Moon-face caused by Prednisone

[JTD]

Hi,
I have been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I am 25 & am on Prednisone(60mg),salasapyrin(500mg)& Plaquenil(200mg) per day. I have developed a large moon shaped face. I am swollen in the face & neck & hate what it is doing to my face. Will this swelling & fluid go away when I come off the steroids in five weeks? It is causing me to be depressed & family have noticed the change in my face & are worried for my health. I have heard some scary things about these drugs, prednisone in particular. Please is there anything that can stop the Moon face & would I benefit from taking a dieretic too?? P.s I have had an eye twitch every day for the last 3 dys in my left eye, lasting for approx 20secs & about every 10 mins? Could this b another side effect & should I worry about it as it is annoying & starting to get sore?
Thanks

[jennyg690]

Hello,

I am getting a biopsy soon to check for sarcoidosis.  I have the neurological end of it though.  It caused me to get transverse myelitis, which is spinal inflammation.  I have been on 60mg of prednisone since April.  I am hoping to taper soon.  I was doing some research and found that Imuran can treat sarcoidosis.  Do you know anything about this drug?  I really want to get off the 'roids. The moon face thing is killing me!!!

[Andy8881]

Hey everyone, I am 20 years old and suffer with rheumatoid arthritis, quite severely :( and I can only describe it as life changing, it came on so suddenly and pretty much ruins everything... I am currently on 28 tablets a day, sometimes more if I am having a bad day. I always feel so down and depressed it's so hard because no one understands, they can't see the pain I am in because my leg isn't hanging off or I haven't got wounds exposed all over my body. There are mornings I would wake up and it feels like the bones in my legs have been crushed into tiny pieces and someone is trying to lift them. I can't describe how sore it is... the only thing i can do is tighten my fists as much as I can and scream it out. Sometimes I have to hit the wall behind me to try spread pain somewhere else (probably not the best idea in the world... but it helps :) ..but then the next day I could be absolutely fine, it is so unpredictable. Before I was diagnosed with this disease I did a lot of modeling and was so confident and happy with how I looked. I loved exercising and worked my *** off which always kept me very thin. Then Prednisone came along :( I would do anything to get off these horrible things! :( My Rheumatologist has me on 60mg (12) a day for the last 3 months. Every definition on my face has been filled... I hate it so much, I look terrible :( I don't even have a chin anymore it is just round. It actually hurts it has swollen that much. I have light blonde hairs growing on my cheeks!! and my this weird baby hair on my forehead. I haven't had a proper nights sleep in months my heart is constantly racing and I would wake up with sweat running from every pore on my body. Why do I have to suffer on the outside as well as on the inside. I have done nothing wrong all my life to deserve this and it feels like everything has just been taken from me :( I am craving so much food and put on loads of weight but trying so hard to eat as little as possible. I have been so down all the time and I guess that doesn't exactly help my condition either. It is only now 6 months on that I am actually starting to accept the fact I have this.. okay it is s**t and I would do anything in my power to make it stop. Lying around all day and feeling sorry for myself is not going to take it away or make me feel any better mentally. Okay I have my bad days.. but everyday is a new day and I take everything one step at a time. If i wake up and feeling okay I make sure I take full advantage of my day ahead... flare free! ...I wake up and I feel like I just want to die .. then I dose myself with tramadol and try to sleep it off as much as possible. I have been blessed with a beautiful boyfriend who has helped me through so much. There are days where I would tell myself, he doesn't have to suffer along with a girlfriend who has arthritis, along with constant tears and moaning about her appearance, but chooses to stand by my side and still tells me that I am the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. He is what keeps me going and I honestly don't know how I would have managed without him. I look forward to the day they start to reduce my steroids and I eventually get my face back, but until then I am trying to stay as positive as possible and take everyday as a new day.It could be worse, without these steroids I could be flaring up a lot more. So I guess for that reason i am thankful they are helping. Thanks for reading x

[vballer6]

i was diagnosed last year with uc but my flares have been more and more frequent lately. i am considering surgery but my GI would like to explore pred. first. wondering if you have noticed any improvement to your symptoms? I am really nervous about using steroids and would like to avoid them at all costs

[DivineOne413]

this was truly helpful. thanks so much for your detailed assessment. you made me feel as if there is someone who truly understands how dramatically this drug impacts your life. I have been on prednisone off and on for more than twenty years. it has saved my life even though I would never have imagined I could become so ugly! to the point now that I don't want to go out especially if I might see people who knew me when I was extremely attractive. I hate the looks of "what happened to you?!!?" anyway what can you do except thank God that you're still alive and try to have an attitude of gratitude and humility.

[oakridgebmh]

Thanks- kinnda in the dumps this morning and needed to hear your encouragement. God bless

[ann20122012]

Hi I was dx with UC 2 weeks ago...they put me on predizone and it messed up my eyes...then he took me off of it and put me on lialda which my insurance does not pay for lucky I got samples cuz it made me sicker then a dog OMG....I am 59 and my grandmother died of colon cancer.when I was in hospital they did biopsies no C yet..but he said it will turn into it with a few years...I had so many plans for the 30 years since my father is 90 thought i would too....monday they are starting me on new drug aka cancer drug <they use for treating the inflam and the bleeding...I think I am going to tell my dr these meds are making me so sick that I want atleast 1 week off before I start a new one...