Internet sites symptoms and conditions

I have been on prednisone for 8 weeks, the first two at 40 mg., then 30. I have sarcoidosis and had a cough for several years, then shortness of breath, a fever for three weeks, very low energy, headaches every day, vision problems, mental fuzziness, fatigue, leg cramps, weight loss, a host of symptoms that were impacting my life. With the prednisone, I have had some jitteriness and occasional insomnia, though not bad. I have had increased energy, clearer mind, no cough, the sarcoid symptoms have almost disappeared. I do have increased appetite and have gained maybe 5 pounds. I occasionally have a day when I have low energy and am depressed, but most often, my energy is a lot better since taking the prednisone. So, for me, prednisone is most definitely NOT a devil drug. In fact, I believe that thinking of it this way is very harmful both to the person thinking that way and to others who come to this site looking for help. It is helpful to know that there are other people having similar problems to yours. But focusing on all the negatives without acknowleging the vast array of positives can only hurt. When I take the pills, I remind myself to be grateful that there is something that can help me fight the sarcoid. When I start being fearful of the side effects (from reading these internet sites), I remind myself of all the many people who have taken prednisone and gotten better and lived a long, good life as a result. My sister-in-law took it years ago for Crohns and loved it. My friend's daughter took it and had a few side effects, primarily the moon face, but it helped her and she now is as thin as ever and doing well. Focus on the positives, people! Where your mind goes, your body will follow. Be aware of the possible effects and work to offset them. Exercise, eat less, find reasons to laugh and be with people. It sucks to have any disease that would cause you to have to be on prednisone, but we are lucky to have medicine and people to help us. Be thankful for what is good in your lives.

I was given Levaquin for a prostate infection. They prescribed me 750 mg for 30 days. I have been off of the drug for 3 weeks and I still have pain in my tendons. Shoulder tendons, knees, elbow and hands. How long can this last? I feel like I am dying.

My 8 year old daughter was prescribed a low-dose of Reglan each night at bedtime to prevent morning nausea and motion sickness. For that it worked. Unfortunately, over time she became more and more "worried' then "anxious" and even developed obsessive-compulsive symptoms and became nearly psychotic. The doc who prescribed it did mention to look for "tics" but not anxiety (altho he did confirm later that it "occassionally" occurs). She was on it for three weeks before we made the connection. The psychiatrist refused to entertain the thought that her psychiatric problems were due to Reglan reaction, but after consulting other physicians and researching internet sites, we were convinced this is what she indeed suffered. It took nearly three months for her anxiety to completely vanish and I am happy to say, she is fine now. Her stomach aches come and go, but treatment with diet and allergy elimation seems to help. This drug can be dangerous but doctors should be better informed and equiped to deal with a very-real side-effect.