I have been prescribed Prednisone several times over the years to help treat my
Crohn's Disease. While the
medicine does help heal the
intestines, it does cause many nasty
side effects including
acne,
mood swings,
depression, increased
facial hair growth,
weight gain, food cravings, increased
hunger,
rash,
stretch marks, and
intense anger.
One cannot just stop taking Prednisone, instead you must be weaned off it by gradually lowering the dose over the course of weeks. It is not uncommon to go from a 50mg dose down to a 45mg after three weeks, then down to 40mg after three more weeks, and so on down to an eventual 0mg. It should be noted that the medication stays in the body for up to six months after the final dose, which means that the side effects do tend to linger on during this time.