Prednisone - Your Experience With It

[Christine]

Hi everyone!

I was diagnosed last year with posterior tibial tendonitis (really tenosynovitis) last year. Nothing has helped it. Boot, PT, massage, etc. I also have plantar fasciitis with it. But the PTT is the worst and has progessed to a flat foot deformity. I have moderate pain every night and walk like a cripple for 20 minutes every morning until it loosens up. I have not had a day without this pain since November 2018.

Last week, my doctor (podiatrist) and I decided to put me back in the boot and go as "non weight bearing" as possible in a last ditch effort to help this. He also prescribed a short course of prednisone, starting at a high dose for 3 days and the taper. Being as sensitive as I am, I couldn't take the high dose but started at half that amount. I'm on Day 4.

The good news: Overnight, my PTT pain was reduced by about 95%.

Bad news: I'm experiencing side effects as expected. Insomnia (haven't slept really at all for 3 nights). Jittery sometimes. It has flared up my rosacea (which the literature says it can do) so I'm flushing easily and my cheeks feel a little "burny." But the weird one is that my hands, mainly my fingers, itch like they are super dry. But their appearance is totally normal. They don't look any more dry than normal (and they are dry) but they feel it and they itch. It's really starting to drive me nuts.

Anyone had this?

Oh, and my doctor is on vacation this week. He is a one man office and doesn't even have a nurse. It's not a big deal, I can quit slowly without needing to talk to him but was wondering if anyone has had this and what course it took (stayed the same, got worse, etc).

 

[C&Jx2]

I was emotional, jittery, hungry, and had a drop in blood pressure which caused me to almost pass out. I hate that stuff.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

Prednisone makes me (where'd the flaming head smilie go?) plus most of what you described. I refuse to take it anymore.

 

[RamblingMad]

Makes me hangry.

 

[BrianL]

I will say this with all seriousness - but I love Prednisone. whenever I have had either a bad sinus infection or my back issues flare up, a course of the stuff always works. It makes me feel like a million bucks! The only side effect I have ever experienced is having tons of energy and eating like a horse. It works wonders.

Of course, I also understand why they are very cautious in doling it out. My doctor wouldn't give it to me several times a year or anything as it would eventually wreak havoc on your body. It is powerful and potent stuff. Certainly if you are having bad side effects like you describe then you probably shouldn't take it, though I would consult your doctor about finishing the course as you may need to - or at least step off of it.

 

[dish rag]

Worked for me.

 

[kimblebee]

I will say this with all seriousness - but I love Prednisone. whenever I have had either a bad sinus infection or my back issues flare up, a course of the stuff always works. It makes me feel like a million bucks! The only side effect I have ever experienced is having tons of energy and eating like a horse. It works wonders.

Of course, I also understand why they are very cautious in doling it out. My doctor wouldn't give it to me several times a year or anything as it would eventually wreak havoc on your body. It is powerful and potent stuff. Certainly if you are having bad side effects like you describe then you probably shouldn't take it, though I would consult your doctor about finishing the course as you may need to - or at least step off of it.

I had the same side effect, I ate non stop.

OP, what’s your dosage when you say you were prescribed a high dose? When I was diagnosed with MS 20 years ago, my first relapse was treated with Prednisone...starting at 1000 a day. Yep, you read that right. It took forever to get all the pills down. Not only did they taste awful, the sheer volume was overwhelming. I did that for 3 weeks too. The next time I insisted on IV rather than oral.

Good luck

 

[Christine]

I had the same side effect, I ate non stop.

OP, what’s your dosage when you say you were prescribed a high dose? When I was diagnosed with MS 20 years ago, my first relapse was treated with Prednisone...starting at 1000 a day. Yep, you read that right. It took forever to get all the pills down. Not only did they taste awful, the sheer volume was overwhelming. I did that for 3 weeks too. The next time I insisted on IV rather than oral.

Good luck

Not, holy heck, not that I high.

I was to start with 60 mg per day, then 50, then 40, then 30. The first day I took the 60 I basically thought I would explode. I've been taking 30 mg and I'm feeling pretty off.

 

[Christine]

Worked for me.

It is working but I'm getting very uncomfortable.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I avoid it if at all possible. I took it once over a decade ago and the side effects (mostly GI related - I could not keep any food down at all during the course and for several weeks after) were so terrible I swore never again. Anytime someone asks for drug allergies I list prednisone because even though it's not a true allergy, it is a major intolerance.

Earlier this year, I got sick with probably the worst respiratory virus I've ever had. My physician and I discussed trying it again but on a slightly different course to see if that would help mitigate the side effects, because I was SO sick I was willing to try just about anything. It didn't help, and I was so sick with side effects now on top of everything else. I had the GI effects, bad headaches, and some scary heart/blood pressure/electrolyte imbalance related stuff that made me feel like I was going to be sick and pass out. Once I paid attention to how and what I ate I was able to alleviate a lot of the those side effects. I think I lived on Gatorade, tomatoes, and bananas for almost the entire course. But I won't take it again of my own accord.

 

[Christine]

I will say this with all seriousness - but I love Prednisone. whenever I have had either a bad sinus infection or my back issues flare up, a course of the stuff always works. It makes me feel like a million bucks! The only side effect I have ever experienced is having tons of energy and eating like a horse. It works wonders.

Of course, I also understand why they are very cautious in doling it out. My doctor wouldn't give it to me several times a year or anything as it would eventually wreak havoc on your body. It is powerful and potent stuff. Certainly if you are having bad side effects like you describe then you probably shouldn't take it, though I would consult your doctor about finishing the course as you may need to - or at least step off of it.

Several people I know told me that feel so good on it, or energetic. I feel neither. I definitely feel wired but it's a more negative feeling, like borderline anxiety. I don't have tons of energy but I haven't slept for three nights, so there's that.

 

[Christine]

I avoid it if at all possible. I took it once over a decade ago and the side effects (mostly GI related - I could not keep any food down at all during the course and for several weeks after) were so terrible I swore never again. Anytime someone asks for drug allergies I list prednisone because even though it's not a true allergy, it is a major intolerance.

Earlier this year, I got sick with probably the worst respiratory virus I've ever had. My physician and I discussed trying it again but on a slightly different course to see if that would help mitigate the side effects, because I was SO sick I was willing to try just about anything. It didn't help, and I was so sick with side effects now on top of everything else. I had the GI effects, bad headaches, and some scary heart/blood pressure/electrolyte imbalance related stuff that made me feel like I was going to be sick and pass out. Once I paid attention to how and what I ate I was able to alleviate a lot of the those side effects. I think I lived on Gatorade, tomatoes, and bananas for almost the entire course. But I won't take it again of my own accord.

I had a similar issue yesterday. I had two scrambled eggs for breakfast and the got busy. We stopped at Chick Fil A for lunch and the line was really long. Very suddenly, I started to feel downright awful. The food did help but it took a while to recover so I think it's important to eat consistently. Made sure I had a banana this morning.

 

[BrianL]

Several people I know told me that feel so good on it, or energetic. I feel neither. I definitely feel wired but it's a more negative feeling, like borderline anxiety. I don't have tons of energy but I haven't slept for three nights, so there's that.

Well, it can affect people differently. I have taken medication before that made me pretty jittery - I actually don't remember what it was, but it's in my chart so my doctor would know. If it's feeling wrong, it id probably best to seek medical advice. I know you said your doctor is unavailable, but maybe you could ask someone. Do they share a practice with others?

 

[Christine]

Well, it can affect people differently. I have taken medication before that made me pretty jittery - I actually don't remember what it was, but it's in my chart so my doctor would know. If it's feeling wrong, it id probably best to seek medical advice. I know you said your doctor is unavailable, but maybe you could ask someone. Do they share a practice with others?

Nope, he's like this old style small practice guy. A rarity. But I'm pretty sure he'd just tell me taper down now if I called. I told him before he prescribed it that I have issues with most everything. I'm just super impressed that it has almost completely removed my pain that quickly.

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

First two weeks were great. I power washed the house, painted the downstairs and kept this place cleaner than ever. But...after that I was puffy and psychotic.

 

[BrianL]

Nope, he's like this old style small practice guy. A rarity. But I'm pretty sure he'd just tell me taper down now if I called. I told him before he prescribed it that I have issues with most everything. I'm just super impressed that it has almost completely removed my pain that quickly.

Oh, it'll do that! I have a herniated disc that causes sciatic pain. When it first happened I had incredible pain, then total numbness down my leg. The first thing they did before any PT or anything was send me home with prednisone. The next day I could walk easily with no pain and the numbness was pretty much only in my little toes (still is to this day). It will knock out that pain!

 

[Christine]

Oh, it'll do that! I have a herniated disc that causes sciatic pain. When it first happened I had incredible pain, then total numbness down my leg. The first thing they did before any PT or anything was send me home with prednisone. The next day I could walk easily with no pain and the numbness was pretty much only in my little toes (still is to this day). It will knock out that pain!

Well, if I can keep it knocked out, I'm good to go. That was our goal: to find *something* to just pull down the inflammation and nothing else was working.

 

[BrianL]

Well, if I can keep it knocked out, I'm good to go. That was our goal: to find *something* to just pull down the inflammation and nothing else was working.

And it probably will. It's a bit like antibiotics, that first big dose does the heavy lifting, then you step off of it (assuming you have the dose-pak kind - and yeah, antibiotics are done that way for a different reason). I have no idea what stopping mid-course would do and offer no advice on the subject other than to ask a professional.

 

[Micca]

Limited experience but it worked like gangbusters...fast! Don't recall any side effects, best of luck Christine

 

[Brett Wyman]

Limited experience but it worked like gangbusters...fast! Don't recall any side effects, best of luck Christine

Same for me. I had a nasty bout of bacterial bronchitis last winter and I was given predisione. For me its like the illness was gone completely for a few hours, and then it wore off. I went from stuck in bed with a tight chest and high fever to running around house back to stuck in bed : )

My wife is a nurse practitioner and often reminded me steroids simply mask the pain temporarily, nothing more. But it masks it well!