Message Boards for the CF Trust

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gabby@orint.co.uk

Posts: 1
From: london
Registered: 08-Nov-2006

side effects of prednisolone
Posted: 09-Nov-2006 15:48

Reply

Hi Everybody,

My name is Gabby, I have a nine year old son Jake who has CF, he has just been diagnosed with ABPA, and we are about to start a course of prednisolne, I just wondered if any one could tell me how likely and how bad the side effects are, or if anyone knows of any alternatives? We have literally just had the blood results and are going to clinic tomorrow, but I thought this a good opportunity to introduce myself and ask if anyone has any suggestions on what we should be asking, its come a bit like a bolt from the blue as we thought all was going well, I'm in a bit of a fluster.. Thank you for your suggestions in advance...

Gabby

softie

Posts: 1,070
From: Croydon, Surrey
Registered: 07-Feb-2004

Re: side effects of prednisolone
Posted: 09-Nov-2006 18:02

Reply

Hello gabby, and welcome to the forums!,

I've never had much by way of side-effects with prednisolone beyond getting raised blood-sugars. There are other, fairly likely effects:-

Mood swings. Some kids can become very badly behaved, and it may be necessary to talk to the school if this happens.
Weight gain. Not a bad thing for pwcf!

There are other side-effects that generally only occur with long courses or huge doses, such as fluid retention, bone weakening, growth reduction, slow healing of wounds and others, but a short course is very unlikely to cause these.

I think that's most of them.

I'm sure someone will come along if they know of any others. Take care, keep up the good work!

Richard.

Everlong

Posts: 45
From: Glasgow
Registered: 06-Nov-2006

Re: side effects of prednisolone
Posted: 09-Nov-2006 19:10

Reply

Thinning of the skin is another one, but I think thats more over long term and taking Itraconazole at the same time that will cause it.

MandyL

Posts: 26
From: Lanarkshire
Registered: 06-Nov-2006

Re: side effects of prednisolone
Posted: 10-Nov-2006 18:22

Reply

Hi there, my daughter is 11 and also has ABPA and has took prednisolone a few times, first time was fine, next time she had a moon face and some temper tantrums but the third time was a nightmare and i said she would never go back on them because of the behavior side of things. She needed the steroids again but the new hospital we now attend offered an alternative and so far so good! thats a month she has been on these other ones now but i think its just trial and error, your son could be fine. If things do go pear shaped though after a while at least you know he can try another type as i didnt know this and was never offered it at our last hospital. Good luck. x

davidsmum

Posts: 4
From: Berkshire
Registered: 14-Dec-2006

Re: side effects of prednisolone
Posted: 14-Dec-2006 13:24

Reply

My son went on them twice and they caused him to get diabetes. It didn't get diagnosed quickly and he didn't come out of hospital - he was very poorly anyway and on oxygen at the time.

We weren't warned properly about this side effect and didn't realise what had happened. Make sure to get a home blood sugar test kit so you can spot problems.

I think they may suit some but not others.

BeckySerenDylan

Posts: 146
From: Suffolk
Registered: 06-Nov-2006

Re: side effects of prednisolone
Posted: 14-Dec-2006 13:27

Reply

My son has had prednisolone for his severe asthma about four times now, with no side effects, apart from a slightly increased appetite, and slightly more energy, but that could just have been him feeling better because of the steroids kicking in.

Becky x

MoO

Posts: 43
From: West Midlands
Registered: 06-Nov-2006

Re: side effects of prednisolone
Posted: 14-Dec-2006 18:55

Reply

Grace doesn't have ABPA but she is on long term steroids,we were hoping to get it reviewed at BCH in September, but they left things as they were and will not be reviewed until March now

, makes me a little sad really with known side affects. The reason she was put on steroids was because she very rarely manages to stay on a prophylactic for more than about 2 weeks before developing a very loose cough and needing to change to another antibiotic. She has managed about 6 months this time, but she has DNase also to help with the productive cough, which presently is very dry, just hope she can come off them soon.

Anyway it hasn't made much difference to her mood, she is always very enthusiastic but she has been on them for so long we don't know if she would be quite the same if she wasn't on them. Her face is fuller but apart from that there has been no big weight gain for her.

Message was edited by: MoO

Perdita

Posts: 19
Registered: 08-Nov-2006

Re: side effects of prednisolone
Posted: 15-Dec-2006 13:19

Reply

Our son (nearly 2) has taken short courses of Prednisolone for wheezing during hospital stays, and it literally sends him bouncing off the walls! Does really seem to help him turn a corner quickly when he is unwell though. But these are just courses of 3 or 5 days.

Good luck x

Emma S

Posts: 59
From: Battle, East Sussex
Registered: 06-Nov-2006

Re: side effects of prednisolone
Posted: 16-Dec-2006 00:01

Reply

To Davids mum - how long did your son take the 2 doses of prednisolone for? I only ask because Jasmine was fine in the sugar dept but since she has been ill she took 3 lots of this horrible stuff, and the last bloods they took recently had very high sugar levels compared to before (tho not exhorbantly high, and both times the bloods were taken straight after lunch) she has only had short courses, again for unusual wheezyness, and her behaviour is ABYSMAL when she is on it, and for a while after.......is Softie there to explain why prednisolone can upset the pancreatic funtion like this (I could probably work it out but Jack not sleeping and my brain turning to jelly!!)
emma x

MarkR

Posts: 5
From: Lebanon, Oregon USA
Registered: 16-Dec-2006

Re: side effects of prednisolone
Posted: 16-Dec-2006 00:30

Reply

Hi Gabby,
The side effects very depending on how long you have to take them. Before I had my Transplant I had been on Prednisone for 8 years straight. The side effects I had are Cataracts in both eyes, Diabetes, brittle bones and Osteoporosis. no a days Doctors only keep people on steroids for a short time

softie

Posts: 1,070
From: Croydon, Surrey
Registered: 07-Feb-2004

Re: side effects of prednisolone
Posted: 16-Dec-2006 14:24

Reply

Hi!

I'd love to be able to explain exactly why prednisolone and other steroids raise blood sugars, but apparently there is no answer yet - at least, not one I could find online without spending ages reading medical papers! It appears that there may even be several different mechanisms involved that reduce the rate the body burns up sugar and makes the body less sensitive to insulin. That is as much as the docs appear to know. (They do know a lot of stuff on the lines of "well that test failed to explain it... and that test failed to explain it..." and so on, but that's not much use to us.)

Sorry!

Richard.