Does prednisone always make you gain weight? It's not in my case! ?

Question

I've been taking prednisone off and on every month for about a year, and every other week I take it, at a pretty low dose though 10mgs, but pretty regularly, and I have yet to see any weight gain supposedly from this drug, or bloated face or any other horrid side effect.

The only side effects I notice so far are "feeling a bit out of it/spacey, and a bit stimulated/agitated," to a tiny degree, but that's pretty much it.

It does wonders for my asthma. Literally.

I was afraid of the weight gain, but so far, I don't seem to be gaining much.

How does one gain weight from this drug anyways? Does it slow down the metabolism?

It seems to irritate the lining of my stomach though.

Other than that, I feel good on it.

Does it really lower your immune system by alot though?

Answer 1

is that the way the dr wants u to take it? Prednisone is very dangerous with tons of side effects is decreases inflammation, which is why it helps asthma, but inflammation is how our body fights infections, so it seriously lowers your immune response.  i hope you are using some kind of inhaled steroid like the one in advair, if not you should use those first line treatment much less systemic effects

Answer 2

Luke, You have no idea. I have severe copd and as such I have spent quite a lot of time on prednisone, like you it helped my breathing. However two years ago I fell and broke my back, from T1 to T10, requiring two emergency surgeries, two rods and sixteen pins. The Doctors informed me my fracture was caused by low bone density and that any fall I have will result in a fracture. The cause of my low bone density, you guessed it, prednisone. Nobody ever warned me that steroids would weaken your bones, but they do, they also have an adverse effect on your veins, Yes, they lower your bodies ability to fight infection and can cause diabetes. So please proceed with caution, talk to your physician about the dangers. Also most pulmonary specialists do not recommend steroids as a solution. They can make you gain weight but believe me, that is the least thing you need to worry about.

Answer 3

You really have to be on higher doses to notice the bad side effects. I was on as much as 90 mg daily. Makes you feel really crazy. Thing is I noticed a more bloated face but I never gained much weight on prednisone anyway. I would say many people don't gain all that much weight on prednisone. I think it varies a lot from person to person.