HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Prednisone questions

Support Forums
>
Crohn's Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 5/17/2013 1:09 AM (GMT 0)
Last week my neurologist put me on prednisone to stop a migraine cycle I was in. He wanted me on 40 mg for 3 days and then reduce by 10mg every 3 days; so a 12 run of pred. I don't do well on pred and I asked if there was any way the duration could be shortened but he refused. I decided I'd do 40mg one day and step down by 5 mg each day.

Anyway...I'm at 20mg and I forgot to take it this morning. I am obviously not happy about taking it and so I just blocked it out this morning. So...I've only been taking this for 5 days. Can I just say screw it and stop? Or should I pick back up tomorrow?

My second question is about how I react. So even at a low dose and a quick run of it, I get insomnia, anxious and irritable. Oh, and ridiculously hungry all the time. Last night I actually felt horribly, horribly depressed, and still do. After the second time I ever took it my GI said it does make some people feel psychotic, and I have to say that is exactly how I feel. I know it's the drug we all love to hate, but do other people feel uber sensitive to it? I think from here on out I will have to be on my deathbed before I agree to take it again.

Sigh. :-(
Posted 5/17/2013 5:40 AM (GMT 0)
Hello with pred you have to come down on med dose before you stop. Thats why they taper you down with pred.
Posted 5/17/2013 12:12 PM (GMT 0)
I'm with you on the reactions to prednisone - even low doses affect me as they do with you!

It is considered perfectly ok to stop pred (even without tapering) when the course duration is less than 7 days. After that, as teddybearweiser says, tapering is required to allow the body to avoid any consequences of possible adrenal suppression.

good luck - you should sleep better this evening.
Posted 5/17/2013 12:18 PM (GMT 0)
Pred is the only drug which ever worked for me, but that was not such a good thing in the long run. All it did was delay surgery by a couple of years. It can be brilliant for getting severe flare-ups under control, but if there is no maintenance drug you can transfer to, ultimately you are in trouble 'cos you can't stay on Pred forever.

Pred never really gave me any freaky side-effects. I got a moon face and put on weight when I was on it for longer than a few months, but the moon face (if not the extra weight ;_;) has gone now. Tbh, I'm quite capable of being psychotic without the aid of Pred <_<.

PS: I took my last Pred pill today! Tapered the last 10mg very slowly, but I'm finally off it. For a long, long time, I hope.
Posted 5/17/2013 12:49 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone. It always helps that people in this forum will answer questions, commiserate, and be supportive!!

NCOT congrats on finally getting off pred!
Posted 5/17/2013 1:46 PM (GMT 0)
Cheers sparkleplenty :p

I was on Pred for a year and a half. Not quite solidly: I did try to taper off it a few times, but I'd end up back on it again almost straight away. I'm just glad to be off it now.
Posted 5/17/2013 4:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi sparkleplenty,
I've never heard of taking Prednisone for migraines, but then again, I'm not a doctor. I agree with ambling...it is ok to taper quickly when it is under a week. For asthma, my daughter took 40 mg for one day, and then 20mg for the next three days and then stopped, per her doc's instructions. She did great....irritable but no other problems and it stopped the asthma attack.

I won't take Prednisone without xanax to go with it to help me sleep at night. But even with taking Pred first thing in the am, and the xanax, I only get about 5-6 hours of sleep on Pred, and then I'm tired, irritable and agitated throughout the day. I hate it too. Sorry you are going through all this, and I hope your migraines are better.
Posted 5/18/2013 1:14 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah, apparently when you have recurrent migraines they treat with steroids to break that cycle. I thought I'd get a medrol pack that would be a lower dose for 5 days. Sigh. Sadly it hasn't even helped, so I'm not up to two weeks with migraines, and I didn't help by refusing to take it as the doc prescribed. Awful. I think the pred is about out of my system so hopefully I will sleep tonight. I've been taking my xanax, but it doesn't help me sleep very well, and then I'm a bit dopey from the xanax. Fun times. I saw my acupuncturist last night, so hopefully some of the stuff he's doing will provide me more relief.

I think pred is going on the absolute last resort list and I must have ambien and xanax when I'm taking it.
Posted 5/19/2013 9:29 PM (GMT 0)
I do not have Crohn's Disease, as far as I know so far - I'm doing the constellation of symptoms not-so-merry-go-round - but I am very glad to have found these posts regarding prednisone, and thank you for them.

I was to take 20 mg 1tablet per day for 5days last week due to a respiratory infection with a severe, prolonged, spastic cough.   I stopped taking the on day 4. While I experienced calm, rather than agitation, I don't think it had any effect on my cough, which was the intention, and, the calmness rather unnerved me, under current circumstances.  Two days now since last dose, I feel like my nervous system is short-circuiting.  (I do not take any other medication).  But that short-circuiting feeling was present before - and part of the not-so merry-go.  However, this is much worse.  It feels as though my body is struggling very hard to work.  No point asking this MD about it.  Been there, done that. 

I know what this feels like - i feel as I did last summer when I had sudden hypertension.  I'm to have a stress echocardiogram this week, but have to wonder if it's a good idea at all.  (I need a different doctor). 

Very concerned about long-term effects, even with short dose.  I think the medical/scientific community is someday going to have to reveal how foreign our bodies really find many medications.  Of course...alternatives....

Anyway, thank you, again. 

Posted 5/20/2013 2:24 AM (GMT 0)

Chili Green said...
I do not have Crohn's Disease, as far as I know so far - I'm doing the constellation of symptoms not-so-merry-go-round - but I am very glad to have found these posts regarding prednisone, and thank you for them.
I was to take 20 mg 1tablet per day for 5days last week due to a respiratory infection with a severe, prolonged, spastic cough. I stopped taking the on day 4. While I experienced calm, rather than agitation, I don't think it had any effect on my cough, which was the intention, and, the calmness rather unnerved me, under current circumstances. Two days now since last dose, I feel like my nervous system is short-circuiting. (I do not take any other medication). But that short-circuiting feeling was present before - and part of the not-so merry-go. However, this is much worse. It feels as though my body is struggling very hard to work. No point asking this MD about it. Been there, done that.

I know what this feels like - i feel as I did last summer when I had sudden hypertension. I'm to have a stress echocardiogram this week, but have to wonder if it's a good idea at all. (I need a different doctor).

Very concerned about long-term effects, even with short dose. I think the medical/scientific community is someday going to have to reveal how foreign our bodies really find many medications. Of course...alternatives....

Anyway, thank you, again.

I want some of that 'calming prednisone' ; )

J/k, as I know medications effect us all differently.. I think you're right to be concerned about long term effects (especially with prednisone). While it's a necessary evil (I hate it; but welcome it with open arms during a flare) I feel the psychological effects last longer than the {physical} weight gain/moon face...
Posted 5/21/2013 7:28 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for responding, and your note.  May we all be as well as we can be.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply