Dexpak Taperpak side effects

I have Fibromyalgia and CFS and came down with bronchitis. They started me on a steroid for the bronchitis and my FM and CFS symptoms improved 10 fold!!! However, when I told my doctor about this, he started me on the Dexpak 13. I have only taken it for a few days and I don't see the same results. I can't sleep. I feel hungry all the time. My stomach is bloated beyond reason. I can't concentrate, worse than normal. My skin, which is super sensitive without Lyrica, is worse now even with Lyrica. It feels like a bad sunburn. I don't think I can take this anymore and I don't really recommend it.

Hey guys. I just had a few questions that I wanted to ask before I go back to my doctor and spend another large amount of money for some more useless information. I started taking the Dexpak 6 day yesterday afternoon for 'contact dermatitis', though the doctor refused to run any tests or even ask any questions about what I thought was going on. Anyway, Since yesterday my rash of tiny red spots has gone away, but now my face is red and splotchy, as well as the top of my chest, shoulders, and back. There is no swelling or itching, just a slight warm sensation. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Should I go back to my doctor? Thanks for any and all information you guys can share!

Debbie 6/8/2009 On Monday, June 3rd I was put on a Dexpak for a Martins' Neuroma on my foot. I felt sooo good for the first three days, then started feeling worse. By Saturday morning, I was having the worst pain in my stomach area. I can't do anything. Even laying down didn't help things. I feel like I have a hole in my stomach that is gnawing at me. It's now been 3 days that this is happening. I'm hungry, but cannot eat because I hurt so bad. Cannot get a hold of the dr. to see what to do next..

My husband was prescribed the dexpak for a lower back problem that he has had for several years. He has taken several kinds of meds before but this one takes the whole cake. I am actually scared to be around him, he is halliculations, nightmares, is anxious, jittery, can't taste anything, can't sleep....He stopped taking it 6 days into the pack. It has been 4 days since then and symptoms seem to be worse. He said he feels crazy, he is going to doctor tomorrow.

I used to have asthma when I was like 5 years old. I'm 19 now, and for some strange reason it started coming back. The doc prescribed dexpak and singulair about a week ago. My lungs are feeling great, but as far as the negative side effects go, I haven't really noticed a change in much of anything, really... I am on my 6th day. I skipped one. I work out every day, and since I started I have gained muscle mass. HOW CAN THIS BE? Does the saying, "steroids are steroids" apply here? Or are the testosterone boosters I'm taking along with this drug probably the cause. I've also read that Dexpak causes protein catabolism. Is this true? Someone help me out here!

I was prescribed Dexpak for sudden severe pain in my back. The pain was gone the third day but the side effects of this drug are so horrible that I will never take it again. Besides the common steroid side effect of sleeplessness, on day 4 I started noticing vision problems, cloudiness of my eyes. On day 5 my taste was gone and my tongue felt like I had burned it with hot liquid. The tongue also started blistering. Then my legs started swelling so bad that my socks left about a 1" rim above my ankles. On day 8 I was done with this drug. 2 hours sleep per night, extreme mood swings, depression, heavy acid reflux and stomach pain, constant and excessive urination and incontinence, the skin on my hands extremely dry and cracking and the worst, my tongue and gums so swollen and painful that I could hardly eat right and decided to taper off early. I went 2 more days 2 - 1 and 1 - 1, then I quit. First steroid free day I awoke with a massive candida albicans outbreak under my breast about the size of a dinner plate. By the evening my knees were abnormally swollen and painful and I was scared to fall asleep because my heart was pounding like a hammer. Next day I was hardly able to get out of the bed. My hands were looking worse and I developed very painful bumps on the skin of my skalp. The slightest stroke of the hair brush hurt. All my leg joints were hurting, my face and eyes were swollen, I had pressure behind my eyes and sensitivity to light, and a debilitating headache. I felt so bad, that I thought I would die. Went to the doctor that evening just to hear that all these are side effects (which I was not told when starting this drug) and was released with Lasix for the excessive fluid and Candida medication and the order to have my eyes checked. I have taken steroids before but never ever experienced such serious side effects. Wished I had never started this and had rather dealt with the back pain then going through this cruel ordeal!

2/28/9
I was given these meds for my back, i had fell and really messed up my bck. I haven't sleep in 9days more that 1hr maybe 2 at a time, short of breath, weak, have a hard time relaxing, not to mention how tired i feel, my last pill will be Saturday, i was told i just couldn't go off of them so i have been faithful. but my hormones have became very upset, i hadn't had any hormone problem for around 1yr now sweats are so bad can't stand them. then chills. only good thing my Physical T person said they have helped me bunch and my back, neck are not hurting. But i really think you should be close to death before they even think about giving you this drug. Kidney, bowels are all messed up, and i'm just so weak i can't hardly make it to work each day. when all this is over i'm going on vacation. hope by 25th Feb i'll be feeling more like my old self, that would be 5days off of the pills.

I was just on the 13 day dexpak, and stopped taking it after 7 days. I have never come so close to dying in my life! Please people, be careful of what you take! My worst day was 6 days into meds, whn that night my throat started closing off, the worst heartburn I've ever had, and couldn't take a deep breath to save my life.I was so bloated I thought I would explode. When I tried to lay down, I felt so much pressure in my head and eyes, I thought I was bursting inside.I have been off the meds for 2 days now, and my throat is red as fire with strings of white dead skin hanging in the back. It hurts so bad I still can't eat much,and it's still almost swole shut! I'm dizzy to the point of feeling drunk and sweating my tail off! I have the feeling that if they took my blood sugar now, it would be off the charts, and guess what? I DON'T HAVE DIABETIES!!! But I might now! If I'm no better in the morning, I'm off to the doctor. Please be careful what you take, doctors are not gods and can make mistakes too! pay attention to what your body tells you about a med!

I was given Dexpak for a severe sinus infection. I took it for 5 days and could no longer take the side effects, so I quit it cold turkey. I have been off from work almost the whole month because of this drug.

The side effects I had from it were:

• anxiety
• hyperactive
• uncontrolled talking
• severe tremors and shakes
• overheating
• loss of appetite
• sitting still and the room spinning
• loss of vision
• severe headache
• loss of concentration
• unable to think
• no sleep
• all upper body muscles tied into knots
• esophagus swollen and raw
• dizzy
• personality change

After I quit I became ravenous the next day. I ate a lot of protein and fruit. It has almost been a week since quitting. I still have problems sleeping, headaches, a swollen esophagus, sore muscles and my personality is not quite normal. Hopefully I will get back to normal.

I was on the 13 day tapered DexPak and I could not sleep, I seem to be extremely agitated and had heartburn so bad I could not breathe. The worst symptom was the dry mouth and terrible metallic taste in my mouth. Nothing I ate tasted as it should. Therefore I became nauseated. I stopped taking the drug just today, I was down to one a day @2 a day and I could not take it any more.

I have uncontrollable hiccups. What I'm I tgo do?

From Indiana,
I was put on the Dexpak for Rhuematoid Arthritis flare up. I started it on the 10 th of Sept. 2008 on a Wed. By Sat my pain level was better but the side effects were in full charge. I had shortness of breath to the extent that my voice being high pitched. Sun. I awoke to my vision being very distorted and the shortness of breath. I made it through the day and on Mon everything was really bad. I ended up in the ER. Hardly able to breathe and distorted vision. I was treated as if I were having a heart attack. Then when all the blood test started coming back I was asked how long had I been a Diabete.I'M NOT!!!
My blood sugar level was 416. I was given two insulin shots and watched closely and when the level got down to 295 I was sent home.
I missed a week of work and still battling a blood sugar level that is high.
I was taken off the DEXPAK. But put on medicine for diabetes and just praying everything returns to normal.
After 1 week my vision is better, but not where it was before. Blood sugar levels still elevated and may have to go insulin.
I would highly recommend not taking this drug,and in my opinion it needs to off the market.

I had Sinus Surgery August 19 2008 and had two F/U visits. On the second F/U the Dr prescribed me the Dexpak Taperpad Steroid (51 pills to be taking in a Pyramid fashion. I was prescribed this for inflammation of on of my Turbinates. This is only my 3rd day on the steroids and I want to stop taking them sooo bad. I have been unable to sleep, I seem to be hallucinating, and I have been having the HICCUPS Uncontrollably!!! The HICCUPS is the most annoying thing to me. As for the if the Drug works, I will repost later after I go back for another F/U appointment. But so far NOT WORTH TAKING!!

August 10, 2008, my right eye swelled up from something on that Saturday before. By Sunday morning it was closed and I as unable to see out of it. I don't have any allergies to anything. After a few hours I was convinced I had to see a doctor. I went to a med express and was seen. They were great. I was prescribed the Dexpak Taperpak 13 day. I received a shot and (2) intrevienes doses of meds. I started right away with the DexpakDay’s 1-4 required a usage of 24 pills (6) per day. . Day 5 came along. Day 5 I stopped or cut back to 1 per day. I had the hip cups for 20 hours, unable to sleep at all. I was wired to the max. 4:30 am, day 5, I was up all night with the hip cups to the tune of 6-8 per minute. Coca Cola was my savior. My wife almost brought me into the hospital for help as I was unable to breath well. That’s when I decided I was done with the dexpak taperpak. I was tapering it all right, to one a day for one more day. The swelling in the eye went totally down and was gone in 2 days. No one had any idea of what it was, it is very hard to diagnose something like that in any case. I’m just leaving the dexpak taperpak alone for now on. It’s simply not for me. Maybe I’ll add to this after I call my doctor and let them know my plans for the dexpak taperpak.

I finally don't feel so alone. I got into poison ivy on June 1. On June 12th I finally went to my md to get something to take for it to go away. I had been treating it with calamine, topical stuff and taking Benadryl.... She gave me a shot which actually made it all go away within two hours. BUT, she also loves giving out pills, so she gave me the Dexpak. I took it for 7 days and my heart was beating uncontrollably. I didn't get REM sleep for 5 straight days. I took myself off. Cold turkey, yeah, I know you're not supposed to do that, but that stuff was killing me. So finally after having a meltdown in my office at home, my husband and I went back to her to see what she could do for me. She said oh, just go home, drink some wine and get some sleep.
I went home, drank two glasses of wine (which after doing research is NO combination with with high powered drug and she should have known better!!) Took a really hot bath, tried to get sleep. My husband took off work for three days to try to get me sleep.... finally we went to the ER because my heart wouldn't stop pounding so fast. The ER drugged me with some serious sedatives. I had a reaction to those and had a panic attack in the ER, so their solution: strap her down (bruised my wrist) and take her to a psychiatric unit for "symptoms of schzitophernia." So I was basically in a room with a bunch of people that can't control themselves. I did get 8 hours of sleep and regained all cohesive control. I was still groggy from the sedatives, but I knew what was going on. The nurses were the rudest people I have EVER been in contact with. No wonder the patients were in fits! After 5 hours of me and my husband (who was downstairs with my Mom) they finally released me. I talked to the discharge nurse and she said that if I sign a form releasing myself "against medical advice" that insurance might not pay for it. I said, are you kidding me? I would rather pay to get out of here than sit here one more minute with these people.

It was the worst medical experience I've EVER had. I have since fired my md. She doesn't know it though because she hasn't BOTHERED to call to check on me!! So, I am not going to a psychologist and my obgyn to make sure those steroids didn't screw up my brain or my endocrine system as we are trying to have a baby. Yeah, that was my first thought too... why would my MD who KNOWS we are trying to conceive do this to me?

Whew. Anyway, so my advice is to make sure you have someone around you at all times that can monitor your heart beat and write down EVERYTHING that happens in case you have a situation like mine. I journal all the time, so it was easy for me to explain to the shrink.

Okay, good luck out there!!!

My last pill was on Wednesday, May 28, 2008. I was on the 13 day pak. The weekend of Memorial day I ate food out of control. Now my face has a puffy swollen look, my knee joints are swollen, I seem to be out of breath if I do too much walking, just around the house. I have inflamed sacroiliac joints and sacrum due to a fall.

I can't believe I was prescribed this drug for some inflammation in my ears. I took the 13 day pack and experienced increased nausea, depression and lethargy. The worst effect was the panic attacks that came in waves, especially when I woke up in the morning -- I actually was ready to put myself in a psychiatric facility. This was not listed as one of the side effects on the package. It should be.

This past week has in large part been spent under the painful influence of a potent and fairly common prescription drug that I didn't need to take. I want you to be aware of the possibility that this kind of thing happening to you or your loved one. We see the prescription drug commercials and their disclaimers on TV and are amused that anyone would take a drug with a long list of horrible side effects for some rather minor ailment. And you always think it happens to some one else.

On Sept. 19, I went to a local dermatologist to have her look at a very small rash on my arm and a small cyst on my back. She extracted the "skin cells" in my back after using a local anesthetic and sent me home with 2 prescriptions, one for a lotion for the rash and, I thought, an antibiotic that the doctor had mentioned for the extraction. I had only the prescription for the oral medicine filled as I had also been given a small sample size of lotion and the area of rash was no more than a 2 inch square size.

On the 20th I began taking the pills from a large card with the dosage marked for day and night doses in decreasing amounts. By the the 25th I was jittery and miserable from the inside out, could hardly breathe, or talk, my muscles were all tight and tense and hurting, my stomach was upset but I could hardly get enough food, I was completely without any energy at all. By the next day it was all I could do to get out of bed and shower, I certainly could not work or function normally, in addition to the other symptoms, my body ached, head ached, not to mention how mean I felt. I stopped taking the meds after the morning dose on the 27th, when it occurred to me that this was not the result of "stress" from taking my mother on a 6 hour trip to see her brother in hospice care on the 23rd for two days. The next day I called the pharmacy to find out what I had been prescribed and they told me Dexpak, steroid. The symptoms have continued through the next days and have begun to slowly and slightly subside, but as I write this on the 30th I am still far from feeling like myself and my eyes have become cloudy, making it difficult to see. I made it to church this morning, but that's all I have been able to do since last week.

It is astounding to see the list of extreme reasons to prescribe this potent drug especially for a tiny rash on an otherwise very healthy person. Then the list of side effects, of which I have virtually every one, frightens me more and my concern is that they may not all be reversable. There are several things I didn't do along this path of taking the meds that I could have avoided all this if I had not just trusted that they were antibiotics (which I never got), and actually read the material they give you with the prescription when you pick it up. Even so, it begs the question, why would this have been prescribed in the first place?