Hi Jessica,
I was started at 60 mg daily (and I was put in hospital for observation in case I crashed). I had no problems with increased weakness. That was Nov 2007. Then about 6 months later I started decreasing my dose very slowly. I seemed to plateau at 40mg alternate days (40mg one day, next day no steroids). At that point I was able to work and function "normally" but still felt weak on occasion (particularly around my period). My neuro wanted me to stay there until he reassessed me, but I'm still waiting for the reassessment almost a year later. I've been feeling way better lately (YAY) so last week i decided to go down to 35 mg and see what happens (I'm sure some of you are giving your computer disapproving glares right now). Don't worry though - I'm monitoring myself closely and if i feel at all different I'll go back to my 40 mg. I would dearly love to start to look like myself again though - I've had so many comments lately that I'm looking better.

I was lucky to escape diabetes, I watched my sugar really closely for the first few months, but inevitably slacked off as I got used to the pred. My side-effects have been all superficial, I had a bone scan and my bones are quite healthy and strong and I have had my eyes checked as well. You do need to be kind-of hyper-vigilant about your health when on steroids. overall, I've been lucky though. You might want to search Cushings syndrome as that is probably the worst "superficial" side-effect you might encounter. (I think I mentioned this in another post) I had swollen face, belly (central-belt obesity), a fleshy lump at the back of my neck, I lost some hair on my head, gained some on my face and arms (nothing too drastic though - my husband assures me I'm over-aware of it and no-one else would notice), have pretty bad stretch marks on my tummy and legs, slightly darkened eyelids, and a bizzare rash around my nose that no-one knows how to get rid of (right now this rash is my biggest annoyance). I wish I had some great tips for you, but I've just sort-of dealt with the side-effects. Try to stay cool, I find the heat increases the swelling and redness of my face.

Sorry I can't be more helpful! My brain is a bit mushy at the moment. Take care,
~Kathy