Prednisone by IV drip for vasculitis

I have been diagnosed with vasculitis (inflammation of a blood vessel) which caused my ulnar nerve in my right arem to malfunction, disrupting function in my right hand.  No further diagnosis has been found, but they mentioned "autoimmune disease."  To halt the vasculitis spread, my neurologist has ordered Methylpredinose by IV drip as an in-patient--1gram (1000mg) per day for 3 days, then weekly drips for another 6-10 weeks.  I do not know what to expect regarding side effects.  Any advice for me?

[SickMomma_PDX]

When I did a similar dose of solumedrol (same thing you're having) for optic neuritis, my major side effect was killer headaches and blood pressure went up. I was supposed to have a five-day treatment, but had to stop after three. I also had high (but not this high) doses of prednisone via IV during an 8-day hospital stay.

High doses of prednisone can also affect your mood, make you anxious, increase your appetite, make you swell (edema), affect your blood sugar levels causing (hopefully temporary) diabetes. I'm sure there's more, but those are all the symptoms I've had from high doses of prednisone via IV. Oh, and it often causes insomnia. I strongly suggest asking for a sleep aid if you're not opposed to them. If you don't want a prescription strength sleeping medicine, OTC Benedryl works well with few side effects for most people.

Oh, and it's very minor in the whole scheme of things, but high doses of prednisone also give me a kind of metallic taste in my mouth that makes everything I eat taste funny.