Prednisone-related anxiety...help!

I am on my second round of pred and this time my anxiety is nearly through the roof. I didn't have this side effect the first time with pred so I thought it was just stress from being sick but I started to suspect that adding prednisone (an analog of the naturally occurring stress hormone cortisol) could.... cause stress for my body. Having done some reading on this site, another one and some literature about Prednisone from a drug information database my suspicions have been confirmed (logically at least) that most if not all of the anxiety I'm having is related to the Prednisone. It sucks! But part of me is disappointed because I thought I was dealing with my illness pretty good.

So, my question is what dy'all recommend, based on your own experience? Ask for some Ativan or something or tough it out (until I'm off the pred) with meditation/relaxation and other healthy forms of coping with anxiety? I thought I was pretty good at coping with my illness, this has really thrown me for a loop. I guess my question is can a psychological approach combat anxiety induced by prednisone or do I fight a chemical with another chemical? Or both? I'm all ears.

A related problem is that I'm not sleeping very good at night, at most 6 hours so I know that's not helping me heal any. Any suggestions here too?

Oral UC meds are prednisone & Lialda, Butt meds are: Proctofoam & Rowasa, I take Prilosec OTC to help with the stomach pain that comes with taking prednisone so I count it as a UC med, otherwise I wouldn't need it.

I'm not sure if Cottonelle's are fragrance-free but they are "alcohol-free." The only time they ever caused butt burn was during the tail end (haha, no pun intended) of my colonoscopy prep, but my butt was burning anyways from sheer volume. All other moist flushable ("alcohol-free") wipes have caused butt burn something fierce. I haven't found Cottonelle's in individual packages, though that would be nice. I have carried a small portable package of baby wipes when desperate measures are needed but those can burn bad if I'm flaring.
Your question has inspired an idea, I'm gonna put a bundle of Cottonelle's in a zip-lock bag and drop in it my shoulder bag.



Thanks!

Hi "tickle"....

Yes, prednisone makes me quite anxious.  However, before I was diagnosed with UC my doctor was sure that some of my problems with diarrhea was caused by anxiety and stress (my husband got lung cancer) and I tried three different medications to help.  Two of them just "spaced" me out but I started on Xanax in 1/2 doses when needed - just enough to take the edge off without making me feel loopy.  I have very bad knees but with you who can exercise that is a good way to help the anxiety and meditation, yoga, etc. without meds. 

When I started on 40 mg. prednisone my NP impressed on me to take the max dose of Xanax on a regular basis to get through the anxiety - I do and it does work.

I am now at 20 mg. and it is much better!

ElaineNY

Zippy,
My mother is taking sulfasalazine, that's all she has been on since going off prednisone 15 or 20 years ago. I'm really not sure what she did other than the sulfa. I do know that she walks regularly and tries to eat fairly healthy. She is a pretty active 67 year old too. She raised the younger four kids (of six) as a single mom. She's had an empty nest for almost ten years now so I think that helped reduce the stress level.
Other than those basic, healthy changes she made over the last ten years, I can't think of anything else.

Hi there!  We all can have different side effects from the medications, but prednisone is apt to cause anxiety and crazy emotions.  Other medications could definitely play a part in it.  In addition to the medications you could also be experiencing anxiety b/c of the illness itself.  Though you've handled it in the past you could just be having a little more difficulty b/c you are on another round of roids, so something isn't going quite right, which can be stressful.  : )

Whatever the cause of your anxiety it really should be discussed with your GI.  There are so many different kinds of medications to help with stress and anxiety...hopefully your doctor knows you well enough to prescribe the approrpiate one.  : )

Good Luck!!! 

We all understand your situation all too well. I understand the heartache you feel when medications are failed, and the disappointment and feeling of being sucker punched when you do first notice a symptom that says you are going to be super sick.

I found wonderful comfort from the people on this forum. My family and friends tried supporting me through my illness, but they just couldn't fully understand. I also hid a lot of my struggles from everyone around me, but I was able to be honest with myself and others on here. It has been great!

Good luck to you!!!

ticklengiggle,

Mezavant is working for my UC but I was taken off it because of the side effects. Then the UC symptoms came back a week later and am back on it. All other mesalamines no longer work. Not sure where I go from here. I go back to my GP in two weeks for another checkup to see where I sit with mezavant.

Hi I am new to this site, and am wondering what took me so long to join. 

Regarding pred and anxiety, I hear ya.  Pred really changes your mind/mood.  I can't even explain pred made me feel high, paranoid, my insides felt shaky and I would uncontrolable cry.  I am usually not an emotional person.  When I told my doctor about this he said it was normal, and he perscribed me Zolof which really helped.  I really didn't want to take another med, but honestly I'm glad I did because it got my mind back to "normal". 

good luck with everything, UC flares are very long roads, I finally see the light at the end of mine.  Weaning off of prednison, down from 40mg to 25mg, and already seeing side effects going away!!

Tickle

Not sure. The mezavant is working but we ( my GP and I)are trying to see if the side effects are stress (at work) related or drug related. Once he is convinced that it is the drugs( I am, he's not) then we'll have to make a decision where we go from here regarding meds. I'm sure I'll be on mezavant for awhile before I switch to anything else because it is working for me. I'll just have to put up with the side effects or learn to deal with them mor effectively. May have to resort to other meds to curb the anxiety which was difficult to handle.

Copper