Budesonide and Fatigue: What Users Say

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 10, 2025

For Inflammatory Bowel Disease "Horrifically negative experience. Dose regimen: 3 mg caps, 3 cap PO q am. Sig: take x 60 days, then dec. to 2 cap PO q am x 60 days, then 1 cap PO q am x 60 days. By approximately day 7, began to notice Sx. Nighttime awakenings: sudden, abrupt, first occurring @ 2 am, then usually 2-3 more times during the night. Each episode approx. 2 hours apart. Feeling hot (room temp was cool), like a sympathetic nervous system response. Severe xerostomia, inability to make saliva, eye sockets painfully dry w/ fine crystal formation: upper and lower lid, required use of finger to move the eyelid open or close. Severely dry conjunctival sac. No history of (h/o) this in lifetime, leading to horrific fatigue. Also back, joint pain."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 27, 2025

Budesonide for Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy "Seems to be helping my husband's IGAN - much lower protein levels and normal kidney functions, but the side effects are difficult and concerning. He has tendon cramps, fatigue, increased hunger, significant weight gain, and now elevated AST levels. Not sure where to go from here."

• Dus...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 23, 2022

Budesonide "I was given this for COVID pneumonia. This gave me the worst stomach pain I think I’ve ever had. It felt like a gut punch, and it took hours for the pain to settle down. Other side effects were horrible taste in mouth, extreme stomach ache (almost called 911), headache, irritated my atopic dermatitis, fatigue, and an overwhelming sense of malaise. The only way I’d take it again is if I was dying."

• Ano...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 28, 2025

"Works well for my condition. However, I have been on and off this medication for approximately three years, and I am concerned about long-term side effects. Right now, I have been off the medication for a little more than two weeks and have been very fatigued. My original dosage was 9 mg for 4 weeks, 6 mg for two weeks, and then 3 mg for two weeks."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 5, 2025

"The G.I. physician prescribed this following colonoscopy with findings of inflammation and a symptom of diarrhea. Prescribed 9 mg capsules every day. Around 10 days, I began to experience waking up during the night every 2 to 3 hours with a sympathetic-like response, feeling hot, sweaty, and the room was cool, and this was accompanied by severe xerostomia where I was unable to make saliva and severe conjunctival sac in the eye where I had to push my eyelid up and down to move it as it was so dry. Again, this repeated every 2 to 3 hours, leading to severe fatigue during the day. I also had muscle twitching, joint pain, and as I walked on treadmills daily. I also experienced a ruptured ligament in my foot. I had no history of any of the above symptoms prior to taking budesonide. I reached out to GI & PCP; no guidance. Diarrhea stopped. Taper off this corticosteroid, but the symptoms are continuing, and they are severe exhaustion with no guidance from GI or PCP."

• Lau...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 11, 2018

Budesonide for Ulcerative Colitis "No. I will never take this again. It has caused nausea, stomach pain, fatigue, broken sleep, and whatever else wasn’t already bad enough with my flare."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 17, 2025

"Headaches, fatigue, joint pain, agitation, easy bruising, slow healing. Been on for 8 weeks, 3x per day. Now on 2 pills for 2 weeks, then 1 pill for 1 week."