Prednisone - My face and neck are all swollen, will this go away?

Thank you so much for posting this. I thought I was going crazy. I’ve been on 60 mg of prednisone for a month and they are planning on keeping me on it for years. My face is around like the moon, my neck is swollen but the hunchback of Notre Dame in my belly looks like I’m nine months pregnant every day. I’m ashamed to go out in public because I feel like I have to tell everybody that this is not me, this is the prednisone. More doctors need to make us aware of these horrible side effects.

I am taking 60 mg a day prednisone for 2 weeks now. In an effort to avoid moon face, I cut out sugar, most carbs and most salt from my diet. Since prednisone changes the way you metabolize glucose, I felt this was my best chance to avoid that fat redistribution. I’m also researching and cutting out gluten and dairy, because of their connection with inflammation. No moon face yet for me.

Hi I have been on prednisolone for 31 years.
Face balloons swollen glands. U name it it all goes away when you come off them.
Or stay on them a long time. They cause water retention.
So expect to pee a lot afterwards.
Make gums bleed. All glands sore.
Eyes sensitive to light
And hunger.

This is not swelling. Its redistribution of your fat. Huge side effect of Prednisone. It will go away when
you slowly get off the medication. I have been on Prednisone now going on 9 years. I gained a lot of weight, had moon face, hump on the back of my neck and abdominal fat. It is all going away slowly, I am on 5mg daily, but the abdominal fat is taking a long time to go away. So diet is key, exercise is and also great and helps. My biggest side effect from Prednisone is weight gain and fatigue, but I fight through it and carry on with it life, because for me this medication saved my life.

I started prednisone April 2018. Was on 60 per day until September, 2018. Then 40, 30, 20, 10 and finally 5
I gained 70lbs. Face and neck area swelled up real bad. I looked horrible. I just got off prednisone this month after working my way down off the drug. Swelling in face was the first to go away. I still have lumps on each side of neck. It appears they are going away slowly. My biggest problem was not being able to sleep
My original weight was 125lbs then peak at 192lbs. I'm now down to 150lbs. Hang in there because it does get better.

Prednisone doesn't cause swelling, it redistributes your fat. Everyone is different. I has most of my fat move to my stomach and neck area and I lost it simply through exercise. I'm less than 15% body fat now and I achieved that through a caloric defecit, I've been on Prednisone for almost 3 years and on my last 5 mg for the next few months

Hello there, I have a same problem only with my face, swelling little bit on the both side in jaw area. I started taking 80 mg and now down to 10 mg and waiting for respond from my doctor should i continue on 10 mg or go down to 5 mg or just stop taking it.

I have a ruptured disc and was put on Prednisone for a few weeks. My face is swollen. I stopped about 1 week ago. I hope my swelling goes down soon.
I hope everyone out there feels better.

I've been on prednisone since 2013 started out with 60 weened all the way down to 3 mg than had Dr visit in march 2017 and I lost muscle count so now she has uped my prednisone . Yes my face was swollen but went down I do Zumba 2 days a week but still have a belly. My weight keeps fluctuating my biggest problem is the gut. When I get less than 10 mg my muscles get weak and than I have a lupus set back which makes me weak and gets blisters under my nails.prednisone just change your whole outer appearance so just be thankful of your body because when you're confined to a wheelchair than no body want pay you any attention.

Read all your questions and answers so thankyou as it's making me understand a little more clearly about my face swelling throats swallowing craving for carbs chocolate more food

Hi there. I've also been on Prednisone for long periods of time for Crohn's disease flare ups. I usually start at 60mg and taper according to how severe the flare up is. This time I taper down 5mg every 2 weeks. At 40mg and above I get the moon face, trouble swallowing, rapid heart rate, mood swings, swollen belly, and weight gain but the pain from the disease is so much worse to deal with. Prednisone for me allows me to be able to normally go about my day if my Crohn's meds stop working or the new meds haven't kicked in yet. My body looks and feels like someone old with not much time left but the Prednisone is the best choice to keep me going. I don't know what your illness is but there are a lot of excellent support groups you can check out. It helps to talk to others who are dealing with the same or similar issues. Facebook has some good ones as well. Anyway, take care everyone. Wishes of good health to all!

"I started on 1000 milligrams... "
If you were taking predinsone, this would be very dangerous. The literature doesn't recommend doses higher than 80 mg daily except in very specific instances. Maybe you mean 100 mg? Or possibly it's another drug? 1000 mg equals 1 gram. Generally prescribers will switch to another steroid (such as IV or IM Solumedrol) when you get above 80mg.
Ditto, post reporting solumedrol 100 grams daily "added". This would be 100,000 mg in solumedrol alone. It is dispensed as 40 mg, 125 mg, 500 mg and 1000 mg per 5 mL doses for reference.
Prednisone side effects are terrible. Hope you all are feeling and looking better soon.
(5 mg daily trying for 5 mg every other day, 30 pounds gained. Vegetarian, water fanatic.)

How much is your dose? Why are you taking it. I take 10 mg in the morning and I not only did not swell or gain weight but I lost weight which my Doctor was surprised. I often have different reactions than the general public and also we all have different bodies and will vary in our responses, however the best you can do is to make sure your doctor is aware of your concerns and that he gives you a response that satisfies you not him/her. Good luck to you.

I, too, have gotten the 'moon' face and very swollen neck. Was on 60mg, then tapered to 40mg, then 20mg over about 3-4 weeks. I have been off of it for 4 days now and the swelling has not gone down yet. Wondering how long before it goes down? I am sure it is different for everyone. My other systems included high heart rate, difficulty breathing, plus a few others.

I was diagnosed with dermatomyositis January 2016, and started with 60mg of prednisone. I was on 60mg for 3 months and then tapered down to 50 and so on. I am currently on 20mg but my face continues to be swollen and I always feel bloated! I have little facial hair and my shoulders feel huge. I'm looking forward to the day where I don't have to depend on prednisone! Stay strong! It will go away!