Prednisone

[snapdragen]

Tell me all you know about prednisone. My doctor has put me on it for two weeks to see if it will help my neck/arm/hand problems.

My MRI shows a definite narrowing of the spinal canal (can't remember if that's the right word...) Anyway, I had a choice of prednisone, or an epidural. Wasn't in the mood for a shot in the neck, so I chose drugs.

For some reason this has me mildly depressed.

[mimitabby]

here's what i know: be very careful to follow the dr's directions for taking the meds. If you don't you can have nasty side effects. (ie quitting them all at once, taking the wrong dose)

[uk elephant]

I've been on prednisone a few times for months at a time. Don't remember any major side effect, but a bit more emotional than usual. But definitely pay close attention to how you feel and follow the directions carefully. Steroids can be scary stuff. But if it helps, and you only have to take them for two weeks, I'm sure it's worth it! Good luck!

[Wahine]

Prednisone typically has side effects not the least of which is mood changes.

The nastier side effects you hear about (weakened collagen tissue, loss of bone mass...) come with long term use. Using the meds for only 2 weeks should not cause any big issues, but you definitely do not want to be on them long term.

This is a very effective drug for suppressing the infammatory response. It should start to make you feel better very quickly.

And do follow the MDs advise precisely when it comes to tapering off them.

[Aggie_Ama]

DH was on a pretty high dose (60 mg/daily) for 6 weeks last year for his Crohn's. It made my normally mild mannered husband irritable and short tempered. He also had crazy mood swings including feeling depressed/hopeless. Some of his mood I attribute to his life changing diagnosis of Crohn's, it is pretty hard to hear you have a chronic disease. He also gained 30 lbs but again he was on them for 6 weeks. Just follow the doctors dosage and make sure he tapers you back off. I am pretty sure you cannot quit cold turkey.

[Possegal]

no, you can't quit cold turkey. the reason being, the cortisone that is normally secreted by your adrenal gland will stop being secreted because your body senses that you have enough, this feedback inhibition is one of the body's more amazing methods, i think. as you taper off an exogenous corticosteroid, your body detects less so gears up to secrete more. if you stopped all at once, your adrendal gland would take a little time to get the signal to start secreting it again so you would have a short period of time where you wouldn't have enough of it in your system. that's pharmacology 101, just for the information. :)

and the word you may be looking for is spinal stenosis?

for me, even doing a 1-2 week round of predisone, i can eat like a horse! i have to make a real concerted effort to eat like normal. i've never had mood or sleep disorders from 1-2 week doses (and with my asthma i've actually done those rounds way more times than i care to recall). though it is certainly possible.

[bmccasland]

So I was only on it for 5 days after my allergic reaction to food. Made me jittery, as if seriously buzzed on coffee. Maybe the coffee I was drinking didn't help...
But I did walk down to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist. Wasn't sure if I was going nuts or what. Apparently one of the side effects can make one jittery, and I had it. Got better when I stopped.

[makbike]

As others have said follow the directions. You can't and shouldn't stop this drug cold turkey. Pred can make you drink more, urinate more and eat more. As others have also pointed out it can cause you to be moody. It can, over time, also upset your stomach. You might try taking an acid reducer one hour before you take the pred. Check with your doctor as to the dose you need.

The good news is you should start to feel better pretty soon. Other aches and pains should also disappear.

Hang in there and keep us posted.

[Sheesh]

I'm only familiar with what Prednisone does to my dog, Murphy (pictured in Avatar). He has seasonal allergies which causes him to lick and pick at his feet until they're red and scabbed over. The vet prescribed predisnone and he didn't respond well - could not control his bladder. Even half the prescribed dosage caused him to pee in our bed. Needless to say, we don't give it to him anymore.

Hopefully it doesn't have the same reaction in humans! :eek:

[snapdragen]

Moodiness? Greaaaaaaaaaaaat.:eek: Like I'm not b!tchy enough already. I'm on 20mg/4 times a day for three days, then 3 times a day for 3 days, then 2 times etc. until I get down to 1 a day for 3 days.

snap 'moody, puffy, hungry' dragen :rolleyes:

[mimitabby]

Snap, it didn't make me moody. I didn't have any side effects, but i cut back too fast and my allergic symptoms came back with a vengeance... :eek: :( :eek:


and then i did what i was told...:o

[salsabike]

If the time comes, Snap--I had several epidurals in my spine during the extremely painful fibromyalgia days, and they were a) not a big deal and b) WERE a big help.

[makbike]

Sheesh, you are going to think I've lost my mind when I toss this out but have you tried giving Murphy Tagament for his allergies? It may help reduce his allergic reactions as odd as it may seem. Both my dogs, Gaston and Zorro suffer from allergies. I keep them on Benadryl and Tagament year round and they have very few problems. Just a suggestion.

[onimity]

I take prednisone occasionally if my asthma gets really bad and I don't notice side-effects if it is just a several day round. I was on it for a month once and it was awful, I got really bloated and hungry. You shouldn't have too many problems with a 2-week course I don't think. My Dr. prescribed a pack of pills that had them separated by day, very useful because I used to have a hard time remembering how many I'd had the day before when the dose was tapering down.

Anne

[SlowButSteady]

when I have to take it for asthma:

Polydipsia (thirstiness, drinking alot) and the polyuria that accompany it.

Irritability (I'm irritable as he!! anyway)

Insomnia gets worse--I can be bouncing off the wall half the night.

Eat & "blow up" like nobody's business.

It beats the alternative of not breathing.

[snapdragen]

Hmph. I feel foggy today - and my legs ache. I don't like this stuff already. :o

[crazybikinchic]

My husband had a transplant, one of his meds is prednisone. If for some reason he takes it late, emotional rollarcoaster. He will cry at things that he would have never cried at before. Prepare.

[Duck on Wheels]

Moodiness? Greaaaaaaaaaaaat.:eek: Like I'm not b!tchy enough already. I'm on 20mg/4 times a day for three days, then 3 times a day for 3 days, then 2 times etc. until I get down to 1 a day for 3 days.

snap 'moody, puffy, hungry' dragen :rolleyes:

That's a moderate dosage and a short period of time. No need to panic. Like UKE, I've been on that dosage for months on end, then more months stepping down the dosage bit by bit. After some weeks, you can get the "moon face" symptom, where your face goes all puffy. But at 20mg per day, mostly what you may feel is energized. :) Last time I got put on prednisone (briefly, to knock a Crohns flareup into remission until a new drug I'd been put on reached therapeutic levels) my doc told me I should make the most of the energy and get some extra exercize in ... work out, ride further and faster. I wasn't having muscular/skeletal problems though. Your doc may not want you doing that. And of course, the down side was that, coming off the prednisone, I felt super tired for a couple weeks. Then that too passed and things normalized.

[snapdragen]

I'm taking 80 mg per day, mostly I'm exhausted and would like to sleep. I spent the first 20 minutes of work today looking fo my notes (and my favorite pen) from a meeting I had yesterday. I checked the 2nd floor, where the meeting was, I checked my desk at least three times, I checked the computer room. They finally showed up....in the bathroom.:o

I'm glad I'm only on this stuff for a short while, I couldn't stand the fuzzy brain too long.

[SadieKate]

Hang in there. This too shall pass. Just stay focused on healing . . . and use this as your excuse for being snarkier than usual. Excuse me, that was Snappier than usual.

[jobob]

Ah snap darlin', we must find ourselves a ice cream parlour or a wine bar. For medicinal purposes of course.

- jo (ever so jazzed that she is now featured in SK's sig line) bob

[crazycanuck]

urm snap dear..

does this mean we can post what we want :rolleyes: :eek:

Seriously though kiddo, take care of yourself & our old snap will be back to new soon. A wine bar might be very helpful!

From the other injured brigade member..

c

[SadieKate]

Snap darling, do come visit me. I just finished unpacking all our 18 boxes of alcohol.

Glasses are yet to come but I know where the boxes are.:rolleyes:

SK

Glasses? Who needs a stinkin' glass after you've carried 2 cases up the stairs.

[snapdragen]

Who needs glasses, we'll stop at the grocery store, buy a couple jars of jelly, dump the jelly, instant glass! :D

[Zen]

Straws.

[snapdragen]

Straws.

Ah, even better. Straws are probably cheaper than jars of jelly.

[maillotpois]

Yowza, Snap. Take care of your little bobble headed self. Sounds like a nasty drug, but at least it is short term.

I did have an epidural once. (May be a slightly different procedure/needle/etc.) If you did need to do it, be sure the person administering gets the needle in on the first shot (and not the sixth... :eek: ).

Go get some polenta. It's a cold misty day (up here at least). Perfect polenta and hang around in the house weather. :)

[Hub]

stenosis? the narrowing of the space for the spinal column?

Prednisone can work wonders for many problems . . . like inflamation and asthma and allergies . . . just follow the instructions . . .

[snapdragen]

Took my last pill today - I will avoid this cr*p in the future. All it seemed to do was make me extremely foggy - oh, and give me hot flashes that were worse than anything menopause caused!

[bmccasland]

Took my last pill today - I will avoid this cr*p in the future. All it seemed to do was make me extremely foggy - oh, and give me hot flashes that were worse than anything menopause caused!

Snap - glad to hear you'll be back to your usual charming self in a day or so. :p

[ClockworkOrange]

OK, this is an old thread but I have just bought a book that is so very informative and anybody who has to take Prednisone for more than a couple of weeks, should definitely read it.

COPING WITH PREDNISONE by Eugenia Zukerman

It has so put my mind at rest, AND I have learnt how I must try and alter my diet, especially avoiding salt, then hopefully I might not gain too much weight...............well, one can only try. :rolleyes:

Clock

[tctrek]

I only took it once when I was unable to get over a respiratory infection that wouldn't go away. It was a ramping up on the dosage and then a ramping down. I recall being very jittery and a feeling that my heart was beating too fast. I did not sleep very well on it either.

+1 what everyone said to watch the dosage closely.

[ClockworkOrange]

Perhaps I should not shout too loudly as it is just over two weeks I have been taken a low dose of 10mg per day, 12 months time I might be writing something a whole lot different!

However, my trigger thumb/finger has eased up dramatically, my ongoing back problem is virtually non-existant and other aches and pains I generally have appear to have gone. I am saving myself $48 each month on chiropractor fees. :)

Have now pushed myself each day and am riding around 7 miles each day, now that is the best medicine for me.

Clock......trying to be optimistic :rolleyes:

[cyclesooz]

Hey all, I know Snapdragons comments were posted quite some time ago (regarding taking Prednisone) but I was trying to find some help and advice about what I'm going thru right now. I have been off my bike for about 9 months now (to give a hamstring tear/leg pain a rest) I took up swimming in its place and immediately had severe neck pain. I kept swimming and ultimately the pain became so severe I had to have an MRI. It showed I have severe central stenosis, bone spurs, and a bulging disc (C5-6). Needless to say, I stopped swimming, but now my leg feels better and I want to start riding my bike again, but I can hardly hold my head up (can make about 10 miles only). I tried a round of Prednisone, but after reading these posts I realize doc had me on a very small dose (only 24 mg total first day, then tapered down to 4mg on 6th day--really nothing). No pain relief so I'm still taking ibuprofen and vicodan round the clock. Doc says maybe we'll try a epidural block, but he thinks my condition is too far gone. He told me I will probably need a fusion (surgery) soon. He also told me NO riding because I cannot risk a fall or any trauma to my neck. I am very depressed and am secretly going out on 10 mile rides for my emotional well being. Not sure what the future holds. I will probably never race again but just want to feel good on my bike and be able to ride like I used to (30 to 40 mile group rides). Anybody out there have any advice or suggestions? Anybody ever go through a fusion surgery? I think right now I will try an epidural to see if I get some pain relief. I wish I had never stopped cycling and never started swimming--that probably made all this come about. If you are fit on the bike, never stop! If you don't use it, you lose it!! Especially when you get older (I'm 48). Thanks! Sooz
p.s. Snap, how are you doing??

[lo123]

Sooz - ouch! I haven't had fusion, but wanted to say the folks I know who've had them done had great improvement. I don't know anyone with Cervical fusion though.
I'd give the epidural block a shot. My dad has a lot of back issues, and for some, the blocks do give him at least some relief.
For fusion surgery, the advice I've heard is to find the best surgeon but also the one who listens to you and doesn't think you're 'beneath' him. I'm talking about the big-shot surgeons who work on pro-athletes and such. We have one such practice in my city, and a lot of normal joes just don't want to go to him because if you're not famous, you're treated differently.


I'll add my $0.02 on pred. since this is a pred thread after all.

I've been on low dose pred for over a year and had probably about 100 bursts over the past 10 years of dealing with an autoimmune disease. If you can stick to short tapers, it's not too bad. When you have to stay on a maintenance dose long term, trying to get off of it is a royal pain. It's taken me a year and a half to cut from 10mg to 5mg daily.:( Now if I can just get off of those last 5mg. Maybe in another year.

The book Clock posted about prednisone is decent. It's got good recommendations, but I wouldn't trust the diet advice if you're highly active. Though watching salt can make a HUGE difference.