bullous pemphigoid
"I took prednisonefor bullous pemphigoid four years ago. It took over six months to get diagnosed so it was bad by the time I started prednisone. At first the doctor tried CellCept, but that did not work. Prednisone immediately took care of the itching and a week or so for rash. It took a few months to be able to wean myself off it (I started at 60mg and was dropping successfully until I hit 20mg; after that, whenever I dropped, I would flare up, so I stayed at that level for something like two months). Now I only take it when I have serious flares, for only 3-4 days. As for side effects, I had insomnia, but not too bad; I did not gain weight, but my stomach did increase in size. I am perfectly willing to put up with that for the relief."