goodbye, prednisone

June 4, 2010 was my last dose of prednisone. The plan is to never return to this drug. I started Imuran (azathioprine) on April 26 and so far it is successful. (and it’s a pill-hooray!) The next appointment with my lung doctor is July 9- I’ll get a CT and blood-work to check for inflammation/new nodules. But there won’t be any. =D

My chipmunk face is disappearing. My hot flashes are gone… I am pretty much back to normal temperature. This is helpful since it’s so hot outside. Hot flashes + summertime= misery. I’m losing weight… slowly, but surely. I was a bit sluggish for a while since I didn’t have the boost of steroids to perk me up everyday, but I think my body is regulating itself now. Overall, I feel so much better.

Funny- Last week I listened to a web conference about IBD for women and one of the comments the doc made was that if prednisone were to be presented to the FDA nowadays as a new drug, it would likely not be approved for use due to the nasty side effects. HA! However, it DOES do its job and is an amazing cure for a lot of ailments,but the short and long-term effects are to be cautious about. 

Anywho, I’m done with them after 10 long months. Yippee!