Panick attacks after taking prednisone

Posted , 5 users are following.

I tested positive for covid 19 on December 24th. I had body aches, headache, low fever and a little bronchial cough so they prescribed 40mg Prednisone a day and antibiotics for 5 days . After the second day, the prednisone had me feeling weird and increasingly worse on the third and fourth day . By the 4th day, i was told to stop the pills because i was (and still am) experiencing constant panic attacks . My last dose of 20mg was taken yesterday at 10:30am . i had episodes last night with flushed face, hot sweaty hands, high heart rate and high blood pressure . By 1am i dont know how i managed to slow my heart rate and finally pass out but i did. It is now 24 hours since last dose and I am panicking even in this moment. My doctor just says to take a xanax and that the feeling should be " gone in a day". Has anyone else had these panic attacks with short burst of Prednisone that just " go away" after a day or 2? thanks in advance

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6 Replies

  • Posted

    I was on a short-term , high-dose regimen. 10 days at 60mg and then tapering by 10mg per day for the next 5. Some of the symptoms you describe, I definitely had. The flushed face is one of them. Only lasted a couple of hours and then went away. Usually about 8-10 hours after taking my dose. More annoying than anything. But I did have elevated heart rate, particularly after I had my last dose. My resting heart rate is normally around 70. A day after my last dose, it was 95.Went on like that for 4 days before my PCP put me back on a low dose and a longer taper. Heart rate is down 15-20 BPM. I've also had panic attacks in the past (I'm a cancer survivor) so I know what they are like. Sounds like your elevated heart rate might be a combination of both the medication and a panic attack. For panic attacks, I found that slow breathing and meditation did wonders.

    • Posted

      Thank you so much for your input . Great to hear you survived cancer and its reassuring to hear that im not the only one with this reaction to prednisone (and/or withdrawl) . The panic attacks have subsided slightly since i posted, as predicted by my doctor . Will post again if it worsens. I will definetely give meditation a shot! thanks again

    • Posted

      Welp, it all seemed like smooth sailing until around 11pm when i went to go to sleep. started to get the shakes then i thought it was one last burst of withdrawal. Ive been having the panic attacks all night , non-stop , even IN my sleep for the few minutes i managed to fall asleep. By far the worst and scariest thing ive had to endure , and i wish i had answers on why its happening after only a short burst of 4 days prednisone . 😦(( Dont know how much more of this i can take

    • Posted

      just in case anyone reading this has had the same issue, it turns out the prednisone had really messed my stomach bad enough that it was affecting my entire body... my doctor prescribed Omeprazole and as soon as i took it , all my symptoms were gone . like a miracle !

    • Posted

      hi, i was wondering if you're still feeling ok?

      i recently experienced this after 3 days of prednisone and am wondering if it may help me too?

      im also now clenching my teeth at night.

      any updates appreciated, thanks!

    • Posted

      Hey, I'm currently experiencing prednisone withdrawals.

      I took it for 2 months. Quit cold turkey. It's been 3 months since my last dose, and I'm still nowhere near recovery.

      My question to you is, how much time did it take for you to fully recover?

      And what where ALL the symptoms you experienced during withdrawal?

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