What are the side effects to prednisone

Prednisone Consumer Information

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have:

• muscle pain or weakness;
• blurred vision, tunnel vision, eye pain, or seeing halos around lights;
• severe depression, changes in personality, unusual thoughts or behavior;
• bloody or tarry stools, coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds;
• swelling, rapid weight gain, feeling short of breath;
• irregular heartbeats;
• severe headache, pounding in your neck or ears;
• decreased adrenal gland hormones--muscle weakness, tiredness, diarrhea, nausea, menstrual changes, skin discoloration, craving salty foods, and feeling light-headed; or
• low potassium level--leg cramps, constipation, irregular heartbeats, fluttering in your chest, increased thirst or urination, numbness or tingling, muscle weakness or limp feeling.

Prednisone can affect growth in children. Tell your doctor if your child is not growing at a normal rate while using this medicine.

Common side effects may include:

• weight gain (especially in your face or your upper back and torso);
• increased appetite;
• mood changes, trouble sleeping;
• changes in your menstrual periods;
• problems with memory or thought;
• muscle or joint pain;
• weakness;
• headache, dizziness, spinning sensation;
• nausea, bloating, loss of appetite;
• slow wound healing; or
• acne, increased sweating, thinning skin, bruising, pinpoint spots under your skin.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

QUESTION

Prednisone Professional Information

SIDE EFFECTS

(listed alphabetically, under each subsection)

The following adverse reactions have been reported with prednisone or other corticosteroids:

Allergic Reactions

anaphylactoid or hypersensitivity reactions, anaphylaxis, angioedema.

Cardiovascular System

bradycardia, cardiac arrest, cardiac arrhythmias, cardiac enlargement, circulatory collapse, congestive heart failure, ECG changes caused by potassium deficiency, edema, fat embolism, hypertension or aggravation of hypertension, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in premature infants, myocardial rupture following recent myocardial infarction (see WARNINGS: Cardio-Renal), necrotizing angiitis, pulmonary edema, syncope, tachycardia, thromboembolism, thrombophlebitis, vasculitis.

Dermatologic

acne, acneiform eruptions, allergic dermatitis, alopecia, angioedema, angioneurotic edema, atrophy and thinning of skin, dry scaly skin, ecchymoses and petechiae (bruising), erythema, facial edema, hirsutism, impaired wound healing, increased sweating, Karposi's sarcoma (see PRECAUTIONS: General Precautions ), lupus erythematosus-like lesions, perineal irritation, purpura, rash, striae, subcutaneous fat atrophy, suppression of reactions to skin tests, striae, telangiectasis, thin fragile skin, thinning scalp hair, urticaria.

Endocrine

Adrenal insufficiency-greatest potential caused by high potency glucocorticoids with long duration of action (associated symptoms include; arthralgias, buffalo hump, dizziness, life-threatening hypotension, nausea, severe tiredness or weakness), amenorrhea, postmenopausal bleeding or other menstrual irregularities, decreased carbohydrate and glucose tolerance, development of cushingoid state, diabetes mellitus (new onset or manifestations of latent), glycosuria, hyperglycemia, hypertrichosis, hyperthyroidism (see WARNINGS: Endocrine), hypothyroidism, increased requirements for insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents in diabetics, lipids abnormal, moon face, negative nitrogen balance caused by protein catabolism, secondary adrenocortical and pituitary unresponsiveness (particularly in times of stress, as in trauma, surgery or illness) (see WARNINGS: Endocrine), suppression of growth in pediatric patients.

Fluid And Electrolyte Disturbances

congestive heart failure in susceptible patients, fluid retention, hypokalemia, hypokalemic alkalosis, metabolic alkalosis, hypotension or shock-like reaction, potassium loss, sodium retention with resulting edema.

Gastrointestinal

abdominal distention, abdominal pain,anorexia which may result in weight loss, constipation, diarrhea, elevation in serum liver enzyme levels (usually reversible upon discontinuation), gastric irritation, hepatomegaly, increased appetite and weight gain, nausea, oropharyngeal candidiasis, pancreatitis, peptic ulcer with possible perforation and hemorrhage, perforation of the small and large intestine (particularly in patients with inflammatory bowel disease), ulcerative esophagitis, vomiting.

Hematologic

anemia, neutropenia (including febrile neutropenia).

Metabolic

negative nitrogen balance due to protein catabolism.

Musculoskeletal

arthralgias, aseptic necrosis of femoral and humeral heads, increase risk of fracture, loss of muscle mass, muscle weakness, myalgias, osteopenia, osteoporosis (see PRECAUTIONS: Musculoskeletal), pathologic fracture of long bones, steroid myopathy, tendon rupture (particularly of the Achilles tendon), vertebral compression fractures.

Neurological/Psychiatric

amnesia, anxiety, benign intracranial hypertension, convulsions, delirium, dementia (characterized by deficits in memory retention, attention, concentration, mental speed and efficiency, and occupational performance), depression, dizziness, EEG abnormalities, emotional instability and irritability, euphoria, hallucinations, headache, impaired cognition, incidence of severe psychiatric symptoms, increased intracranial pressure with papilledema (pseudotumor cerebri) usually following discontinuation of treatment, increased motor activity, insomnia, ischemic neuropathy, long-term memory loss, mania, mood swings, neuritis, neuropathy, paresthesia, personality changes, psychiatric disorders including steroid psychoses or aggravation of pre-existing psychiatric conditions, restlessness, schizophrenia, verbal memory loss, vertigo, withdrawn behavior.

Ophthalmic

blurred vision, cataracts (including posterior subcapsular cataracts), central serous chorioretinopathy, establishment of secondary bacterial, fungal and viral infections, exophthalmos, glaucoma, increased intraocular pressure (see PRECAUTIONS: Ophthalmic), optic nerve damage, papilledema.

Other

abnormal fat deposits, aggravation/masking of infections, decreased resistance to infection (see WARNINGS: Infection), hiccups, immunosuppresion, increased or decreased motility and number of spermatozoa, malaise, insomnia, moon face, pyrexia.

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE EVENTS, contact Actavis at 1-800-272-5525 or FDA at 1- 800-FDA-1088 or http://www.fda.gov/ for voluntary reporting of advers e reactions .

Read the entire FDA prescribing information for Prednisone (Prednisone Tablets, USP)

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