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I recently was prescribed prednisone (a corticosteroid) for a nasty poison ivy rash I contracted from my garden, my dog or one of my children. I have horrible allergies and know to avoid contact with anything looking remotely like poison ivy, so the fact I got it without seeing it had me stumped.
I had never been on prednisone before, and had heard from the doctor about the side effects which include irritability, weight gain, night-sweats and low-potassium, among others. I didn’t experience any of those (thank goodness, I’m trying to lose weight, not gain weight). I experienced elevated mood and increased productivity. I wondered why prednisone isn’t prescribed for mood disorders, as I felt better on prednisone than I had felt during four months of taking Prozac® a few years ago.
The morning after I started taking prednisone, I woke up with a crazy urge to go running. I knew something was going on, because I never “feel” like going running. While on the prescription, I cleaned my whole house, did projects I had been putting off, was particularly cheery, and was ultra-productive at work.
I was curious about my reaction to prednisone, especially since I heard from friends and relatives who had experienced adverse reactions to it. They talked about the irritability, headaches, gaining weight, and having thyroid issues. I wanted to roll in poison ivy to be able to stay on this seemingly wonder drug.
It’s a steroid, but not like anabolic steroids which have received a bad name from use and abuse by body builders. Corticosteroids are drugs that are closely related to cortisol, hormones produced by the adrenal gland. Prednisone is typically prescribed for inflammatory conditions, like my acute allergy to urushiol inducing contact dermatitis, and everything from MS to lupus and cancer, and for preventing body organ transplant rejection. It works by suppressing the body’s immune response and reduces swelling and allergic-type reactions.
So in my case, the drug was prescribed to halt my allergic reaction to urushiol, the organic oil toxin found in poison ivy. I was told by the doctor at Urgent care that the blisters from the poison ivy could continue to develop for up to three weeks after initial contact and could take even longer to heal.
Since prednisone could cause a crash-type reaction when stopping the medication, the doctor prescribed on a “weaning” schedule (five pills the first two days, four pills the second two days, and so on until I took one pill for two days, then stopped), to try and limit crashing.
A friend who is a doctor told me, “It is a steroid so long term complications include bone thinning, weight gain, gastrointestinal upset, and hypercortisolism, which may lead to Cushing's syndrome. It depletes Calcium, Folic Acid, Magnesium, Potassium, Selenium, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Zinc.”
Long term use is not an option, and extended use (more than one course of treatment) could result in different effects. The risks drastically out-weigh the benefits for someone who is not stricken with a serious disease. So I’ll have to just stick to my exercise and healthy eating plan for long term happiness.
Christine Jeffries is a writer/editor for work and at heart, and lives in a home of testosterone with her husband and two sons. She founded a women’s group, The Wo-Hoo! Society, in the interests of good friends, networking, and philanthropy; the group meets separately on a monthly basis in Phoenix and Kansas City. Christine is interested in women’s health and promoting strong women.
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Prednisone has its place for treating severe health issues, but it's one of the most dangerous drugs ever brought to market. I took one dose and was immediately hospitalized for upper internal bleeding - I shouldn't even be alive.
If you're a regular ibuprofen user, Prednisone is almost immediately fatal, yet most doctors and pharmacies either don't know that or won't tell you that. My life was only saved because the onslaught of other symptoms (dizziness, paranoia, tears gushing down my face, heart racing, etc) motivated me to vomit the pill before it could reach my intestines. My subsequent research revealed that the death count and ruined lives resulting from this drug are astronomical - and yet the emergency room doctors who saved my life were all afraid of what to say about it, even as they were trying to stop my bleeding. One later admitted that he "didn't want to get sued" for speaking ill of the drug.
Prednisone should only be given to patients whose life is already in danger or whose quality of life has sunk so low that the risk of death is one worth taking. Anyone taking it for any lesser reason is playing russian roulette with their life and can expect a good chance of ending up dead before they know what hit them.
February 18, 2012 - 7:55pmThis Comment
Thank God that the Doctors knew what to do to save your life. This sounds like a subject for the 6 o'clock news. It is very disturbing to think that a Doctor would need to be that afraid of law suits to comment on such a serious issue. The Arthritise specialist that I mentioned in my post had told me that perscribing 12 days of Prednisone would help him diagnose the reason for my pain. He was informative enough to tell me that it would not be perscribed to me for long term. He was rude / condensending on my return visit. I posted a review online about my experiance with this specialist and my my physician of over 12 years has begun to shun me by moving patients ahead of me in the office. The last visitt was an annual with labs scheduled for 9 A.M. I waited in the waiting room for 1 and half hours and then in the little room for another 40 minutes. I became too hungry and claustrophobic to wait any longer and left the office. The medical profession is a strange beast.
February 19, 2012 - 7:53amThis Comment
I took Prednisone for 12 days. I experienced the same happy / good mood and increased productivity. I still had pain but it wasn’t bad enough to keep me down. The doctor (Authorities specialist) who prescribed it seemed frustrated and said that wasn’t at all what he expected. He explained that I was wasting his time and there was nothing he could do for my pain and the dismissed himself saying he had a meeting to attend.
I guess inflammation is the reason for my pain. He got paid and I get to diagnose myself.
I am a male, 46 yrs old.
June 2, 2011 - 8:42pmThis Comment
Thank you for your comment. I'm glad you have been able to keep off prednisone treatments by focusing on an active lifestyle and healthful eating. That in and of itself is an ongoing battle for me. And I know not everyone has the reaction to prednisone I had, which is what sparked my curiosity. I know now from research it is not for long term use.
I have found that I tend to have the opposite reaction to medications than most people do. For example, Benedryl makes my heart race, and Sudafed is just fine for me. I guess it goes to show that everyone is different.
I don't know too much about Lupus--I don't know what to say--so to avoid sounding ignorant, I'll just say that I'm sorry you have to deal with it. I hope your flare-ups are kept to a mininum, and best of health to you too.
August 13, 2009 - 8:44pmThis Comment
Prednisone is a corticosteroid, also used for treating lupus patients (like me). My typical dose would be over the course of 1 week to get the flare up under control.
To your statement, "So I’ll have to just stick to my exercise and healthy eating plan for long term happiness.," that's more true than you might think. I've been able to avoid going on the periodic prednisone treatment by focusing on maintaining an active lifestyle and healthful eating.
Best of health to you - and hope you don't have to take prednisone again in the future.
August 13, 2009 - 7:06pmThis Comment