Except in emergency scenarios - or when someone is terminally ill - I really don't know why doctors put patients on Prednisone. I've had it myself, and the side effects were severe, potentially worse than the problem that was being treated. In my case, Prednisone caused glaucoma and I nearly went blind. I've recovered from the glaucoma, and will never take this drug again.
If you're in the emergency room suffering from an obstruction, I can understand why a doctor might want to give IV steroids, but only for a couple of days. However, it's still better not to. Emergency treatment should consist of an NG tube, IV, pain killers and anti-spasm drugs like Buscopan.
My father was on Pred for cancer, in his case terminal. He took it for about
a year, then passed away. The drug sucked all the calcium out of his bones, leaving him in a very fragile state where he could easily suffer fractures. But since he was dying anyways, it was probably the right thing to do since it suppressed the cancer symptoms.
Anyway, my point is that steroids are a last-resort option and should only be considered for emergencies or for the terminally ill. To be taking them as part of a long-term treatment is bad medicine, in my opinion.
Do note that (above) I am only talking about
systemic steroids. For certain conditions it can make sense to use steroid-based skin creams or eye drops, though again, only for the short term.
Post Edited (ozonehole) : 5/6/2014 9:10:33 PM (GMT-6)