How did your Prednisone induced depression felt like ?

Lol, it was easy >_>. Emergency appointment with a GP - told her I needed painkillers and pred. A&E doctor - told him I needed painkillers and pred. Plus every time I was admitted into hospital, I was put on IV steroids and then switched to oral pred.

I couldn't do it now, although I do have a lot of Imodium I could sell :p

It sounds like pred worked better for you than any antidepressant as well. By the way, I did get oesteopenia, so I didn't quite escape scott-free. And I got the moon face, though I was never bothered by that - the weight gain on my stomach bothered me far more... :/ I suspect I stopped pred just in time; the side-effects of pred are 100% certain, it's just a matter of when, not if - some people get them much earlier than others.

I don't hate IBD as much as some people do on this board, partly because depression has had a far greater impact on my life for much longer. And ASD (autism spectrum disorder) as well, although that went undiagnosed up until last year: it affected my childhood, how I related to people, how people related to me, etc. though. That said, I'm worried IBD might be back in my life again and there aren't words with which to express how much I don't want to deal with it. Basically, I'm hoping I'm just being a hypochondriac, but the worrying does grind you down.

You probably should try an antidepressant, because if it does help it will be a lot more steady than pred. Some do have the side-effect of suppressing appetite though, so if that's a problem for you don't go on one of those types. Mirtazipine, on the other hand, is a bit like pred in that it gives you the appetite of a ravenous beast, IIRC.

ASD is present from birth. It can't be treated :-/

NiceCupOfTea said...

malaika said...
I've always had depression, but pred induced was the worst. I would hide under my bed all day literally screaming with anguish and fear.

Holy crap.

It's weird. I seem to be the only person on this site who didn't really have any bad side-effects from pred. I've always had depression, and pred honestly helped me more than any antidepressant. It gave me more energy, made me more sociable, etc. It grieves me that it was too dangerous to stay on it long-term. I know I did the right thing by having surgery when I did, because I was riding my luck as it was, but that doesn't mean I don't miss it.

Freaking rocks - I love it. But the agony of feeling 'switched=OFF' after you taper off is too much to bear ever again, not to mention the connective tissue failing all over my body and previous ICU week long stay all from prednisone.

So now I am tuning my diet/hormones and fooling around with nootropics to approximate the same effect an approximation that is not short term but ongoing.

Bitter Orange gets you pretty close
Anaracetam is very social
Noopept cranks the brain, my CPU goes so fast I become unsocial since everone looks like they are in slow-motion and I become majorly impatient.
L-Dopa works great but then inflames UC so its out except emergencies
oh Quality sleep too, early to bed early to rise...

Haha I kinda agree that neurotypicality is dangerous though, not only with autism but with things like schizophrenia as well. Who's to say what's 'normal'? I think when we prize 'social skills' so highly we ignore what makes some people so brilliant, and end up trying to fix what doesn't need fixing. I think more understanding of how different people process different things is much needed.

Lol no I'm not one of those judgemental, culturally appropriating yoga hippies. My aversion to anti-depressants is a lot more personal, and when I have more freedom and privacy in my life, I might consider medication if I'm still depressed.

Thank you! I'm still mildly flaring and so I'm just praying I'll be able to hold down a full-time job. It's actually over in West, so ages from where I live. And it's more office based, not patient centred anyway. But would have been so weird if our paths crossed in real life!

(Wow we really derailed this thread, sorry OP!)

NiceCupOfTea said...


Eek, I never had to stay in an ICU. Tbh, I got no comeback at all from a standard 8-week course. It was only when I started being on pred for months and months that I finally had a horrible time coming off it: I wouldn't fancy going through that massive crash again.

Because the pred combined with too much activity without hydration resulted in a stroke. We did not even know what it was but it was darn painful and I knew it was neurological since I had no nausea but began to projectile vomit. I drove myself there and chewed out the gal who thougth she could abuse the staff that turned her away since her only problem was being fat. I did not appreciate being a captive audience to her taking out Doctor refusals on lowly staff and let her know it.

Then they put me on drugs and I had a female doctor and was hitting on her so they fixed me ! Yep the bastages catheterized me. 1 week of ICU was awful. I left with medication I had to inject that would temporarily paralyze the right side of my body. While in ICU my right arm was paralyzed the entire time and it bloated.

I had a 2 hour MRI/MRV full vascularity months later and got the Neuro surgeon to take me off blood thinners in 1/2 the time.

Sagittal Sinus Thrombosis.

Years later while on pred in a car wreck from a guy hitting me head on I lost my ulnar artery on the other arm. Early this year my left bicep detonated below the elbow.

No thanks the 'LIMITLESS MOVIE' rush from high dose prednisone was tremendous but the risk is simply to great 'for me individually' Mayo said I do not have underlying clotting disorder. But we know when on prednisone this UC'er does.

I became hypervigilant when it comes to side effects.

I was carrying something with a little bit sharp edges, nothing dangerous, but I've cut myself without noticing, then I saw my fingers were bloody. It also left a scratch across my entire palm.

Also, I started having lower back pain from sitting in my chair. I've never ever experienced back pain from sitting.

Post Edited (emilp89) : 9/3/2015 9:22:58 AM (GMT-6)

Hang in there Emil! I was only on Prednisone once at 40 mg for 2 weeks then a gradual taper. When tapering, and for a long time afterwards, I was exhausted, weak and terribly sad and depressed. I'd say at least 4 months....eventually I was housebound and terrified to go anywhere. I asked for help, got put on Paxil, which made me happier and able to do things but dicked with my vision, gave me tremors and made me vomit. So then I tapered that...and now I'm finally feeling human again. It takes some time for your adrenal glands to regain normal function (that's one theory). In my case we found out that I was being overdosed Asacol (which depletes B vitamins, resulting in neutropenia) and Prednisone also depletes B and prevents D.

If things don't improve soon, have your levels of these vitamins checked. Serum D is pretty straight forward but Serum B can be high even if you are low on a cellular level. Deficiencies in the B vits and D lead straight to depression.

Best