Other signs and symptoms may include facial flushing, insomnia and high blood sugar. Doctors usually limit corticosteroid injections to three or four a year, depending on each patient's situation. Corticosteroids may cause a range of side effects. But they may also relieve the inflammation, pain and discomfort of many different diseases and conditions.
Talk with your doctor to help you better understand the risks and benefits of corticosteroids and make informed choices about your health. There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Sign up for free, and stay up-to-date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID, plus expert advice on managing your health.
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Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization and proceeds from Web advertising help support our mission. Mayo Clinic does not endorse any of the third party products and services advertised. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. If you miss a dose of prednisolone, take it as soon as you remember.
If you don't remember until the following day, skip the missed dose. If you forget doses often, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to help you remember to take your medicine. The higher the dose of prednisolone that you take, the greater the chance of side effects.
You are less likely to get side effects if you take a relatively low dose of less than 20mg prednisolone daily. Some side effects, such as stomach upset or mood changes, can happen straight away. Others, such as getting a rounder face, happen after weeks or months. Common side effects happen in more than 1 in people. Keep taking the medicine, but tell your doctor if they bother you or don't go away:. You are more likely to have a serious side effect if you take a higher dose more than 20mg daily of prednisolone or if you have been taking it for more than a few weeks.
In rare cases, it's possible to have a serious allergic reaction anaphylaxis to prednisolone. You could be having a serious allergic reaction and may need immediate treatment in hospital. These are not all the side effects of prednisolone. For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicines packet. You can report any suspected side effect to the UK safety scheme. Long periods of prednisolone treatment can slow down the normal growth of children and teenagers.
Your child's doctor will watch their growth carefully while they are taking steroids. That way any slowing of growth can be picked up promptly and treatment changed if necessary. Talk to your doctor about the risks of giving prednisolone to your child if you are concerned. Prednisolone isn't usually recommended in pregnancy unless the potential benefits outweigh the risks. Prednisolone has occasionally been linked to problems in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
High doses or long-term use can also affect the unborn baby's growth. If you take prednisolone in pregnancy, the baby's growth will be checked often. You can usually take prednisolone while you're breastfeeding. However, prednisolone can get into breast milk. If you're taking a high dose of prednisolone the baby may need to be monitored for side effects. For safety, it's usually recommended that you wait 3 to 4 hours after taking your dose of prednisolone before feeding your baby or expressing milk.
There are many medicines that interfere with the way prednisolone works, or that increase the risk of side effects. It's very important you check a medicine is safe to take with prednisolone before you start taking it. This includes some medicines that you buy over the counter like aspirin and anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen. There's very little information about taking herbal remedies and supplements with prednisolone. For safety, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you take any other medicines, including herbal remedies, vitamins or supplements.
Steroids mimic the effects of hormones your body naturally produces in your adrenal glands. The adrenal glands sit on top of your kidneys. When prescribed in doses higher than your body's usual levels, steroids like prednisolone dampen inflammation. This can reduce the symptoms of inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis and asthma. Steroids also damp down your immune system, which can help in autoimmune illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis , where your immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues.
For other illnesses, you may not feel any better even though the medicine is helping you. This may be the case if you're taking prednisolone to stop your symptoms getting worse or to prevent a problem happening for example after an organ transplant.
You may need to take it for longer - even for many years or the rest of your life. If you have to take prednisolone for more than a few weeks, the chances are that you will put on weight. Prednisolone can make you hungrier and retain water, so it can be quite challenging to avoid weight gain. Try to eat well without increasing your portion sizes.
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