Feeling horrible after been on the steroid prednisone
Posted , 129 users are following.
Hi all , wonder if anyone can help .. I was put on prednisone steroid for 5 days after I went to my doctor last Thursday wif a cough and slightly tight chest .. I was on 8 tabs a day and I'm sure they were 5mg .. I finished them on Monday past .. Since Sunday tho I have been feeling quite weird like my whole body is aching and I just don't feel normal my legs r the worst wif really bad pains like I have ran a marathon and feel really hot and just like i have flu I'm usually fit and healthy so to be feeling like this is making me feel anxious .. I did read that this steroid can have these effects .wish I never started them now tho as hate feeling like this so glad there finished , just wondered if anyone else had any of these feelings wif it ? Thank u X
2 likes, 548 replies
anthony48341 tammi31
Edited
Warning DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICINE NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!! they gave me this medication for a back injury and it almost killed me. I made me go absolutely crazy, I hallucinated and was tripping for 6 hours straight. I've read on the internet many stories like mine. it was the worst 6 hours of my life! Please do not take this medication.
Danny9090 tammi31
Posted
I just came up with a new idea; blood donation. Each time they remove 10% of total blood from the body, which is bound to hold a lot of the drug. I'm doing it later this week.
Danny9090
Posted
Also I think there's 2 different groups of people here. Those are experiencing symptoms of withdrawal from prednisone/corticosteroids, and others who are hypersensitive to the drug so it's overly powerful and stays in the body for months or even years. These two conditions are basically opposite of each other but can have similar symptoms. If you're in the second group, which I am, then you'll have symptoms of Cushing Syndrome with a bloated face and other side effects.
jonathan71327 tammi31
Edited
Came off a 7 day course of methylprednisone of 32mg per day to get my asthma under control with no tapering 6 days ago. I could understand these symptoms while taking the drug, but now after stopping is when things became much more pronounced. My smartwatch shows that my heart rate is nearly continually elevated at 'rest' now at around 80bpm (when it used to be 55bpm). while walking normally this can increase a lot to 120-150 and I get lightheaded. I also feel like the muscles in my legs are really weak at times during these spells. It's only been 6 days, but already the dr's that I've seen don't really have anything to say about this, or what I can do now. I've been suffering extreme anxiety in the last week, and even livid rage today to where I just had to yell at the top of my lungs in my car out of frustration. I notice that the mornings I'm usually calmer (before I get out of bed) and the 'memory' of the prednisone isn't awoken, but once I get the day started, it's like the adrenaline starts all over again. I'm really hoping these side effects die down over some time. I appreciate everyone who came back to write about their symptoms to help people like myself, I'll try to update with how long it will take me to recover. Did you guys check your cortisol levels?
Danny9090 jonathan71327
Posted
Do you still have side effects?
marsbar tammi31
Posted
i had been taking predisonone for years up until last year, I have taken all this time to come off them. I am now experiencing terrible pain in my hands and elbows, I feel terrible fatigue, partly due to the fact that I am getting no sleep. My fingers and knuckle are swollen and I can't grip anything. I told the doctor and have been prescibed co codamol they don't really help and I don't want to swap one drug for another. i have had blood tests and shows no inflammation, which is patently obvious, and I had an ECG which shows a slow irregular hearbeat. I am really fed up I have since developed CKD and problems with my eyes.
amy46439 tammi31
Posted
So im 36, 115 lbs and healthy. Had bad reaction to covid vaccine and they gave me what i now believe are high dose prednisone. They gave me 80mg x2day, 60mg x2day, 40mg x2 day, 20mg x2 day, 10mg x2 days. On first day of taking 80mg i got EXTREMELY DIZZY and it has not let up and im now 3 days off it. I thought I was having a stroke and had an MRI which was normal. Im mad because on day 3 I messaged the NP asking about the dizziness. She acted like it was no big deal. I have a toddler and can hardly function because i am soooo dizzy. Why am I dizzy from it???
danielle63696 tammi31
Posted
omg I just finished taking prednisone as well. I was supposed to take a longer dose than I did, but my allergist said I could stop early. I took 40 mg for four days, and 30 mg the fifth day for asthma related issues. I seriously feel TERRIBLE. I feel like ive been having tension headaches, or almost like slight head pressure. Ive also been eating more, and getting super bloated any time i eat or drink anything. My body also feels super achey and ive also been extremley tired. Prednisone made me feel horrible and I was only on it 5 days. according to my doctor you don’t need to taper if it’s anything under five days but I feel like it definitely messed me up. I dont feel myself. Its been making me so anxious and moody too. Youre not alone! Anyone else have similar issues??? I told my doctor I was getting muscle aches and pains and wasnt feeling good and she doesnt believe its related because prednisone is supposed to prevent any inflammation and stuff like that. But idk i think im feeling this way due to the prednisone.
Danny9090 danielle63696
Posted
If you still have side effects consider donating blood in a hospital to remove the prednisone from your body.
Danny9090 tammi31
Edited
To anyone who has long-term side effects of high cortisol from the drug, I recommend donating blood in a hospital. I got long term side effects from a cortisone injection, which is also a corticosteroid like prednisone. I've donated blood at a hospital twice now and it's made a big difference. The reason is because donating blood physically removes some of the drug each time, which can stay in the body long term if you're hypersensitive.
ras7 Danny9090
Posted
i only took it for one day and was given a whopping 60mg to take all at once by an incompetent Urgent Care nurse. I was not told about a taper but rather that i should just stop taking it completely. They knew i wouldn't be able to see my GP until A WEEK later. i was fine for 2 days then on the 3rd day it hit me. Days would go by and I would find myself in the ER for a myriad of issues that i had no idea where they stem from. Anxiety through the roof coupled with intense shortness of breath that couldn't be controlled. my blood pressure was HIGH. I told them about the drug i had taken days prior and they seemed to ignore it. EVEN THOUGH I SPECIFIED that i stopped it completely & Abruptly . if it weren't for this post, I would've thought myself crazy. I asked my GP a week and a day after the dosage (primary care doctor) if there was anything she could do and she flat out said no, just go through it.
its messing with me because i feel pressure in my brain and i wake up in the middle of the night confused. I feel as if i'm suffering memory loss. i do test myself on things and then find out i do know them but its LITERALLY painful to retrieve information from the right side of my brain. i feel it throbbing and i feel like it's taxing on my brain. At times it's an unpleasant overly drunk feeling. I get sensory overload to a point where i can't focus & the right side of my brain hurts along with the inside of my ear if i stay in a shopping centre too long (more than 3 mins). i don't know what to do because all the doctors i've seen aren't even addressing the prednisone. It's a small town outside of a metropolitan area
Danny9090 ras7
Posted
Try donating blood. Don't say anything about your symptoms at the place of donation. This removes some of the drug from the body each time.
Danny9090 ras7
Posted
There are two possible bad outcomes to taking the drug. One is if you abruptly stop and get symptoms of low cortisol, the other is if someone is hypersensitive to the drug and they get symptoms of high cortisol. Your case sounds like an extreme response to the drug itself because the symptoms match excessive cortisol. I also got those symptoms such as racing heart, high blood pressure, crazy adrenaline and anxiety, shortness of breath. In my case it also took 2 days for the full effect to occur after a single dose, it was like an explosion in my body. To give you an idea of how hypersensitive I am, I had severe side effects in my whole body for almost 3 years after a single dose of hydrocortisone.
The side effects go away over time but it was extremely slow in my case. The best advice I can give is to start donating whole blood at a hospital regularly. It's the only thing that's made a massive difference for me.
Jodyb tammi31
Posted
I was prescribed 6 days of 60mg of prednisone for elevated sed rate and uti! I felt good while on it but 7 days after going off of prednisone I had many side effects, head felt full, extremely weak, hot flashes, chills, severe anxiety ! this has gone on for three weeks, does it ever end?
Danny9090 Jodyb
Posted
It does get weaker over time, but if you want to get it out of your body quicker you can donate blood. This removes some of the drug because each donation removes 10% of your total blood.
ash03213 Jodyb
Posted
Hi Jodyb,
I wanted to check if the withdrawal effects that you were having are over or not. I was prescribed 6 pack methylprednisolone and I am having similar withdrawal effects. It is third week since I completed my course. Thanks and hope all the bad effects are over for you.