Monday, September 21, 2009

Prednisone Equals Chocolate Cake

Doesn't it feel weird to be on larger doses of prednisone?


I'm on a burst and taper regime right now - meaning that I take a large dose for several consecutive days, then take gradually decreasing dosages on a schedule.

For me, prednisone is one of those drugs that have some kind of side effect - always. I have never taken this medication without experiencing some kind of physical sensation attributable to the drug; unlike my thyroid meds and estrogen replacements which just chug along in the background reliable and undetected.

When I'm on prednisone, I feel antsy. I make lists. I buy Christmas presents online. I envision grand redecorating schemes for the house and make
John move furniture. Then make him move it back again. I sort through stuff in the house and donate it to Goodwill and wonder the next day if I should go and buy it back.

It's hard for me to sleep when I am taking prednisone. So I stay up late at night reading, flopped down on my belly with my elbows propping me up, chin in hands, for hours and hours. My favorite late night reading place has become my generously sized bedroom closet. It's the softest carpet in the house, and is reassuringly close to John yet far enough away that the light in the closet doesn't disturb him. Maggie wedges herself next to me as I read and will frequently sigh and yawn, then look at me as if to say, "You really should be in bed, crazy lady."

I crave sugar when I'm taking prednisone. Not the usual Hmmm, something sweet would be tasty right now kind of craving, but I'm mixing up powdered sugar and butter and milk and slathering it on anything edible kind of craving. I daydream about thick slabs of chocolate cake and monstrous m&m cookies. I rummage through the kitchen pantry and devour stale packages of leftover graham crackers. We had dinner at Terese and Greg's house last night and in one sitting, I polished off two pieces of apple spice cake, three scoops of vanilla bean ice cream, and more cookies than I care to remember.

I put on weight when I'm on prednisone, but I just can't imagine why.

You can read more about the side effects of prednisone here and here.

Delectable cake recipe found on Southern Living.

5 comments:

annie said...

Julia, may I ask why one would take prednisone for sjogren's? I once took it for a few days as I had raised hives all over my body, but is this something that is prescribed for anything other than hives? Sorry, but I'm new to all this, and I've never seen this prescribed as meds for fibromyalgia, nor chronic fatigue syndrome.Thanks.

Julia Oleinik said...

Hi Annie - great question. You can read about this in a bit more detail on my post titled Prednisone and Sjogren's found under the Reasonably Informative sidebar, and here:

http://reasonablywell-julia.blogspot.com/2009/03/prednisone.html

I am currently taking prednisone to relieve the inflammation from erythema nodosum, to help decrease the inflammation I'm currently having in my parotid glands, and to ease some of the bone crunching fatigue that I'm experiencing in this flare.

Unknown said...

Wow! This is almost identical to what's going on with me right now. I have polished off an entire bag of starbursts in the past few days : O. And in shears thinking about the next meal. luckily my weight hasn't been effected... Yet. Wonder what causes this. Take care :)

Unknown said...

Wow! This is almost identical to what's going on with me right now. I have polished off an entire bag of starbursts in the past few days : O. And in shears thinking about the next meal. luckily my weight hasn't been effected... Yet. Wonder what causes this. Take care :)

Unknown said...

Going through the same thing w/prednisone... I normally am a "savory" eater but the sugar cravings have been crazy! I just ate 3 donuts like I hadn't had any food in days, and the past few days i've went to the store to buy an entire kringle ring, which I would eat in one sitting. I did this on three different occasions (it was the only thing I bought at the store. I even called ahead to be sure they had it in stock...that's how much I craved it!). This is my 3rd day off prednisone but i'm still having crazy sugar cravings. Any idea when it will end?! I'm going to FL in 2 weeks and at this rate I definitely will not be swimsuit ready.

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