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Prednisone & Brain Fog

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Posted 7/20/2019 10:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hey there--

Currently on a 40mg taper of Pred and at 15mg but been on it for about 2.5 months. Every day for the last week I've been experiencing this sort of brain fog. It's quite scary. Almost like a disassociation with myself and with the world. Like I just smoked a joint. One doctor says anxiety and panic attack (which I have and which I get) and another says he's 98% sure it's Prednisone. The fog lasts for hours and hours. I've found ways to get out of it (e.g. Xanax, listing my anxieties, having conversations with people) but it's tough. It's almost like I can feel it coming on, the world slowly slips away, and then I'm stuck. I had blood tests and brain function tests etc. and everything is normal. Might actually just be an anxiety issue and the Predn prob not helping.

Anyways, just curious if others have felt this sort of fog or dazed feeling on Prednisone.

Thanks,
D
Posted 7/21/2019 12:01 AM (GMT 0)
tell doctor one he's an idiot - it's 100% the prednisone -

and yes, I've had more than enough days of daze from pred - nasty stuff i'll never use again -

good luck -
Posted 7/22/2019 1:55 PM (GMT 0)
^ This. Brain fog is a very, very common side effect while we are on prednisone. I had it myself many times, and it is just awful! I'd pause mid-sentence as I lost my train-of-thought, have a long pause and just give up. I am a writer for occupation, and it made my job 1,000% tougher to be all brain-foggy.

Pred also makes you more anxious, and exacerbates existing physiological tendencies (I've you are prone to anxieties or depression then they are a lot worse on pred).

You will return to your normal once off of the the dreaded pred.
Posted 7/22/2019 4:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hard to say if it's the prednisone or anxiety or prednisone making your "normal" anxiety worse. I guess you'll know for sure when you get off of the prednisone. I suffer from anxiety as well, so I know how much it sucks. I started noticing a lot of brain fog after starting on Asacol when first diagnosed. I'm actually a writer/editor, too, like iPoop, so it definitely can make it hard to work. Lately, I notice my memory is pretty poor, which worries me, but I think that may have to do with a lot of stress I have been through the past few years. I never really considered if prednisone could cause that though. Prednisone sucks.
Posted 7/22/2019 7:02 PM (GMT 0)
I am so glad I popped in here today. I just finished an 8 week taper of pred and I had serious brain fog and depression. It was difficult to work and the depression was horrible. It was so bad my husband asked if I ever felt suicidal. I thought maybe it was just the flare or the unknowns of what med was next. I really think it was the pred. I am still flaring, but it's mild and starting Entyvio in August so I'm holding off on any more pred. It was horrible.
Posted 7/22/2019 7:10 PM (GMT 0)
Pred can definitely cause suicidal thoughts and massive mood swings.
Posted 9/21/2019 12:21 PM (GMT 0)
David that does sound frightening. Good for me to read though, because I feel Different in that I’m not absorbing other people’s emotions like I usually do. It’s good in a way but I understand what you mean about disassociated. I’m tapering from 40 mg... 30 mg this week. It’s a good reminder to me to hear that the brain fog symptoms continue even after tapering to a low dose like yours.
Posted 9/22/2019 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
I LOVED being on pred. Caveat: it was my first time. It made me feel like I was on MDMA or something.
Posted 9/23/2019 4:10 PM (GMT 0)
I’m on week four of pred. I’m noticing that I feel anxious, panicked and dazed and confused about an hour after my dose. For the last three days I have gone for a daily sixty minute walk, I have a route planned out and hope it will become more automatic. It helps with my feelings of being uncomfortable and anxious. I still feel foggy, but it’s a more sleepy pleasant foggy since my daily walks.
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