Prednisone - Your Experience With It

[Toolulu22]

I’ve had to take prednisone, oral cortisone, and cortisone injections for different reasons. No problems like you mention, and actually had great results and felt amazing. Lots of energy and every ache and pain disappeared. I know you are not supposed to just stop taking it, so if your doctor isn’t available, perhaps ask your pharmacist about side affects? Hopefully, they can help relieve your mind until your doctor returns from vacation.

 

[hmsTigger]

Christine (or anyone) Had you ever had a steroid injected in the area near the tendonitis? Just curious if you had an MRI to diagnose? I have been in an immobilizer for 12 weeks and as soon as I came out the pain started all over again. Looking at an injection in a few weeks

 

[Christine]

I’ve had to take prednisone, oral cortisone, and cortisone injections for different reasons. No problems like you mention, and actually had great results and felt amazing. Lots of energy and every ache and pain disappeared. I know you are not supposed to just stop taking it, so if your doctor isn’t available, perhaps ask your pharmacist about side affects? Hopefully, they can help relieve your mind until your doctor returns from vacation.

I know from my son's asthma that you can actually stop a short course (up to 5 days and even a little more) without a taper.

 

[Christine]

Christine (or anyone) Had you ever had a steroid injected in the area near the tendonitis? Just curious if you had an MRI to diagnose? I have been in an immobilizer for 12 weeks and as soon as I came out the pain started all over again. Looking at an injection in a few weeks

No, from everything I've read and been told by a few doctors, you *never* want to inject steroids into the posterior tibial tendon. It significantly increases the likelihood of full tendon rupture. Cortisone injections are helpful in many errors, but that tendon is not one of them. Don't ever let anyone do that to you. But if it's another tendon, it will be okay.

Yes, I was diagnosed by MRI. Tenosynovitis, swelling. Fortunately no tears to the tendon but the inflammation will not go down.

 

[Christine]

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

That's interesting as I was told the opposite. NSAIDS and steroids reduce inflammation but don't mask. Thinks like opiates, acetaminophin mask pain.

 

[Klayfish]

Prednisone is an angel and a devil all rolled into one little pill.

One of the best medicines I ever used, until it became one of the worst.

 

[BrianL]

That's interesting as I was told the opposite. NSAIDS and steroids reduce inflammation but don't mask. Thinks like opiates, acetaminophin mask pain.

That is my understanding, though I think it may depend on the cause of the pain.

 

[Jennasis]

Prednisone is a miracle drug...BUT yep, the side effects hit me hard.

The first time I took it, my doctor prescribed it for a severe asthma flare up. I was supposed to take 6 pills the first day, then 5 , then 4...and so on. So I picked up my script post appointment around 4pm and took the pills. I THOUGHT I WAS HAVING A HEART ATTACK. My heart was racing, I was crawling out of my skin...pacing the livingroom. Sweating bullets. Around 10pm I called the doctor after hours line and she called back. I told her I was dying or having a heart attack. She asked what time I took the last pill? I told her I took them at 4pm. "WHAT?" She said..."You took all SIX at once??" Um...yes? She chuckled and told me to hold on for what was going to be a bumpy night, because I had obviously misread the instructions and taken them all at once rather than spacing them out through the day like you're supposed to.

I have taken prednisone packs many times since and everytime they turn me into an ogre. Seriously, like the incredible Hulk, but less charming. Also, I could run a marathon and paint the house and still be bouncing off the walls.

 

[Immadismom]

I have recently taken Prednisone twice. Both times my doctor prescribed short course, high doses. 5 days, 50 mg per day. No taper down, as I’ve had in the past. He called it a “steroid burst”. The first time was to stop an allergic rash of some sort that was all over my body, itchy as he**, and lingering for 3 day. After day one on the meds, I felt like a new person and so relieved to stop itching. Second time, only 6 weeks later, was for Bronchitis. Again, one day in and I felt so much better. Both times I was hangry all the time, and a bit cranky, but no worse than pms.

 

[Tallis]

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.

Prednisone is an angel and a devil all rolled into one little pill.

One of the best medicines I ever used, until it became one of the worst.

As an asthmatic, I've been on prednisone many, many times. Both the quotes above describe my experience with it. Never had any itchy skin.

 

[emer95]

Prednisone has been a miracle for me. I’ve suffered with chronic migraines for years. I’ve done everything to help- all triptans on the market, Botox, a crazy Cephaly device that cost $500 and didn’t do a thing, you name it. The ONLY thing that helps me is prednisone. I hate that I have to be on it and I use it sparingly, but I literally wanted to kill myself when I was in the worst of my migraines. I still get them, but it makes them shorter and it makes the triptan actually work. I don’t really get any crazy side effects, thankfully.

 

[monsterkitty]

No, from everything I've read and been told by a few doctors, you *never* want to inject steroids into the posterior tibial tendon. It significantly increases the likelihood of full tendon rupture. Cortisone injections are helpful in many errors, but that tendon is not one of them. Don't ever let anyone do that to you. But if it's another tendon, it will be okay.

Yes, I was diagnosed by MRI. Tenosynovitis, swelling. Fortunately no tears to the tendon but the inflammation will not go down.

I have taken steroids a few times for allergic reactions as well as bronchitis. The first time I took it, I was still working at a waterpark and it was hotter then heck. No one bothered to tell me that one of the side affects is you're always thirsty so I was downing Gatorade like crazy. They also failed to mention that steroids make you retain water. One of the paramedics filled me in on those details when I had fluid build up in my legs.

I had ankle surgery 9 years ago and they had to reconstruct my posterior tibial tendon. They cut it too short and I have a lot of scar tissue build up so it has to track around the scar tissue as it moves. I asked if I could do a Cortisone injection and the surgeon told me the same thing - I would probably take two steps and the tendon would rupture. I am supposed to have the tendon replaced but the first surgery was so horrible that I would rather floss a lion's teeth.

I hope that the Prednisone and boot work for you as I know the pain you're dealing with.

 

[L&Lfan]

To me, the side effects as you described them are absolutely worth being 95% pain free.

 

[EMom]

When I take it, I get insomnia the entire time. If I sleep 2 hours in 24, it's a miracle. And I look like I've been in the sun for hours. So red.

 

[Disney Doll]

I love it. Haven’t taken it often...a couple of times for plantar fasciitis... but I feel like a million $s when I’m on it.

 

[ImprovGal]

A relative of mine had a really bad reaction to it earlier this year after having it prescribed to help knock out a bad respiratory infection. It was supposed to be some sort of tapered schedule down from a larger initial dose. After the first couple of days, she started feeling off and confused. That turned into an episode of transient global amnesia and a hospital admission for prednisone psychosis. Her memory was restored once the prednisone cleared her system.

 

[Christine]

A relative of mine had a really bad reaction to it earlier this year after having it prescribed to help knock out a bad respiratory infection. It was supposed to be some sort of tapered schedule down from a larger initial dose. After the first couple of days, she started feeling off and confused. That turned into an episode of transient global amnesia and a hospital admission for prednisone psychosis. Her memory was restored once the prednisone cleared her system.

Good lord.

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

If you come off it, there's always the holistic stuff. For me, turmeric and the occasional reflexology. The inflammation I feel in my plantar fasciitis is minimal compared to your's, however, and holding onto an old pair of shoes is the biggest trigger I've dealt with so far.

 

[Christine]

I love it. Haven’t taken it often...a couple of times for plantar fasciitis... but I feel like a million $s when I’m on it.

I wish that were me. So jealous. I don't feel close to $1M bucks but maybe because I wasn't feeling bad to begin with. But the insomnia could have caused that. From Saturday night through Monday night, it would be a stretch to say I got even two hours of sleep each of those nights.

 

[Christine]

When I take it, I get insomnia the entire time. If I sleep 2 hours in 24, it's a miracle. And I look like I've been in the sun for hours. So red.

So it sounds like we have similar issues. I've got the cheeks flushed. Also my skin feels dry and burning...everywhere, if catch my drift. I've got really dry skin anyway.

My hands/fingers are the worst. When I finished showering last night, this one finger has a hive on it. So I can't tell if this is from the prednisone or something just irritated my hand over the weekend. Got up this morning, haven't yet had morning dose, hands don't itch, no hive after shower. Weird.