Serious question
Posted , 13 users are following.
A few weeks ago I returned (to the US) from a fairly long trip out of the country. It seems that I brought back with me an intestinal disorder common to travelers who are unused to more exotic food preparation. (I think I put that as clearly as possible without getting too graphic.)
Weeks later I still have it, in fact it appears to be getting worse despite all the medications, prescriptions, tests, and dietary changes called for by the doctors. (Yes doctors, plural.)
But, I think I just figured out what's wrong with me...PREDNISONE!
Pred is an immunosupressent. My immune system is incapable of fighting this bug.
Now for my question to the prednisone brain trust we have in this forum... Can I stop taking pred "cold turkey" for several days, or whatever time it takes to shake this condition? I'm even prepared to suffer the slings and arrows of PMR for the duration if that is what it takes.
What do you think?
0 likes, 28 replies
karenjaninaz richard07199
Posted
Richard,
your pred dose is not that high and getting closer to physiological levels. If you have received many antibiotics in an attempt to clear this up a possibility could be C-difficile infection. Have you consulted an infectious disease specialist? They are more attuned to infections acquired abroad.
patricia43291 richard07199
Posted
Richard,
I once came back from an over seas trip, and was in a similar situation. No doctor could find out what was wrong. I know this will sound too easy, but, someone from the country where I had returned from, told me what to do. And it worked. Boil garlic and ginger root, equal parts, for ten to twenty minutes, and drink the tea. I could feel the problem, (what ever it was), leaving my body, soon after the first cup of tea. Try it, and let me know.
richard07199 patricia43291
Posted
Thank you, Patricia. I WILL try it. What have I got to lose.
And I will let you know how it turns out.
richard07199 patricia43291
Posted
OK, so I tried it.
First reaction:- It's delicious! Second reaction:- It seems to be working!
Things seem to be calming down in the digestive area, and I've done nothing else different.
What is really surprising is how good it tastes. I chopped up one tablespoon of fresh garlic and one tablespoon of ginger root, and boiled it in 1 1/2 cups of water for 15 minutes, poured it through a strainer into a cup, and drank it like hot tea.
It clearly relaxes a turbulent stomach. I've had four cups so far and things really seem to be settling down. Going to stick with it until feeling 100%.
Thank you, Patrica.
Elizamc richard07199
Posted
Sorry to hear about your tummy troubles. l don't know about prednisone causing the sort of upset you're experiencing, but l personally started to get upset tummy's when l started on omeprazole. My solution for this was to take a good, daily probiotic. Since then my 'tummy troubles' resolved. Might be worth considering if your gut doesn’t settle down, but I wonder if you really ought to see a tropical specialist ?
Best wishes too you.
bob03667 richard07199
Posted
Richard,
One other source you should contact is the Center for Disease Control.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30329-4027 USA
800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636)
Contact CDC-INFO
They keep information of diseases by country and may be familiar with your symptoms and cause.
Bob
celia14153 richard07199
Posted
I had a huge gastric episode and wpund up in hospital for a night. The consultant put me on 5mgs extra pred for three days and then I dropped back to my previous dosage. He said that our adrenals produce more cortisone to fight off infection so we need to adjust our pred accordingly as we are relying on pred to control the amount of cortisone we absorb. So I certainly wouldn't take less! Hope the horrible symptoms sort themselves out soon. Picking up tummy bugs is definitely one of my vulnerabilities since being on pred
celia14153 richard07199
Posted
I had a huge gastric episode and wpund up in hospital for a night. The consultant put me on 5mgs extra pred for three days and then I dropped back to my previous dosage. He said that our adrenals produce more cortisone to fight off infection so we need to adjust our pred accordingly as we are relying on pred to control the amount of cortisone we absorb. So I certainly wouldn't take less! Hope the horrible symptoms sort themselves out soon. Picking up tummy bugs is definitely one of my vulnerabilities since being on pred