Prednisone wipes out your gut bacteria?!? Oh no!!

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Zizzle
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Prednisone wipes out your gut bacteria?!? Oh no!!

Post by Zizzle »

I've been on Prednisone since early December, first 30 days at 40 mgs, 2 weeks at 35 mgs, and now 30 mgs. It is successfully/slowly curing my horrible Dermatomyositis skin rash, but the side effects, and the new implications I'm now learning, are starting to become bothersome.

Side effects so far:
1. nervous energy and mostly euphoria, no grumpies yet (good)
2. insomnia (not so bad)
3. worsening tremor (not so bad)
4. bruising (hideous - I can't show my legs)
5. no more hairloss/hair coming back (good)
6. severe tooth sensitivity - all of them!! Even cool water hurts. Teeth feel looser too. I hear they could break apart of fall out too! Dry mouth and acidic Ph contributes to this.
7. muscle atrophy - my knees feel weaker/less supported, my purse feels heavier. I feel more like skin and bones. Need to lift weights STAT!
8. Rare D, mostly normans, even some C (very nice vacation from MC)

BUT...

I'm now reading that prednisone kills off your good gut bactaria similar to antibiotics. It also causes thrush and vaginal yeast infections. I'm thinking this could really set me back, and this could also explain why things flare so bad when you get off prednisone.

WHAT CAN I DO TO MINIMIZE THE GUT DAMAGE CAUSED BY PREDNISONE??

Should I take more probiotics (I tolerate Culturelle and S. Boullardi). Eat more fermented sourkraut now that it won't cause me D? Keep taking L-glutamine? (I'm on so many supplements and meds as it is!) I want off this drug ASAP, and I can't afford for this rash to come flaring back as I taper. As it is, I'm still experiencing a little flare on my buttocks, even though everything else is improving. Maybe not enough bloodflow to the area with the meds? Starting topical steroid there...

I'm also taking Plaquenil (antimalarial), fish oil (soon will be krill oil), lots of cal/mag, Vit D3, extra C, multivitamin, reishi mushroom, and a detox tea x 1/day. Pretty soon my whole diet will be pills!!

Then again, maybe Prednisone will permanantly alter my gut bacteria mix, and whatever bugger is causing all my problems will be eliminated? Wishful thinking...

:sad:

And BTW, I hate to be alarmist, but doesn't this mean that Entocort wipes out your good bacteria too?? Which could be another explanation behind the swift return of symptoms when people stop taking it?
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ObsessedMrFixit
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Post by ObsessedMrFixit »

I've not heard that steroids can cause yeast infections. But I did hear from an MD that steroids are a get out of jail free card for yeast. I concluded the difference to be that, if you already have yeast, steroids will allow it to flare up. If you don't have it you may not be bothered by it.
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Zizzle
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Post by Zizzle »

I agree, Prednisone doesn't plant new yeast in your body, it allows existing yeast, which everyone has to some extent, to proliferate, unchecked by friendly bacteria.
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tex
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Post by tex »

Zizzle,

A good probiotic (such as VSL#3) might be a good idea. You may find this article interesting.

Or if you prefer, here's the PDF version of it:

Immunosuppressive Effects via Human Intestinal Dendritic Cells of Probiotic Bacteria and Steroids in the Treatment of Acute Ulcerative Colitis

Tex
:cowboy:

It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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DebE13
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Post by DebE13 »

I wish I had something intelligent to say but I know how you feel. My sleep patterns have never recovered from my time on prednisone about a year and a half ago. I still wear earplugs every morning about 2am so i can get back to sleep. I had the heaviest feeling in my feet- they felt like lead weights and I felt like I was walking funny because of it. At the end it bordered on the ridiculous. I would have weird little quirky side effects that would come and go. I would wake up each morning wondering what new little annoyance would manifest. It also became less effective as I tapered so I had lots of side effects and D.

I would caution on the taper. I believe I went too fast and my body is still sorting things out. I don't know for sure if that's why I have all my other issues but it certainly didn't help. Although, I wouldn't change much if I had to do it again, for me, it was a very awful experience. My only support was everyone here- the docs, as usual, didn't see it as a big deal. Life's rough for some people and i was just supposed to suck it up and deal with it.

I hope your transition goes smooth and the rash behaves!
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