I have asthmatic bronchitis. In June 2006 I came down with an in...

I have asthmatic bronchitis. In June 2006 I came down with an infection in my lungs, which also set off my asthma. Between the two I was hospitalized and put on 240 mg of intravenous Prednisone and the antibiotic Levaquin. I was cured of the infection and was able breathe normally again but it took a great toll on my body It took me 3 months to taper off of the Prednisone and almost a whole year to feel myself. I was a strong, physically active person before this happened to me and I have not gotten my energy level and endurance back to what I was before I was sick. When I was released from the hospital I went from 160 mg of intravenous Prednisone to 80 mg of pill Prednisone. That step down was too severe and I went through intense joint and muscle pain in my body that it woke me from a sound sleep in the middle of the night. I luckily had an old Vicodin that I took which only made the pain bearable. I should have upped the Prednisone to make it go away but I wanted off. This pain lasted one week with each day getting less. The side effects I experienced from then on were so plentiful that I almost can't remember them all. The physical problems were, thin skin that bruised or ripped and bled profusely with the slightest bump, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, muscle cramps in my legs and hands, sleeplessness, dry mouth and frequent urination. My stomach bloated and got stretch marks. I didn't have any before that. The muscles in my thighs and upper arms atrophied so bad that I could not walk up stairs w/o using my arms to help. My arms were also very weak and I got hemorrhoids; another muscle that was affected. I had a bad case of the drops. I couldn't hold on to anything and broke many glasses. I got moon face that took a couple of weeks to go away after I was off the Prednisone. Because I was on such high doses, my hair died and stopped growing. About 40% of it fell out in one month. It took 6 months to grow back and it all grew back curly. On January 30, 2008 my bronchial tubes closed again due to a sinus infection. Again I was hospitalized with 240 mg of intravenous Prednisone and Levaquin. This time I responded much better, because I jumped on the infection/asthma instead of waiting. I stepped down from 240 to 180 to 90 to 60 and decrease 5 mg a day until I was off. This time I did no lose my hair land did not get hemorrhoids. The other physical effects were pretty much the same but much less severe. However, this time the emotional effects of Prednisone were much worse than last time. I was not a nice person. I was short tempered and argumentative and even had to stop myself from resorting to violence a couple of times. That is definitely not who I am. Prednisone stops your adrenal glands from working and adrenaline is you chemical way of coping with stress. I have been off of the Prednisone for one week and still find it hard to cope with the slightest controversy. My brain is still in a fog and I get confused easily. I cannot handle too many questions at once and forget things. My face is still round. Both times, I have found it the hardest dealing with the Prednisone at the very end and even after I finished taking it. I think it builds up and even though the chemical is suppose to be out of your body in 24 hours, it's effects stay a lot longer. I thought I knew what to expect but the second time was different again. It is a horrible drug but my trade off was breathing. Sometimes I think, that if I have to go through this a few more times, the side effects will kill me before the asthma. I wish all you Prednisone users loads of luck and stay positive.