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prednisone side effects

Posted , 7 users are following.

carol20979
carol20979

I feel spacey really bad after taking 10 mg of prednisone have been on it for 12 days.Starting wjth the 6 day dosage program the my blood work came back and she put me on 19 mg for a year.I was on benzos for sleep for two years .05 of xanax. the my new doc put me on lorazepam to wean me off  xanax. My pain started suddenly as in pmr however I discovered that when I took the lorazepam the siffness would get worse..not take it it the pain would improve.Has anyone had a reaction that mimics pmr that is caused by a drug reaction? 

2 likes, 44 replies

44 Replies

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  • jennissw
    jennissw carol20979

    Posted

    I worked part time for a very long time in a Drugs and Alcohol agency as manager for the tranquilizer team. (The other days I ws a therapist).

    My job was to help people taper from prescribed medicines. Not an easy job but interesting and most often successful if it is done right.

    I am not a medical professional but did work with the GP to help a person taper without too much distress. My personal opinion is that lorazepam is not the best drug to help somone come off of xanax. The reason being that it does not come in small amounts like diazepam. And the switch should be slow using both drugs at first in lower doses. Also the half life of lorezepam is much shorter implying people can go in and out of withdrawal. 1mg of lorezepam = 10mg of diazepam. 

    Depending on how you take your meds you could be going in and out of withdrawal. It could then mean that some of the pain is realted to that and if you do have PMR it may just work against it. 

    Can I ask, is the pain you speak of more muscle related? Also, I was not sure from your post if you are on 10mg or 19mg pred?

    • carol20979
      carol20979 jennissw

      Posted

      Yes I do agree my problems with this started when the switch was made to lorazapam I think I was in and out of withdrawal as you said Iwas also on mirtazapine for sleep.comming off of xanax I was depessed so my doc upped the mirt dose from 15 to 30 did't work well back down to 15 added celexa I can not ssris they give me chills and stiff muscles.When the pain started I researched the meds and found that mirt can cause that sort of pain so I went of it.Then discovered that when took the lorazepam I would wake up stiff and sore so I really could not taper even a quarter of a .05 mg. would do this. Pain is now terrible, doc is out of town 6 weeks to get appt. so I went to the xa
    • carol20979
      carol20979

      Posted

      computer freeze! so i went to the xanax doc got trigger point shot and six days of pred fixed pain over nite.The blood came back  high inflamation was told to take10 mg pred for year and go to a specialist. this all started with anxiety and could not sleep hence xanax for sleep..05 mg for two years.still sleep the pred makes light headed all but the pain is gone. It's to the that just cringe when they out scrip pads.I know a real mess! I have my own pharmacy of drugs no of which take.Any suggestions? greatly appreciated.
  • jennissw
    jennissw carol20979

    Posted

    it is unfortunate that docs just dont get how it works.

    Everything slowly, is the rul of thumb. reduction should be very slow and should take at least one month for every year you have taken it.

    When he returns you could ask him if valium (diazepam) may be better for reduction because it comes in smaller doses and is easier to reduce...plus it can be taken in increments over the day.

    • carol20979
      carol20979 jennissw

      Posted

      I am going to see him today wish me luck! thank you for your support so appreciated!
    • carol20979
      carol20979 jennissw

      Posted

      you know irony of this is this Dr told me half of his practice was getting off benzos so of couse I thought I was in good hands.he did't offer a tapper scedule just take this instead and when back to him and said I was no longer taking xanax he was pleased and I said if is so great why do I feel so awful no answer obviously withdrwal.
    • EileenH
      EileenH carol20979

      Posted

      WHY were half his practice getting off benzos? Because he'd put them on them maybe? 

      I am positive these doctors slept through all their physiology and pharmacy lectures. Either that or they all have Alzheimers! It gets worse...

  • jennissw
    jennissw carol20979

    Posted

    Good Luck Carole. It is unfortunate that when benzo's were first popular in the 70's and 80's - they were hailed as super, duper drugs...bereavement...take a benzo....but sad....take a benzo. Then in the mid 80's they tried to get people off and found people could not just come off. Lots of agencies emerged and it was us that did all the research and found out how to withdraw. I used to give talks and sometimes GP's would come along...but most are unaware of how indivual tapering can be....many things have to be considered...like what is going on the the persons life a what support they will have etc
    • EileenH
      EileenH jennissw

      Posted

      It's the same with tapering off pred in PMR and GCA. One size does NOT fit all.
    • carol20979
      carol20979 EileenH

      Posted

      I am having a terrible day anxiety and non stop crying just can't get it together is this the pred? 
    • carol20979
      carol20979 jennissw

      Posted

      I had some things to do today so I thought I would take pred later because it makes me spacey.BAD idea I don't know if that is what caused an anxiety attack and crying jag but it went on and on until I took the pred.Very scarey like turning it on and off. I have almost no experience with this drug certainly not long term it has been13 days.do you know this is common or is this just one o my weird drug reactions?
    • margaret22251
      margaret22251 carol20979

      Posted

      oh carole so sorry to hear you are having a bad day, i dont know a great deat about pred yet, but from what every says i think its thje pred, I told my doctor yesterday and she wants me to go on SSRI antiprepressants, BUT both me and the hubby dont want to go down that road, i dont know enohj obout them so i wont, unless somebody on this knows more abouit them.

      Sending you lots of hugs biggrin please keep in touch, even if you want to send a private message do so if it helps you to talk.

    • jennissw
      jennissw carol20979

      Posted

      Sorry you are having a bad time. Do you have any counselling or other help?
    • carol20979
      carol20979 margaret22251

      Posted

      Thank you for your kind words.I have tried just about every ssri there is I can not handle the side effects for some reason I have developed an intolerance to these types of meds. When my husband died from copd 9 years ago I had some problems the put me on effexor and it was a miracle,so they can work really well for some people about 50%.You could certainly give it a try. But be warned thry can have some nasty side effects
    • carol20979
      carol20979 jennissw

      Posted

      Better so far today but it is just 8 am Ijust took the pred will see what happens next hopefully not a crying nut case.
    • EileenH
      EileenH carol20979

      Posted

      Any of you with anxiety issues with pred - PMR can shake your confidence and make you very up and down as well. If you are someone who then has problems with the pred it really can be worth trying a mild medication - they aren't all terrible and can make a massive difference. The problems there have been in the past have been because people have come to expect a pill to sort out all their problems and then got forgotten about so took pills unnecessarily for years. Then there were withdrawal problems because - as we've been talking about - your body gets used to something and objects when it is taken away in the wrong way. It must be done SLOWLY, just like pred!

      To some extent it is also the same with timing of taking medication - if your body is used to it coming at a given time, don't mess about with it. If you DO want to move the time, do it in small steps - either move it half an hour at a time or split the dose, part at the old time and part at the new time, reducing the amount at the old time and increasing the new time dose - the total should always stay the same though.

    • margaret22251
      margaret22251 carol20979

      Posted

      oh carol dont thing that we all are different on this awful drug, i for one dont like it, but if it makes you well again, who knows one day.sometimes crying relieves some tension, i know what its like , like a lot of us do, please take care. Mags x
    • carol20979
      carol20979 margaret22251

      Posted

      Well Margaret we do what we must. My husband was on this awful stuff for 12 years I am very aware of what it dots to the body over time, so being told I would have to take it long term well that was an unpleasant bit of news. 
    • carol20979
      carol20979 margaret22251

      Posted

      They can work quite well for some but there really is no magic pill you have to manage your expectations.The thing with ssris is not just getting on them but getting off as with anything drug your body gets used to it so there are withdrawals best to be informed and do your research then decide if it would be worth it Remember you are tinkering your brain!
    • carol20979
      carol20979 jennissw

      Posted

      Do they advertise drugs on tv in the UK? We are bombarded with these big pharma adds Two years after the drug comes out there are adds for the lawyers handeling the class action law suits the only ones getting rich over here are the drug companies and the lawyers.The drugs over here are so expensive.
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