Last week the weather was really beautiful here in Connecticut, so I decided to get my 20 minutes of vitamin-D-filled sunshine in my bathing suit. My dear hubby was outside as well, doing some light yard work. While I was sunning, he took a break to rubbed my neck and shoulders, which is where I have much of my neural pain. Long story short – I now have poison ivy all over my neck and shoulders! (That’s not the only place I got poison ivy either, but I’ll spare you the details.) It seems that he did a really good job of rubbing in all that poison ivy oil, because I am now on a six-day tapering course of Methylprednisolone. I have never taken steroids before because I wasn’t diagnosed with MS until after I entered the secondary progressive stage. So I figured I’d come here and ask you all a question about the six-day taper. Will I have some of the nasty side effect (weight gain, moon face etc) of the drug from such a short course of treatment?

I know many folks who never experienced the weight gain.

Personally, I have experienced the temporary weight gain, but it was just temporary (one week).

-Vic

OMG, please forgive me, but...

Well, I hope you rubbed some of that oil back on him! lol

Seriously, sorry you got poison ivy. I think you'll be fine. I've done the tapering steroids and they didn't bother me at all.

and I hope you get relief soon.

Sally, you should be ashamed of yourself...laughing at poor Marion when she's itching in places better left unsaid!!!! It was sort of funny tho............

Anyway, if you're just on the roids this one time it shouldn't give you the moon face, etc. I think it's just when you're on them for an extended period of time that you start to have the side effects. But, it could be an individual thing so someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

I hope you feel better soon!

Sally, my hubby and I have both had a good laugh over it. He never used to get poison ivy, but this time he did get a few little spots on the back of his hands. Nothing like mine, though. And you should hear him complain! Anyhow, he feels really sorry, but every time he apologizes, we can't help but chuckle.

Methylprednisolone did not affect me at all. Predisone made me kind of aggressive and I took it out on the shrubs. I pruned them pretty hard, and one didn't make it.

I was kinda hyper, so maybe that's why I didn't gain any weight with that.

If I do steroid shots I'm just plain tired.

That is SO not right, people laughing at your poison ivy... Feel better soon.

I'd hug you, but you're catchy.

If you are just on the Medrol pack, it shouldn't be too bad. I never had a problem with that - it is pretty low dose compared to the 1000 mg in the IV.

Figures... a nice soothing rub, and poison ivy. Life's like that huh?

I didn't experience weight gain or puffiness on IV solumedrol, or on a month taper off of prednisone, so I'm being optimistic for you in this one.

I am in day 3 of the taper, and I was wondering if this course of steroids might make me feel - well, not light-headed, but sort of LIGHT? It is not an unpleasant feeling. Anybody else experience something like this?