My question is in regard to taking higher doses of Prednisone.

[celticmoon007]

Hi I'm a 38 year old female and I've been on 60 mg of Prednisone for a little over two weeks for treatment of Temporal Arteritis (suspected). I had a Temporal Artery Biopsy which showed no evidence of Temporal Arteritis but my doctor wants me to continue taking the Prednisone. I am experiencing Tachycardia upwards to 170 bpm. I have hot/cold sweats that seem to alternate every several minutes. I'm also experiencing extreme exhaustion when I am hardly exerting myself, when walking I can't catch my breath and find I need to lay down much of the day. Are these just the side effects from the Prednisone itself or something more sinister going on? I'm very concerned as this has never happened to me before. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my message and answer my question(s).

[achillea]

Yes, prednisone can cause both tachycardia and sweats such as you describe.  *However,* I am going to post a warning here:

Temporal Arteritis, also called Giant Cell Arteritis, occurs *only* in older people, generally those over 50.  This is not a joke:

http://www.rheumatology.org/I-Am-A/Patient-Caregiver/Diseases-Conditions/Giant-Cell-Arteritis

You are only 38, and that, plus the fact that biopsy showed no evidence of the condition, makes me think you need to question your diagnosis, like tomorrow.  I would assume you are being treated by a GP?  You should phone the doc or see another one for a second opinion regarding your diagnosis--and ask about reducing the prednisone *gradually.*

Do not quit the prednisone cold because of what I have written!  There is a possibility that your adrenals may have been somewhat suppressed by two weeks at 60mg.

[Occupant]

I can't really comment on your problem, although I had a biopsy several years back with the same result. I didn't take any medications after that and it did not effect my eyesight as Temporal Arteritis is supposed to do. I only want to add one note of caution, however, taking prednisone eye drops for a while doubled my IOP - I am what they call a "Steroid Responder", maybe you should have that checked out.