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How long do side effects of Prednisone (Medrol) last?

About seven weeks ago, I was given a 4 mg Medrol Dosepak (6 days) for costochondritis. The week I took it, I had no issues at all. It didn't help my inflammation, but didn't seem to hurt either. HOWEVER! A few days after the last dose, my face started feeling very flush and I even registered a low grade fever. I didn't think much of it and figured it was a summer cold or sinus infection. Well, skip ahead a few more days and BAM! The worst fatigue I've ever had. Even worse than chemo. It literally takes everything I can to just get to work and make it through the day. That is not an overstatement. Then, insomnia set in. I can go to sleep, but wake up every morning around 4:30 and can't go back to sleep. And the most horrible anxiety you can imagine. Seriously. I almost had to call an ambulance it has gotten so bad. Other symptoms are heavy sinus drainage down my throat (thin, not thick), hand tremors, nausea, weight loss, no appetite, sleepiness, ringing in ears, stiff legs, and loss of concentration. It is pure Hell. I'm in my sixth week since stopping this horrible poison and still feel like I can barely function. I fully realize that was a low dose and short duration, but these symptoms appeared after taking it and coincide with dozens, if not hundreds, of reviews I've read online.

I'm doing all the things I know to do, such as regular bedtime routine, meditating, hot bath with Epsom salt, no caffeine at all, eating more protein, and light exercise regularly (elliptical) but nothing seems to help. The doc who prescribed it knew I have issues with anxiety, but did not mention the possible side effects. When I asked if the steroid could be causing it, I was only told "Steroids can cause anxiety" and that was it. A psychiatrist has me on .5 mg of Xanax twice a day and Zoloft 50 mg. With the Xanax I'm able to get about 6-7 hours of sleep at best, but I'm one of those people that needs closer to nine and the little sleep I do get is not restful at all. I believe the steroids have massively upset my hormones and circadian rhythm and I can't get them regulated again. Particularly cortisol levels. I'm going to an endocrinologist in a week to get my levels checked.

I wrote all that to ask this. I know many have experienced similar experiences after taking a corticosteroid. How long did it take you to recover? Like I said, it's been six weeks so far and I'm miserable. I'm afraid I'll lose my job if I can't get some relief from the fatigue, insomnia and anxiety.
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I haven't had this severe of a reaction but I also have been told by my psychiatrist not to do corticosteroids, which has left me in a precarious position -- I have injuries that probably won't ever heal if I don't get cortisone shots.  I was given a very low dose after a root canal, which was weird because I'd never had them before for that, and by the third day I'd stopped sleeping, but I don't sleep well anyway from a prior drug reaction.  So I can't tell you what I did to get better, but I can offer a couple of suggestions just based on what you're saying here.  I have no idea if your circadian rhythms are off, but you can tell by taking melatonin, about 1mg (I only mention a dose because most people take too much and then think it doesn't work -- it works better for most people at low doses).  If might help reset those rhythms if that's in fact what's happening, though I have no idea if it is what's happening.  You can vary the dose if that doesn't help any until you've proven it either won't help any or it is helping.  Also, if you're meditating twice a day and it's going well and you're exercising daily sufficient for your needs, you probably don't really need nine hours of sleep.  You might be used to it, but meditation is like sleeping when it goes well.  I would kill to sleep 6 or 7 hours a day -- after my medication mishap, I haven't been able to sleep more than a couple hours at a time and am lucky to ever get that much, which I say not to minimize your discomfort but to say you have a good base to build back from.  The biggest problem is not feeling rested from sleeping -- I have that problem as well and I think that's a hard nut to crack when it's caused by medication.  Most likely the only cure for this is time -- and remember, if you're taking that Xanax at bedtime to help you sleep, benzos can interfere with REM sleep and actually make sleep less restful over time.  While it does relax us when it works, it only works for a short amount of time, and then we can feel more tired when it wears off.  If you're taking it not at bedtime, it's less likely to have that particular effect, but it will be hard to stop taking it when the time comes and stopping it can put you back in the insomnia bucket, so just be aware of that in determining how long you want to keep taking it on a twice daily basis instead of as needed when things get really bad.  I'm not sure the eating more protein is going to be helpful -- you don't need the tryptophan because the Zoloft is messing with that already, so you still want to eat healthfully and that means lots of veggies with their potent antioxidants to help you avoid inflammation that your situation might be causing.  While six weeks sounds like a massive amount of time, it can take some people a long time to stop taking lots of meds, both because of withdrawal problems or, as in your case, because of what they did to us when we were on them.  And as for that cortisol, if you believe that's a concern, you might be right, but it also might be more general adrenal health.  Cortisone is basically adrenaline, and it might have overworked your adrenals.  There are natural substances that can help with that.  A good one for cortisol is called holy basil.  Be careful about using it along with benzos, because it might make you even more tired when it wears off, but I guess right now that wouldn't bother you.  Eleuthero and ashwagandha can also be very beneficial in rebalancing your adrenals and are often used by anxiety sufferers on a regular basis.  But don't take adaptogens, such as the last three I mentioned, at bedtime -- they can also stimulate them as they are relaxing them, so again, some things might make you feel better in the long run that won't help when taken at bedtime.  Wish this hadn't happened to you!
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Gee, forgot to mention, how long effects last depends so much on the particular individual that someone else's experience probably won't be yours.  Most people take steroids and do fine, at least in the short term (long-term use is almost always a problem eventually).  You didn't.  My medication reaction was pretty rare, which is not comfort to either of us but it is what it is.  How long it will take it how long it will take for you, not for someone else.
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