My Real Experience on Steroids (Prednisolone)

What Are Steroids and What Are They Used For?

No, I am not referring to anabolic steroids used to ‘bulk up’.

Corticosteroids are synthetic drugs that closely resemble cortisol, a hormone that your body produces naturally (Medicine.net. 2008).

Corticosteroids mimic the effects of hormones your body produces naturally in your adrenal glands, which are small glands that sit on top of your kidneys. When prescribed in doses that exceed your body’s usual levels, corticosteroids suppress inflammation (Mayo Clinic, 2019). This can reduce the signs and symptoms of inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis and asthma (Mayo Clinic, 2019).

Corticosteroids also suppress your immune system, which can help control conditions in which your immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues (Mayo Clinic, 2019).

A common example of this type of steroid is prednisone/prednisolone.

However, they are not typically used as long term immunosuppressant medications.

Why I Needed Steroids

In December of 2019, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. This is a form of autoimmune Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Check out my diagnosis story here: https://elise-teaches.com/my-ulcerative-colitis-diagnosis/. Another common form of IBD you have more likely heard of is Crohns Disease.

Ulcerative colitis is an autoimmune condition whereby your body’s white blood cells attack your digestive track.

This causes long-lasting inflammation and ulcers (sores) in your digestive tract. Ulcerative colitis affects the innermost lining of your large intestine (colon) and rectum. (Mayo Clinic, 2019).

Ulcerative colitis can be debilitating and can sometimes lead to life-threatening complications (Mayo Clinic, 2019). While it has no known cure, treatment can greatly reduce signs and symptoms of the disease and even bring about long-term remission (Mayo Clinic, 2019).

After several years of going to doctors and never really been taken seriously by those doctors, I had developed quite a severe form of ulcerative colitis, called pancolitis, before I had found a good doctor who took me seriously and referred me on to the hospital where I underwent testing and then treatment.

Pancolitis is when your body attacks the entire large intestine and rectum.

Ulcerative colitis causes many horrific, painful, and exhausting symptoms which include the following:

• Extreme pain (like pass out level pain)

For example, a calprotectin test is often used to measure inflammation in IBD. Normal ranges are approximately 10–50. Mine were >1000.

• Blood loss which can be severe (like how do I still have blood in my body extreme)
• Severe fatigue and exhaustion
• Severe diarrhoea (on a new level you cannot understand unless you experience it)
• Incontinence
• Weight loss ( I had lost approximately a stone and I am a small person. Many other people lose an awful lot more)
• Urgency
• Fatigue

You do not know fatigue until you have experienced chronic illness fatigue.

These are just a small amount of the symptoms experienced by people with IBD.

By the time I had been diagnosed, I could barely stand I was that weak, fatigued, in that much chronic pain, and had lost so much weight for my height and size.

Steroids, or specifically prednisolone, was the drug the doctors prescribed to initially help bring down inflammation.

The steroids made a dent in my inflammation in high doses, but long term, were not effective or sustainable. They are too hard on the body for long term use.

I was on steroids for December, January, and a little of February to help bring down inflammation in conjunction with other medications, both weaker medications and strong as hell medications.

My Experience Taking Steroids (Prednisolone)

There are many side effects from taking medications, and steroids are no exception.

It was a very strange feeling.

The steroids were helping me get better by easing some symptoms. However, they simultaneously made me feel sicker as I was dealing with a whole new host of symptoms I did not have before.

1. Moon Face and Bloating

Okay. If you know anything about steroid symptoms, you have probably heard of moon face and the intense bloating they cause.

Moon face is not actually as bad as you think for many people. For some people, they look like Ursula from the Little Mermaid. However, I looked more like a little chipmunk or rabbit than anything else. I was not really that conscious of it.

HOWEVER, what I had failed to find amongst my research before taking steroids was the feeling of moon face.

Yes, I could feel moon face.

It feels like an odd mix between you are swollen, numb, and tingly in your face.

It does not necessarily feel bad. It just feels weird.

Additionally, when people speak about weight gain on steroids, there are specific places it targets. Steroids affect your face as we have discussed, and the they also cause extremely bloated stomachs.

Yay, I love looking pregnant when I am not.

I gained a roundness to my stomach that I did not have before. This could have looked much worse if I had not lost so much weight. However, it was still quite uncomfortable.

Thankfully, these side effects quickly disappear once you stop taking steroids.

2. The Muscle and Skin Pain

Oh my god.

Nothing could have prepared me for this.

Every single thing that touches your skin will cause a tingly and stingy pain.

I had to change many of the clothes I wore during the time I took steroids. I could no longer wear jeans or anything tight as they pinched the skin and aggravated the bloating caused by steroids.

However, I could not wear anything too loose either as they grazed the skin more often and caused more pain.

Do you see the problem here?

I had opted for leggings and trousers and fitted t-shirts and jumpers to find a happy medium.

My muscles ached at a new level too. Any movement I made would cause pain throughout any of the muscles involved.

I moved my arm? Pain. I rolled to the other side of my bed? Pain. Everything was painful.

3. The Burn

You know, I did read that indigestion was a symptom, but wow- this was indigestion on steroids.

The burn that would take place in my stomach and rise up my digestive tract was IMMENSE. Be ready for that.

I could literally feel every drop of food land in my stomach when taking high doses of steroids

AND, you CANNOT take any tablets to help ease this within two hours before or after taking steroids.

TOP TIP:

eat porridge (oats) before you take your steroids. Oats have anti-inflammatory properties and while this did not stop the burn caused by taking the steroids, it did ease it significantly.

4. The Negative Impact on Sleep

Everybody I have heard speak about their experience on steroids has revealed the insomnia that they experience. They describe it as being “wired”, “having loads of energy”, and “getting their sh** done”.

Hahahaha… This was not my experience.

Yes, I did experience insomnia. Yes, I was wired, but by god, I did not have loads of energy to complete whatever activity that needed to be completed (or did not need completing).

During my experience of insomnia, it was like by body was taping my eyes wide open while all I felt were very heavy weight underneath them. They became heavy, dry, sore, and twitchy from the lack of sleep and tiredness I was experiencing while still not being able to fall asleep.

And to make things even more fun — note my sarcasm — the burning indigestion loved to return to torture me at 4 am. Even though I would have taken the steroids early the previous morning, the return of the burn was like clockwork.

5. The Good From Steroids

While we have discussed many of the negative impact of steroids. It is also important to note the positive results from taking steroids.

They stopped my bowel bleeding! I had been bleeding large amounts of blood, several times an day, for 11 months, and taking the steroids stopped that within a week!

It brought down inflammation dramatically. Remember that calprotectin test that was >1000? Well, that reduced to 176 while being on steroids for two and a half months.

They allowed me to start eating again. Previously, food had caused so much pain in my bowels that I had to force feed myself everyday. All I could manage was rice and a bite of chicken. However, steroids make you quite hungry, so I began eating a lot more regular. With the reduction of inflammation and increased hunger caused by steroids, I began eating more food and a larger variety of food than I had been able to in a long time.

Ultimately, steroids are used to help you get better and I would not hesitate to take them again if my ulcerative colitis were to flare up chronically again.

Bibliography

Mayo Clinic (2019) Prednisone and Other Corticosteroids: Balance the Risks and Benefits [online]. Available at: https://medium.com/r/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mayoclinic.org%2Fsteroids%2Fart-20045692 (Accessed 17th May 2020).

Mayo Clinic (2019) Ulcerative Colitis-Symptoms and Causes [online]. Available at: https://medium.com/r/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mayoclinic.org%2Fdiseases-conditions%2Fulcerative-colitis%2Fsymptoms-causes%2Fsyc-20353326 (Accessed 17th May 2020).

Medicine.Net (2019) Steroids to Treat Arthritis, 24 Side Effects, Benefits, and Complications [online]. Available at: https://medium.com/r/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.medicinenet.com%2Fsteroids_to_treat_arthritis%2Farticle.htm (Accessed 17th May 2020).

Chronic Exposure Network