Does anyone on Prednisone have trouble sleeping??? I'm on week 3 of the taper,the whole taper takes 8 weeks, now at 60mg. I go to bed and can't fall asleep, I watch the clock and finnaly fall asleep by 4am, then sleep for 2-3 hrs and wake. I am so tired.....
Thank you

Be thankful you are not waking every 2--3 hrs w/ a KIP 10.

Try some Melatonin before bed, many report it's helpful.

Enjoy your Pred taper ;)

-Gregg in Las Vegas

I did have trouble sleeping. It seemed I felt tired, but was too wound up to fall asleep. That, and being hungry all the time. As Gregg says, it was still a good tradeoff to get a few days relief. Blessings. lance

I cannot use the Prednisone anymore, it throws me into a severe mania.

I gained like 20 lbs of water weight, but other than that, it worked during that period of time.

I started a Prednisone taper a week ago and Verapamil. I was told by my doctor and the pharmacist to take the Pred in the morning and the Verp in the evening. I've had no problems (yet). The reasoning is the Pred will keep you awake and the Verp wil make you sleepy.

I get really bad acne breakouts when I come off of the stuff, but other than that no serious side-effects. I do take the stuff in the morning.

8 weeks is a pretty long taper though.

Prednisone and Dexamethasone worked for me but with a price.  I was recently bumped up to Dexamethasone taper for 6 weeks. I gained 25 pounds, body aches and had acne breakouts all over the face and back. The roids give a nice break from my chronic attacks but ate away at everything else.

I didn't sleep much either, but to wash down the melatonin, try warm milk with honey!  There's no scientific evidence to support it and sounds silly, but it does contain tryptophan which is what the brain uses to produce your own melatonin. It helped me a little.

Good luck!

To echo what Japanzaman said, it does seem like a long taper.  I go about 2 weeks, starting with 50 and working my way down to 10. 

I do get a little manic, which isn't an entirely undesirable side-effect, and I can see that might keep you up at night.

But 6 weeks?  Is that the normal taper, and my doc just hasn't caught up?  Or might you be on a taper that's too long?  Would be helpful to know.

Most tapers are over about 2-3 weeks, so 6 weeks is a pretty long one.

For me it makes me want to eat anything and everything and develop acne a bit like a teenage but it does kill off CHs for the duration.

Even 6 weeks is a very long taper, especially if you're talking about taking doses as high as 50 - 60 mgs for a straight week before the taper. You're gonna blow up like a balloon!

High doses of steroid medications do work for me, but over the years and with repeated use, it has caused me SERIOUS problems by giving me A VASCULAR NECROSIS. It cuts off the blood supply and oxygen to your bones, among many other very bad side effects. I wouldn't take it lightly and only when the cluster attacks have gotten out of control or you could pay a hefty price for it later. You must find another preventative that works so you can wean off the steroids. (Steroids = a transitional medication)

Good Luck !

I4B

Most of us have taken prednisone tapers for our CH and insomnia is just another of the many adverse side effects...

It's primary function for us is as an anti-inflammatory agent.  I've looked at several studies and surveys with respect to the efficacy of prednisone and have come to the conclusion it can be effective in reducing the frequency and severity of CH for short periods of time but the side effects can be onerous for some. 

The prednisone numbers are interesting...  It's the most frequently prescribed CH preventative.  Even the survey here at CH.com lists it as the most effective CH preventative...  The Cluster Headache Survey 1134 of us took in 2008 indicated 384 out of 681 CH'ers 56.4 % who had tried prednisone rated it as effective in preventing their CH.. 

As a transitional preventative that should only be taken for short periods.  Many neurologists suggest titrating up on verapamil during the prednisone taper. This practice is becoming the most popular and more frequently prescribed course of treatment.

I've also been tracking the efficacy of the anti-inflammatory regimen with 10,000 IU/day vitamin D3 as a CH preventative over the last 17 months. 

So far the raw efficacy of this regimen is at 71% and growing slowly with over 150 CH'ers reporting and no significant adverse side effects among the CH'ers reporting a favorable response.  Episodic CH'ers enjoy a slightly higher efficacy although some of this may be due to confusing a favorable response with the end of cycle.

Having said that, there's a growing number of episodic CH'ers who are staying on the anti-inflammatory regimen to see if it will prevent their next cycle.

Take care,

V/R, Batch

There are a wealth of Prednisone side effects.  Some very serious, particularly with long term use.

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE is a good source for more detailed information.

Tom   

Craig A. wrote on Feb 28^th, 2012 at 5:26pm:

Does anyone on Prednisone have trouble sleeping???

Certainly.  When Prednisone was prescribed for me, accompanying prescriptions came with it.  Zantac for the stomach and Ambien for sleeping.  I'd find them recommended, inquire with your doc.

It was an extremely long taper and I suffered crazy side effects. My impression was that the neuro wanted to wipe my system clean as the preventives werent working. Blowing up like a balloon is an understatement, but I was HA free for that 6 week period. I was then put back on Verapamil but with no success. Over the years, I was usually presdcribed prednisone for days at a time to try to break a cycle but never worked. Each of us are different, but the roids only gave me relief while I was on them. The HA's would return immediately after.