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Anxiety and Prednisone? Anyone? PLEASE
Hey all,
After having a severe allergic reaction this weekend to an unknown substance, I am currently in the midst of a taper of the drug Prednisone. The docs had to give it to me thru an IV at the ER, and then they told me I had to taper off it for hte next 15 days (I didnt have much choice in matter considering the shape I was in). The first 5 days I had to take 20mg 5 times per day (this ended yesterday); the next 5 days (starting today) I take 40mg, and finally the last 5 days I take 20mg. To be honest, I have been exceptionally anxious since I had the allergic reaction, because I don't know why it happened. But, I'm wondering, is the Prednisone making my anxiety even worse? See...just last week (9 days ago) I upped my dosage of fluoxetine to 10mg. Then I had the allergic reaction on Friday (7 days ago)...my docs DID not think it was my medication, however, and I have continued taking it since the allergy. Anyway, today, I am stepping down the prednisone, and my anxiety is OUT THE ROOF! It is worse than it has been in a long time. I am shaky, my heart feels racy, I feel just tense and tight all over, and I absolutely cannot relax! I'm also having some muscle stiffness, but nothing severe.
So..I guess my question out of all of this is do you think the Prednisone is contributing to my severe anxiety? Or is it the Fluoxetine increase (which I was expecting extra anxiety from anwya, but not this bad)? Or is it just the fact that I am so paranoid about my new buddy..the allergy? Or is it a combo of everything together (I realize this is probably the real answer, but I just want to hear what you all have to say)?
Also, if you could share some of your experiences about Prednisone I would love to hear it. I have been reading that this drug can cause all kinds of psychiatric side effects, and I'm thinking that's why my anxiety is so much worse. Also, can I expect to feel better when I stop taking it next week...or will I suffer from withdrawal (even though I've only taken it for 15 days)?
Oh--and could I take klonopin with this to help ease the anxiety?
PLEASE...HELP!
After having a severe allergic reaction this weekend to an unknown substance, I am currently in the midst of a taper of the drug Prednisone. The docs had to give it to me thru an IV at the ER, and then they told me I had to taper off it for hte next 15 days (I didnt have much choice in matter considering the shape I was in). The first 5 days I had to take 20mg 5 times per day (this ended yesterday); the next 5 days (starting today) I take 40mg, and finally the last 5 days I take 20mg. To be honest, I have been exceptionally anxious since I had the allergic reaction, because I don't know why it happened. But, I'm wondering, is the Prednisone making my anxiety even worse? See...just last week (9 days ago) I upped my dosage of fluoxetine to 10mg. Then I had the allergic reaction on Friday (7 days ago)...my docs DID not think it was my medication, however, and I have continued taking it since the allergy. Anyway, today, I am stepping down the prednisone, and my anxiety is OUT THE ROOF! It is worse than it has been in a long time. I am shaky, my heart feels racy, I feel just tense and tight all over, and I absolutely cannot relax! I'm also having some muscle stiffness, but nothing severe.
So..I guess my question out of all of this is do you think the Prednisone is contributing to my severe anxiety? Or is it the Fluoxetine increase (which I was expecting extra anxiety from anwya, but not this bad)? Or is it just the fact that I am so paranoid about my new buddy..the allergy? Or is it a combo of everything together (I realize this is probably the real answer, but I just want to hear what you all have to say)?
Also, if you could share some of your experiences about Prednisone I would love to hear it. I have been reading that this drug can cause all kinds of psychiatric side effects, and I'm thinking that's why my anxiety is so much worse. Also, can I expect to feel better when I stop taking it next week...or will I suffer from withdrawal (even though I've only taken it for 15 days)?
Oh--and could I take klonopin with this to help ease the anxiety?
PLEASE...HELP!
Very well versed in the Anxiety and psychosis brought on by Prednisone and other steroids. 2.5 mg of Valium stopped those side effects for me...with in 30 minutes!!! Now my doc always puts me on Valium when I have to take prednisone. A lot of docs don’t seem to understand these side effect.... but they are just that, side effect...nothing more!!
This thread helped me beyond words to understand what was happening to me. I promised that when I got better I would share my story here to help others.
In early September (2017) I got a severe hives reaction (due to we believe a mix of high stress and exposure to stone dust while doing a landscaping project) all over my body, went to urgent care and they prescribed an aggressive dose of Prednisone (something like 8 pills on day 1 and one less pill each day for a week). The prednisone within 1-3 days started clearing up the hives but then things took a turn for the worse...
About 5 days in I started having bouts where I had trouble breathing, arm pain, leg pain, chest pain coupled with severe anxiety feelings. I had no idea what was wrong with me, almost went to ER but i called the urgent care and they said this was a 'common side effect' and not to worry about it but if i wanted i could stop taking the prescription because the hives were basically gone, so I stopped....but the symptoms didn't, they got worse.
About a week after stopping I had such bad chest pains that I rushed to the ER and was there for most of the night, after a number of tests they determined i wasn't having a heart attack and gave me a few milligrams of lorazepam which seemed to dissipate the symptoms. The first couple weeks were so bad i couldn't drive on certain days due to the severe and sporadic pains, had to take days off from work, leave work early, just rest and breathe and tell myself 'its just anxiety, itll pass'.
I then began visiting the doctors basically every few weeks for the last 3 months, running tests trying to figure out what we wrong with me, I thought it was this and so did the doctor but I had fears it was maybe something worse. The severity of symptoms continued to decline over time but were never 'gone' for the first 2 months. Doctors prescribed 1mg lorazepam/day which seemed to help significantly with managing the symptoms but didn't make the root cause go away.
Now its been 3 months and I've gone 2 weeks with very mild symptoms on only a couple days and feel am on the path to full recovery.
I would like to share what has worked well for me during this period in hopes that some of my story will help others (of course i'm not a doctor, seek professional advice, etc.)
- Medicine - Lorazepam 1MG day (taken half a pill twice a day, and if symptoms didn't abate i would sometimes take additional pill but that frequency declined over time. Fluoxetine - started this about a month ago and that has been the game changer, my theory is that the Prednisone created a serotonin issue in my brain and the SSRI of Fluoxetine is helping fix it. First two weeks sucked (tired, yawning, burping, throat felt like it was closing) but second two weeks things started to improve overall at a faster rate and the initial side effects have mostly passed.
- Rest - sleep when i'm tired, take naps, go to bed early, stop what i'm doing and lay down if feeling symptoms
- No caffeine or alcohol - cut those out once i heard they somewhat negate the impact of the medicines and can bring on anxiety symptoms, cutting those helped accelerate my improvement. Drink lots of calming teas (e.g. chamomile, decaf green tea, mint)
- Talk to a professional - i use an app (Talkspace) that connects you to a therapist, she's been super helpful in helping me get through this, try different exercises, see what works
- track your progress (i track each day on a 0-5 scale each with 5 being the day i went to the ER and 0 being no symptoms), don't get upset if one day is worse than prior but as you trend it over time are you trending better.
- Meditate / Breathing Exercises - i use an app (Headspace) to help guide me here but basically i breathe in deeply through my nose and out through my mouth and count (1 on inhale, 2 on exhale; only count to 10 then reset)
- I also took a course online called Recovery Formula that gave me some helpful perspective and exercises
- Supplements - I take vitamin d and fish oil
- Food - keep a simple diet, stay away from too much sugar and spicy foods (seemed to trigger symptoms for me), healthy basic foods and not too much.
In summary - its a journey that doesn't go away overnight, leverage the help of others, don't be too hard on yourself along the way and try different things to find what works for you to work this through your system.
If anyone wants to talk or ask questions feel free to reply on here. I owe this thread quite a bit.
In early September (2017) I got a severe hives reaction (due to we believe a mix of high stress and exposure to stone dust while doing a landscaping project) all over my body, went to urgent care and they prescribed an aggressive dose of Prednisone (something like 8 pills on day 1 and one less pill each day for a week). The prednisone within 1-3 days started clearing up the hives but then things took a turn for the worse...
About 5 days in I started having bouts where I had trouble breathing, arm pain, leg pain, chest pain coupled with severe anxiety feelings. I had no idea what was wrong with me, almost went to ER but i called the urgent care and they said this was a 'common side effect' and not to worry about it but if i wanted i could stop taking the prescription because the hives were basically gone, so I stopped....but the symptoms didn't, they got worse.
About a week after stopping I had such bad chest pains that I rushed to the ER and was there for most of the night, after a number of tests they determined i wasn't having a heart attack and gave me a few milligrams of lorazepam which seemed to dissipate the symptoms. The first couple weeks were so bad i couldn't drive on certain days due to the severe and sporadic pains, had to take days off from work, leave work early, just rest and breathe and tell myself 'its just anxiety, itll pass'.
I then began visiting the doctors basically every few weeks for the last 3 months, running tests trying to figure out what we wrong with me, I thought it was this and so did the doctor but I had fears it was maybe something worse. The severity of symptoms continued to decline over time but were never 'gone' for the first 2 months. Doctors prescribed 1mg lorazepam/day which seemed to help significantly with managing the symptoms but didn't make the root cause go away.
Now its been 3 months and I've gone 2 weeks with very mild symptoms on only a couple days and feel am on the path to full recovery.
I would like to share what has worked well for me during this period in hopes that some of my story will help others (of course i'm not a doctor, seek professional advice, etc.)
- Medicine - Lorazepam 1MG day (taken half a pill twice a day, and if symptoms didn't abate i would sometimes take additional pill but that frequency declined over time. Fluoxetine - started this about a month ago and that has been the game changer, my theory is that the Prednisone created a serotonin issue in my brain and the SSRI of Fluoxetine is helping fix it. First two weeks sucked (tired, yawning, burping, throat felt like it was closing) but second two weeks things started to improve overall at a faster rate and the initial side effects have mostly passed.
- Rest - sleep when i'm tired, take naps, go to bed early, stop what i'm doing and lay down if feeling symptoms
- No caffeine or alcohol - cut those out once i heard they somewhat negate the impact of the medicines and can bring on anxiety symptoms, cutting those helped accelerate my improvement. Drink lots of calming teas (e.g. chamomile, decaf green tea, mint)
- Talk to a professional - i use an app (Talkspace) that connects you to a therapist, she's been super helpful in helping me get through this, try different exercises, see what works
- track your progress (i track each day on a 0-5 scale each with 5 being the day i went to the ER and 0 being no symptoms), don't get upset if one day is worse than prior but as you trend it over time are you trending better.
- Meditate / Breathing Exercises - i use an app (Headspace) to help guide me here but basically i breathe in deeply through my nose and out through my mouth and count (1 on inhale, 2 on exhale; only count to 10 then reset)
- I also took a course online called Recovery Formula that gave me some helpful perspective and exercises
- Supplements - I take vitamin d and fish oil
- Food - keep a simple diet, stay away from too much sugar and spicy foods (seemed to trigger symptoms for me), healthy basic foods and not too much.
In summary - its a journey that doesn't go away overnight, leverage the help of others, don't be too hard on yourself along the way and try different things to find what works for you to work this through your system.
If anyone wants to talk or ask questions feel free to reply on here. I owe this thread quite a bit.
1 Comments
Just want to say, the predisone didn't do anything to your serotonin. As to supplements, there are ones that specifically address the overstressed adrenal glands that cortisone affects -- the drug is basically adrenaline, and that's why it causes so many sleep and anxiety problems. A class of herbs called adaptogens specifically addresses this part of your body, including ashwagandha and holy basil. But what often happens to us is, we get a bad reaction to something and then we have something akin to PTSD -- we get so upset by the bad reaction that we internalize it and begin to think in a way that turns a temporary but severe problem into a chronic way of thinking. Anyway, I hope you find permanent relief in a way that allows you to eventually get off those drugs (you'll have to taper off very slowly) because they are not in fact addressing any of the things that caused your problem -- unlike most of us on here, you actually know what caused your problem and so you should be able to fight it off because you have something specific to fight off. Here's to your complete recovery.
I was on 60mg / day oral prednisone for a month then tapered to 0 over 7 months for Uveitis (eye inflammation. When I hit 15mg / day I felt like a truck hit me every day. At 0 I had more energy but now I have anxiety and depression a see a psychiatrist. Lexapro and Xanax but the best is Tramadol I get where I shouldn't. Clearly the taper is critical and mine was not done correctly. I hope one day to have my life back.
i have read so many websites about the anxiety caused by this medication and no one can actually give the right answer on how to escape from this hell except taking some anti-anxiety meds to calm it, so we can not really do anything about it right? there are so many people suffer from the side effects of this drug and not a single doctor or psychiatrist or endocrinologist can actually find the way to treat it, why? i'm so desperate. what did prednisone actually do to our body and mind ? *sigh*
OMG! I am on my 4th days now and this is really really bad...anxiety, I feel like I'm going crazy, feeling icy-cold, sleep disorder, dizziness, gain weight, blurry vision, upset stomach, etc. Can I stop taking it now?
3 Comments
I took prednisone for 8 days for hives. 40mg for 4 days, 20mg for 2 days, then 10 MG for 2 days. I was sick 35 minutes after I started this potent drug and it was February 18th when I took it and stopped it February 27th and it's now April 29th and I am weak, nauseous, dizzy, severe anxiety and my life has turned upside-down. I could barely work. I'm now on FMLA. I have seen 35 doctors and they all think I need mental health. I take Ativan daily, but it's not working so great again. I am going crazy, and I can't get an ease. I am going to see endocrinology in a week.
I also lost 10 lbs..no appetite. I wish I was warmed about prednisone. The doctors are so in denial. I went to the the 4 times already, and the last visit, they were trying to admit me to a mental hospital.
My daughter did a short dose and the anxiety & paranoia started within 3 hours of first dose. We got her off and then she started panic attacks. Missed 2 weka of school. Never had panic attacks before. She went to therapist and is learning to understand & control what's happening. Also, meds are finally out of her system. It takes time to feel better--more one the longer you took prednisone & the slower your metabolism. Exercise, drink water & go to a therapist to help the attacks until the steroids are out if your system.
I don't think it means your adrenals are not working, but they're probably overtaxed some. What it means is that taking adrenalin can make someone happier -- like speed. Kind of what cocaine does, in part, and is why many antidepressants target norepinephrine, basically adrenalin -- an up for the down, so to speak (but not so great for primary anxiety sufferers many times). I think you'll be fine in time especially since you only took it a short time, but I'll tell you, I have bad anxiety and my psychiatrist was very leery when I was suggested to take cortisone for my back and so I didn't. It's just extremely stimulating for some people, and when you take it away, you feel down. Patience.
Ugh, that's crazy you have such awful side effects after taking it for only three days! I hope you're feeling better soon!
Sorry, I'm new and learning how everything works here! I was on 30 mg Prednisone for 8 days and have been tapering for 3 weeks, down to 2.5 mg.
I felt great at 30 mgs but now I want to kill everyone (kidding) and I cry 5 times a day! How long will this last? Does this mean my adrenals are not working?
I felt great at 30 mgs but now I want to kill everyone (kidding) and I cry 5 times a day! How long will this last? Does this mean my adrenals are not working?
Hi, I just wanted to write my story with this awful drug. Last week Monday I was prescribed 60mg of prednisone for 3 days for an ear infection. I felt fine the 3 days I took it but on Friday (first day off) I have had all of these horrible withdrawal problems. Wake up in the middle of the night sweating in a panic heart racing. Brain fog, head just doesn't feel right like I have a tingle in my head. I have never had anxiety problems before and now I am seriously feeling like I'm going crazy. I can't stop worrying that something else is wrong with me even though I felt fine before the prednisone. Thank you all for sharing your story, it helps. I just hope these symptoms go away because I feel like I'm going to lose it.
1 Comments
It's the prednisone. I was happy and healthy and I took a week of prednisone, 35 minutes after, I got sick until today. .2 months later. from February to April and every day is a miserable day. I can only pray now. All doctor thinks I'm crazy
Finished a 5 days Prednisone cycle, of 60mgs per day, about a week ago. Lingering bronchitis and a sinus infection.
I told my doctor that I have bipolar ll and anxiety and am on a mood stabilizer and she said "oh, don't worry it's fine." Really you dumb ***, and you call yourself a doctor?
I have bipolar ll and have struggled with depression/anxiety for many years. Things have been going well until I took this damn Pred. Have had floating anxiety and panic attacks since I finished the 5 day cylce. Panic and derealization like I haven't felt for 20+ years. Derealization really *****, feels like your disconnected from reality while you panicking at the same time.
I've been spiraling down thinking that I am back where I started when I was younger. Racing negative thinking and spiraling into a panic. Cant believe my doc prescribed it like it was vitamin C. And especially knowing my history with mental health.
Thanks you all for your stories and I don't feel like i'm loosing it again. At least I hope not :)
I've got some Ativan to help me through this and hope it goes away sooner than later. I feel for anyone going through the same thing and feel your pain. Sounds like it does get better and that there is a reason your feeling the way you are.
Best wishes to all
R
I told my doctor that I have bipolar ll and anxiety and am on a mood stabilizer and she said "oh, don't worry it's fine." Really you dumb ***, and you call yourself a doctor?
I have bipolar ll and have struggled with depression/anxiety for many years. Things have been going well until I took this damn Pred. Have had floating anxiety and panic attacks since I finished the 5 day cylce. Panic and derealization like I haven't felt for 20+ years. Derealization really *****, feels like your disconnected from reality while you panicking at the same time.
I've been spiraling down thinking that I am back where I started when I was younger. Racing negative thinking and spiraling into a panic. Cant believe my doc prescribed it like it was vitamin C. And especially knowing my history with mental health.
Thanks you all for your stories and I don't feel like i'm loosing it again. At least I hope not :)
I've got some Ativan to help me through this and hope it goes away sooner than later. I feel for anyone going through the same thing and feel your pain. Sounds like it does get better and that there is a reason your feeling the way you are.
Best wishes to all
R
Prednisone messed up 2014 for me also !! I received it in January in the ER for an allergic reaction ... That's when the darkest time of my life began ... I have NO psych history, I am completely intact, but panic, depression , relentless dark thoughts ensued... Then came the worst of it, an absolutely horrible sensation called derealization.. All of the other symptoms are gone, but he derealization is not. DONT LET ANY DOCTOR TELL YOU IT CANT BE THE STEROID...YES IT IS , and avoid it at all costs in the future, I am nearly recovered, by the grace of God
Thank you so much for posting your story and to everyone else for theirs.I took a prednisone dose pack for a nasal problem and the 3rd day in the panic set in with shortness of breath, sleeplessness, chest pain, etc. I finished the 6 day course as instructed (not to suddenly stop). The symptoms only escalated and left me feeling things I never knew could happen to me. I am an intact person at all levels. With the prednisone, all that left me to a sense of hopelessness, wanting to just die. Four days after my last dose things got worse as I was admitted to the ER with a heart arrthymia of atrial fibrillation with a very high rate. Shortly after the doctor saw me and having taken my history and blood work he agreed it was the prednisone. So did all the nurses who said they hate the drug and see people suffer terribly when they come to the ER. Moments later my heart went into a more dangerous arrhythmia called atrial flutter with a high rate. They brought the crash cart in and prepared to shock my heart(cardioversion) but luckily I returned to atrial fib. The next morning I woke up with a normal heart rate. All my test were normal, including my EKG and echocardiogram. I was sent home and continue to have chest tightness but am certain it is associated with the ongoing episodes of crippling panic attacks. Like many of you, each moment is beyond challenging just to make it through the attack. I continue to work but all other activity is minimized for now. So very tired from it all. I a 2 weeks out from my last dose as of today. It has been two weeks and counting. Yesterday was a panic free day. today hell returned in its fury. I especially look for assurance from you and others who tell me there is an end to it over time. To know there is a time when I will again be normal is the most important thing to hear. I am a healthcare provider for over forty years and am appalled at how recklessly this drug is prescribed for minor health problems. Forums like this need to capture the attention of not only prescribing physicians but those who are entrusted with the approval of safety for the unsuspecting public. I am angry as I am sure many others are. Lets direct that anger to bring about some level of change as to how to best inform and protect us all who will someday be a patient somewhere. may God bless and protect us all ,
Thank you so much for posting your story and to everyone else for theirs.I took a prednisone dose pack for a nasal problem and the 3rd day in the panic set in with shortness of breath, sleeplessness, chest pain, etc. I finished the 6 day course as instructed (not to suddenly stop). The symptoms only escalated and left me feeling things I never knew could happen to me. I am an intact person at all levels. With the prednisone, all that left me to a sense of hopelessness, wanting to just die. Four days after my last dose things got worse as I was admitted to the ER with a heart arrthymia of atrial fibrillation with a very high rate. Shortly after the doctor saw me and having taken my history and blood work he agreed it was the prednisone. So did all the nurses who said they hate the drug and see people suffer terribly when they come to the ER. Moments later my heart went into a more dangerous arrhythmia called atrial flutter with a high rate. They brought the crash cart in and prepared to shock my heart(cardioversion) but luckily I returned to atrial fib. The next morning I woke up with a normal heart rate. All my test were normal, including my EKG and echocardiogram. I was sent home and continue to have chest tightness but am certain it is associated with the ongoing episodes of crippling panic attacks. Like many of you, each moment is beyond challenging just to make it through the attack. I continue to work but all other activity is minimized for now. So very tired from it all. I a 2 weeks out from my last dose as of today. It has been two weeks and counting. Yesterday was a panic free day. today hell returned in its fury. I especially look for assurance from you and others who tell me there is an end to it over time. To know there is a time when I will again be normal is the most important thing to hear. I am a healthcare provider for over forty years and am appalled at how recklessly this drug is prescribed for minor health problems. Forums like this need to capture the attention of not only prescribing physicians but those who are entrusted with the approval of safety for the unsuspecting public. I am angry as I am sure many others are. Lets direct that anger to bring about some level of change as to how to best inform and protect us all who will someday be a patient somewhere. may God bless and protect us all ,
One more update from me - 8 months out from taking the Prednisone at this point, I'd say I'm about 80-90% recovered. Finally able to sleep normally without any medication. Cognitive abilities/thought processes are almost back to normal. Still a tiny edge of fogginess and anxiety but it's fading fast.
During the last several months of recovery I found strenous exercise very helpful, it worked better on the symptoms (heart palpitations, anxiety, brain-fog, insomnia) than any medication. Even though I was terribly exhausted from the lack of sleep I forced myself to go to the gym and it helped.
For people suffering from this, I would say "hang in there". For months I thought I'd never return to my old life of being normal. But I was getting better, every month I'd notice I was better than the month before, so I focused on that. Whatever the prednisone did to me, it does seem to be something that heals or wears off in time, even though it pretty much ruined 2014 for me.
This episode, I would call it poisoning, is the worst medical problem ever for me, and I've had some pretty bad stuff before. I don't trust any prescription meds anymore, I'm taking herbs and alternative treatments whenever I possibly can from now on.
During the last several months of recovery I found strenous exercise very helpful, it worked better on the symptoms (heart palpitations, anxiety, brain-fog, insomnia) than any medication. Even though I was terribly exhausted from the lack of sleep I forced myself to go to the gym and it helped.
For people suffering from this, I would say "hang in there". For months I thought I'd never return to my old life of being normal. But I was getting better, every month I'd notice I was better than the month before, so I focused on that. Whatever the prednisone did to me, it does seem to be something that heals or wears off in time, even though it pretty much ruined 2014 for me.
This episode, I would call it poisoning, is the worst medical problem ever for me, and I've had some pretty bad stuff before. I don't trust any prescription meds anymore, I'm taking herbs and alternative treatments whenever I possibly can from now on.
thank you all for sharing ,
I thought I was going crazy . Anxiety and panic attacks coming back after being free from them for over 7 years.
All this because I had to go on prednisone for a blocked ear by my ent doctor.
I was on on 50mg for 2 days,40mg for 2 days,30mg for 2 days,20mg for 2 days.10mg 2 days,5mg for 2 days of which I finished just this past sunday,
And OMG the anxiety attacks , insomnia and panic all started as I was tapering off and are still lasting 3 days after not taking it. I am so glad you all posted your experiences as now I know I am not crazy or ALONE. Many people seem to have worse anxiety after finishing prednisone so I can tell my wife now I am not going crazy .
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU.
I thought I was going crazy . Anxiety and panic attacks coming back after being free from them for over 7 years.
All this because I had to go on prednisone for a blocked ear by my ent doctor.
I was on on 50mg for 2 days,40mg for 2 days,30mg for 2 days,20mg for 2 days.10mg 2 days,5mg for 2 days of which I finished just this past sunday,
And OMG the anxiety attacks , insomnia and panic all started as I was tapering off and are still lasting 3 days after not taking it. I am so glad you all posted your experiences as now I know I am not crazy or ALONE. Many people seem to have worse anxiety after finishing prednisone so I can tell my wife now I am not going crazy .
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU.
This thread has been very helpful for me, just wanted to post my experience.
I was given Prednisone after going to the hospital for a nasty bout of bronchitis - my asthma was getting worse and the rescue inhaler was not working well, so they gave me Prednisone.
After 3-4 days of 40mg of Prednisone, I COMPLETELY freaked out. Debilitating panic attacks, pounding heartbeat, massive sweats at night, unable to sleep at all for 4-5 days. Almost called an ambulance due to incredibly bad panic attack/feeling of going insane.
I immediately stopped the Prednisone but it's been 3 months and I am NOT fully recovered! The recovery has been unbelievably slow. For the first 2 months I couldn't sleep more than 3-5 hours per night, now I am up to 6-7 per night. Often wake up in the morning with heart palpitations and panic/anxiety. Never had any mental issues before whatsoever.
I want to post this study, it was very helpful to me, it describes the problem to a T - "steroid psychosis". It suggest that phenothiazines can be very helpful when given right away. My doctor gave me Klonopin which helped slightly, but you can suffer bad withdrawal symptoms after only a short time on this med, I wish my docs had known to give phenothiazines instead, this study says that it can actually fix the psychosis quickly:
http://www.drrichardhall.com/steroid.htm
Good luck to anyone going through this, you will get better but very slowly. My problem now is that I have poorly controlled asthma and when I take either Intal or Flovent to addres it the anxiety/panic/sickness feelings get worse. Not sure how I am going to reduce the asthma at this point.
I was given Prednisone after going to the hospital for a nasty bout of bronchitis - my asthma was getting worse and the rescue inhaler was not working well, so they gave me Prednisone.
After 3-4 days of 40mg of Prednisone, I COMPLETELY freaked out. Debilitating panic attacks, pounding heartbeat, massive sweats at night, unable to sleep at all for 4-5 days. Almost called an ambulance due to incredibly bad panic attack/feeling of going insane.
I immediately stopped the Prednisone but it's been 3 months and I am NOT fully recovered! The recovery has been unbelievably slow. For the first 2 months I couldn't sleep more than 3-5 hours per night, now I am up to 6-7 per night. Often wake up in the morning with heart palpitations and panic/anxiety. Never had any mental issues before whatsoever.
I want to post this study, it was very helpful to me, it describes the problem to a T - "steroid psychosis". It suggest that phenothiazines can be very helpful when given right away. My doctor gave me Klonopin which helped slightly, but you can suffer bad withdrawal symptoms after only a short time on this med, I wish my docs had known to give phenothiazines instead, this study says that it can actually fix the psychosis quickly:
http://www.drrichardhall.com/steroid.htm
Good luck to anyone going through this, you will get better but very slowly. My problem now is that I have poorly controlled asthma and when I take either Intal or Flovent to addres it the anxiety/panic/sickness feelings get worse. Not sure how I am going to reduce the asthma at this point.
I just read your post regarding prednisone withdrawal and am wondering if you received any anti-anxiety meds during the 4 months it took you to normalize back to yourself? I had 125 mg of solu-medrol at hospital for adverse reaction to allergy shot and the only 2 days of 40mg prednisone - went back to ER 3 times that week - felt horrible, head heavy, fatigue, I couldn't have felt worse. SED rate high - everything else normal. Then over next 3 weeks got every blood test - normal - MRI - normal! Thank goodness but still felt horrible. Then I had insomnia for 3 weeks. I am out 6 weeks and now have anxiety attacks, but today felt a little more myself at times. I do not want to start medications, but I feel like I can't get through this on my own.
Wow I am glad I am not going crazy then after reading a lot of what I just read on this site. I came to this site by searching some side affects on taking Prednizone and the possibility of anxiety etc. After reading everyone's notes on this I at least feel a lot less anxious than I did before reading it all. I have to get up for work in less than 5 hours and I just could not get settled down enough to sleep. I went to the DR because of tightness in my chest and learned that I had bronchitis and was then given a script for a heavy antibiotic and also Prednizone. I think if I would have read this first I may have forgone the Prednizone. I am only on my third day of taking it and have three more days to take the rest and am supposed to wean off of it I guess. Seems as though I might be a little more uncomfortable even after that by what I read. Feeling like I almost wanted to go to the ER because I was anxious enough to think I was getting a heart attach but after reading this all, I feel much better . Just have to get though the experience. Thank you all
I really don't like this stuff at all. I was having difficulty breathing and went into the ER. I was just getting over a sever cold and flu, when it turned into Bronchitis. First time ever having it and I admit, I was a smoker (quit when I contracted Bronchitis). They thought I had a blood clot at first, did a CT scan, and said it was good except I had swollen bronchial tubes. They have me antibiotics and a prescription of Prednisone. Did 5 days of 40mg, one 20mg pill in the morning and one at night. Then I had 1 day of 20mg and then was done. On day 5, I noticed that the 12 hours in-between the pills, was starting to wear off. Started feeling anxiety settling in. We at dinner that night, after which I took my Prednisone pill. It takes about an hour for that stuff to start taking effect. Well, needless to say, after having eaten (probably too much), the anxiety kicked in the sensation of not being able to breath pretty bad. I thought I was going to bite it that night (only 35).
The Prednisone must have kicked in because within an hour, I felt relaxed again and actually felt fatigued quite a bit and went to bed right away. The next day I took my last 20mg pill, but didn't feel too good. I went through the rest of the night and the next couple of days feeling like crap. Didn't get anxiety though because I was hardly eating anything as I thought initially that's what was triggering it. 3 days later (4 days from the attack), I had another attack shortly after we ate. This time I hadn't eaten a whole lot. But this attack wasn't going away. Tried to calm myself, tried various breathing exercises and other things to stay calm but nothing helped. An hour and a half later, I was up in the ER. They mis-diagnosed me up there thinking I was having a GERD attack from eating. Needless to say, I suffered through about another week of anxiety before it finally died down.
But it became a "darned if I do, darned if I don't" time for me. The prednisone actually did help the inflammation of the bronchial tubes. They were so inflamed, I couldn't cough up any phlegm, which just exasperated my problems and prolonged them. But which is the lesser of two evils... the swollen bronchial tubes and tight chest which makes each breath seem like a job, or no problems breathing while on Prednisone but have to suffer anxiety attacks that simulate not being able to breath? They gave me Flovent and said that while it has Prednisone in there, that I wouldn't suffer from the anxiety... but I did. Washing mouth out just not enough, I still feel the anxiety from the inhaler just as much as the pill. It's been a month and still trying to get over the Bronchitis stuff... but hard to tell if I'm getting better or not when I get Prednisone side effects that are just as bad.
The Prednisone must have kicked in because within an hour, I felt relaxed again and actually felt fatigued quite a bit and went to bed right away. The next day I took my last 20mg pill, but didn't feel too good. I went through the rest of the night and the next couple of days feeling like crap. Didn't get anxiety though because I was hardly eating anything as I thought initially that's what was triggering it. 3 days later (4 days from the attack), I had another attack shortly after we ate. This time I hadn't eaten a whole lot. But this attack wasn't going away. Tried to calm myself, tried various breathing exercises and other things to stay calm but nothing helped. An hour and a half later, I was up in the ER. They mis-diagnosed me up there thinking I was having a GERD attack from eating. Needless to say, I suffered through about another week of anxiety before it finally died down.
But it became a "darned if I do, darned if I don't" time for me. The prednisone actually did help the inflammation of the bronchial tubes. They were so inflamed, I couldn't cough up any phlegm, which just exasperated my problems and prolonged them. But which is the lesser of two evils... the swollen bronchial tubes and tight chest which makes each breath seem like a job, or no problems breathing while on Prednisone but have to suffer anxiety attacks that simulate not being able to breath? They gave me Flovent and said that while it has Prednisone in there, that I wouldn't suffer from the anxiety... but I did. Washing mouth out just not enough, I still feel the anxiety from the inhaler just as much as the pill. It's been a month and still trying to get over the Bronchitis stuff... but hard to tell if I'm getting better or not when I get Prednisone side effects that are just as bad.
I've had similar experiences. Takes me a long time to get over the side effects once I'm off it. Tell the doctors about it and they think I'm crazy or insulting them for even mentioning it.
Years ago I took prednisone for a bad poison oak problem. I read the physician's desk reference a few days into the treatment- I call the prednisone medicine Hell Pills. It took me many weeks to stabilize from the prednisone, not fun.
Last Sept and November I received some 15 prednisone shots in my scalp (hair falling out in small area) on 2 occasions. And I had a prednisone solution to wipe on the spot twice a day- I found later is was systemic to my fingers also. So I have had a lot of this drug injected into me recently.
I have generalized anxiety, gained 12 pounds looks like mainly in my chest (I never have a full chest) which stayed bloated, my breathing was often labored, and there is now low grade wheezing - maybe my chamomile teas are backfiring I hear (I have typical seasonal allergies).
Can't wait to have "me" back- and I wonder how long this will take. I bet I will be to spring with getting stabilized. What a joke.
The bottom line is that there is a pitiful effort made to inform patients with these medications. And prednisone is maybe sometimes a good drug, but for me it is awful. There is a mammoth amount of this negative information on this drug- the medical industry ought to be ashamed of itself.
Last Sept and November I received some 15 prednisone shots in my scalp (hair falling out in small area) on 2 occasions. And I had a prednisone solution to wipe on the spot twice a day- I found later is was systemic to my fingers also. So I have had a lot of this drug injected into me recently.
I have generalized anxiety, gained 12 pounds looks like mainly in my chest (I never have a full chest) which stayed bloated, my breathing was often labored, and there is now low grade wheezing - maybe my chamomile teas are backfiring I hear (I have typical seasonal allergies).
Can't wait to have "me" back- and I wonder how long this will take. I bet I will be to spring with getting stabilized. What a joke.
The bottom line is that there is a pitiful effort made to inform patients with these medications. And prednisone is maybe sometimes a good drug, but for me it is awful. There is a mammoth amount of this negative information on this drug- the medical industry ought to be ashamed of itself.
In September I stopped using my high does of nasacort nasal steroid cold turkey because supposedly it does not get into the system and doesn't need to be tapered (what my Dr. said). About 2 weeks later, my life fell apart. Horrendous withdrawal symptoms that clearly mean the cortisol has been in my entire system. Horrible muscle pains, tingling, numbness, nausea, fever, headaches, lost 10 pounds that I couldn't afford to lose, and perhaps most horrendous anxiety through the ROOF. It is 3 months later and I am still dealing with anxiety, nausea, and not feeling right. The anxiety nearly led me to the ER this afternoon because I was going out of my mind. I never had any panic or anxiety issues prior to the steroid use. This is all new and very scary. My GP. just prescribed a low dose of Klonopin just to get me through the rest of this withdrawal. I have 2 small kids and a husband that have been very patient, but I feel guilty that I've gone crazy. PLEASE, everyone, realize that nasal corticosteroids prescribed for allergies are still steroids, and don't go cold turkey even if your doctor says it will be fine. I will be writing the FDA to encourage more education to the prescribing Drs. Of course, my prescribing Dr. still doesn't believe that this could happen. The endocrinologist says it definitely can and did.
My experience with Prednisone is similar. I was given a 16 day course, starting at 40mg a day. Day 5, went to emergency room because couldn't breath, couldn't think. Doc told me to quit taking it immediately. For the next 3.5 months, my life was hell. Panic attacks (which I didn't even know existed) along with constant "not feeling right". Doctor gave me some Ativan, which helped a little. I think it mostly helped me because it would make me drowsy, and I could fall asleep for a couple of hours. In the middle of that 3.5 months, there was a week where I thought I was better, but then out of nowhere, anxiety came back. During this period of time, I tried all kinds of things like walking, changing diet, etc. Finally, I went for some blood tests and they tested everything. All was normal! Except I wasn't normal. The blood tests did at least make me feel like I could quit trying vitamins, switching up diets, etc., assuming something was off. I'm now basically back to normal, 4 months later. You will get better! I wish I had found a cure or something that would speed up the recovery from that poison, but I didn't. Nor could I find anyone that had found a cure either. My best advice is to sleep whenever you can, walk off some energy, and keep telling yourself this is all temporary, which it is.
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