Prednisone taper symptoms and conditions

I had a cortisone injection into my left knee on Friday, June 5th and immediately started to react. Within an hour, I had extreme redness and heat in my face, neck and upper chest. Wheezing, hives in throat and mouth and behind my ears. Extreme headache that came on suddenly and started in the back of my head and stretched to the front. Dizziness, chest discomfort. I went to the ER and was given a nebulizer treatment, benadryl IV and prednisone because the doctors at the ER felt that I must have had an allergic reaction to some medication that was mixed with the cortisone injection, because they said that to be allergic to cortisone is very rare. About 20 minutes after they gave me 60mg of oral prednisone, they started my benadryl IV. I felt such a hot rush to my face, my ears were burning. Eventually, the reaction calmed down and they sent me home with a prednisone taper and benadryl every 4 to 6 hrs. Sunday morning, I took 60mg of the prednisone and within 20 minutes I knew that I was in trouble so I took 50mg of benadryl and on the advice of my doctor, called an ambulance. In the ambulance, I was given oxygen, a nebulizer and more benadryl IV. After that morning, I knew that my problem was the steroid. I hadn't had any sleep since Thursday, I had been nauseous ands been battling chest discomfort and a very bad headache. I spoke with my doctor on Monday and he wanted me to take Atarax,25mg, every 3 to 4 hours. I saw him on Tuesday and I went to an allergist on Wednesday. She started me on 50 mg of zyrtec twica a day and 25mg of Atarax at night to see if this would help the reaction that I continue to have. She said that it could be several weeks, at least, that I will continue to react, until the injectable steroid is out of my system. It had been 13 days, and Im still reacting.

I was given Avelox at my clinic for bacterial pneumonia, the doctor said it was a wonder drug and I'd be up and running in a couple of days. I took the medicine that night and I got very dizzy and started sweating, felt like an anxiety attack so I took my xanax and it helped a bit. The next day I tried to get up and about 15 min. later my head started buzzing and my ears were ringing, I tried to walk up the stairs and dropped to my knees at the top step and fell to the ground. I didn't lose consciousness but I couldn't move or speak for several min. when I started to come to, I crawled to my bed and everything was spinning, I started to have severe chest pain and was rushed back to the clinic. The doctor said to stay on the Avelox and take it before bed and finish all the dose, so I did, and gradually got worse and worse. I went to my doctor the day after Christmas and told him what happened, he said I still had crackling in my chest and my cough was still bad, he put me back on Avelox for 3 days, so I've now been on it for 10 days. I became so weak and couldn't eat, it felt like the food wouldn't go down, I was sweating, dizzy, still had cough so I called my doctor again and he put me on prednisone taper and another 5 days of Avelox. Two days later I ended up in the hospital with severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, muscle weakness(felt like I had lost muscle), severe bone pain to the touch, sweating, extreme fatigue, decreased mental ability, confusion, headaches and chills in my legs. It has been over three months since I first got sick and I feel worse today, my doctor's have no answers or solutions, just let it run its course. I feel trapped in my body, I'm 33 and a mother of two active kids, and I can barely get out of bed most days. I feel like my life has been taken from me and I want it back.

My husband initially took Prednisone after getting strange lesions, severe joint pain, severe fatigue and severe stomach cramps/nausea. It worked great he was tapered off and no problems for about 18 months. Then he go sick again (2/08) and has been up and down on Prednisone for 7 months- currently taking 60 mg. daily. Some doctors think he has Wegener's, but testing is inconclusive (Wegener's starts with upper respiratory stuff, which he also had). His mood swings are severe and he's a different person, twitching, hand trembling, muscle spams, malaise, anxiety/depression, very fatigued, insomnia, severe stomach cramps/vomiting. How do you tell which symptoms are the Prednisone and which are the disease process? They want to taper him to make him sick enough to get some test results that show organ damage or something, but everyone chickens out and he ends up getting increased. How long should he be on Prednisone and not be put on something stronger?

I have taken one 7-day prednisone taper (40-40-40-30-30-20-10) for severe back pain due to a herniated disk on my S1 nerve. I noticed an improvement in ability to stand up, pain decreased, mood was happy, energy level up. Negatives? none. Thirstier than usual. Once dosage was decreasing, pain returned. I am about to try another prednisone taper, only on a 12 day schedule. I am looking forward to some relief and hope to avoid any negative side effects. I do not think prednisone is negative if you don't take too much and you drink a lot of water.

I have been on a Prednisone taper just under a week for Bronchitis. I was due to get my period during this time but didn't (not pregnant). Has anyone else had this side effect?

I was on a Prednisone taper for 7 days (bronchitis). I have been off for 16 days now. I am still suffering from BAD headaches, head pressure and dizziness (also racing heart) - off and on??? Does anyone know how long it takes to get this stuff out of your system? My first day after finishing it my headache and dizziness got so severe that I threw up 7 times over the next 24 hours?

Is it something that I am eating or drinking that is 'reactiviting' the side effects of the Prednisone? I hate this.

Thank you.

Vanessa

Just finished a prednisone taper. I am developing 'oral thrush' - can someone please give me a suggestion for getting rid of it quickly without having to take more medication??? A mouthwash or something - please this is awful.

Thank you for your help.

Vanessa

This is about my 4th or 5th time being infused w/solumedrol 1 gram for 3 days. I have been diagnosed w/MS for about 7 years. I have experienced joint pain but only when one doctor did not put me on a prednisone taper.
Overall, I am apreciative to the makers of this drug because it allows me to walk, button my clothes, cut up vegetabes for my 13 yr old daughter and my husband. Currently I am on my first day of a three day treatment and already I am experiencing the benefits. I am rt handed and it was tighter and feeling like card board, the same with my chest, back, and right leg. I felt like someone had tied a belt around my chest very tightly. It was hard to breath like a chest was on my chest! I am waiting for the nurse to start my IV at 4:00. I inject every Tuesday with Avonex. I REALLY need this medication to work so that I can drive my daughter to school each Wednesday. She is in Independant Studies because I was having vertigo and was afraid to continue driving. I was given a one day treatment of solumedrol in the emergency room. After treatment vertgo stopped. Yippee!!That was 11 months ago. Hot weather, sunlight exaserbates my condition to the 'enth degree. So here I am again hoping my right foot and right leg will get back to almost normal. People that are infirm are happy to receive whatever relief they can get in order to cope better with an illness even though I know that the only true cure for makinds ills can only come from God's Kingdom, but for now God has giver men intelligence to cure some of the illnesses that we face: Cancer - Chemotherapy (20 years ago killed my mom - hardened her lungs) ; Ads, Polio, Measles, TB and the list goes on there are upsides and downsides and it's a slippery slope, but I LOVE THAT I CAN MAKE THAT CHOICE!!! P.S. I have started using some vitamins ( B12,B6, Calcium (as solumedrol does some bone damage) and Vitamin E

I am a 50 year old post menopausal woman with osteoporosis. I had 3 injections over a 3 month period for degenerative disc disease (cervical). Last injection was done 1/12/07. I was not warned about increasing osteoporosis as a side effect of this medicine even though they knew I had it and was taking medication for it.
I experienced the following side effects:
extreme sweating around head, neck, and torso
extreme mood swings where I actually became violent (I'm really a passive person), hitting loved ones, throwing and breaking things (completely out of character for me, in fact I've never behaved in this manner)
extreme depression where I tried but failed to commit suicide (I was hospitalized in a psychiatric facility for 9 days)
huge face
huge hump on my back
I now have extremely high blood pressure (was normal before)
I experience confusion and memory loss (sometimes I'm in the middle of a sentence and forget what I'm talking about and I am normally a pretty sharp person.)
I now have adrenal insufficiency and am currently scheduled for an MRI of my pituitary gland next week so they can figure out why my adrenal glands are no longer producing natural cortisol.

Went to see the doctor who gave me the injections about these side effects (before the suicide attempt) and was told these side effect would go away in 3 or 4 days! He gave me a prescription for 5mg valium and told me not to eat so much!

After my stay at the psych facility I again called the doctor who gave me the injections to try to find out if the injections had caused all of this. This doctor would not order any tests but thankfully his nurse (behind the doctor's back) told me to call my primary doctor and explain the situation and ask for a cortisol level test. My cortisol level was so low that I got an appointment with the best endrocrinologist in town the next day.

I am currently on a prednisone taper to try to stimulate my adrenals to produce the correct amount of cortisol.

Has anything like this happened to anyone else? I am so angry with the doctor I want to sue him but I'm sure I signed something protecting him.

I've been taking prednisone for about a year, started with solu-medrol infusions of 1000mg for 3 days with a prednisone taper of 180mg a day for 7 and down from there, I have had 4 of these this year and now am taking 20mg a day, I've had many symptoms of taking so much pred, but it helps keep my vision normal and keeps the headaches away, weight gain, sleepless nights, now acne and just feeling bloated all the time are my main complaints, I am going to see another specialist to get me off prednisone, and will try another immunosupressant drug that dosent have near the side effects of pred, but all I can say is it works, but who knows what will happen to me down the road, I'm a 37 yr old male who feels like I've aged twice that.

I have been on prednisone taper for about five months, starting at 40 mg for six weeks, and then tapering to 30 mg for six weeks, 20 for six weeks, and I am now down to 15 mg for macrodantin induced pulmonary fibrosis. I have had weight gain, bloating moon face, muscle cramping, hair loss, and mood swings. I will be glad to get off this drug, although it has helped me a lot. I also have hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and it does not help much for that. I will just have to move out of the area because I am very allergic to something and cannot find out what it is. The water retention and the moof face are the hardest to take. I also have had back pain since being on this, and I don't know for sure this is a side effect or not. I have heard of others who have had this and when they stopped the prednisone, their back pain went away. I will let you know when I am off in April.