• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

WHAT DOES THIS POSITIVE EFFECT OF PREDNISONE MEAN?

Messages
93
Location
Glasgow (UK)
Hi forum. I've recently started a low dose experiment with prednisone 5mg 3 times per week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Constant fatigue, brain fog the usual led me to this. So far i feel cured already, brain fog has gone energy levels are up no anxiety depression the lot has gone?!! What has this done to me? I'm shocked with the results, i'm going to keep going on as this is the first time in years i have felt normal again. What is going on!!!?
 

Chocolove

Tournament of the Phoenix - Rise Again
Messages
548
WARNING prednisone is extremely dangerous

SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS OF PREDNISONE:

Prednisone and diabetes: Prednisone is associated with new onset or manifestations of latent diabetes, and worsening of diabetes....

Immune suppression: Prednisone suppresses the immune system and, therefore, increases the frequency or severity of infections and decreases the effectiveness of vaccines and antibiotics.

Osteoporosis: Prednisone may cause osteoporosis that results in fractures of bones....

Adrenal insufficiency and weaning off prednisone: Prolonged use of prednisone and other corticosteroids causes the adrenal glands to atrophy (shrink) and stop producing the body's natural corticosteroid, cortisol....
From: http://www.medicinenet.com/prednisone/page2.htm
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Messages
93
Location
Glasgow (UK)
WARNING: prednisone is extremely dangerous

OTHER SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS OF PREDNISONE:

Prednisone and diabetes: Prednisone is associated with new onset or manifestations of latent diabetes, and worsening of diabetes. Diabetics may require higher doses of diabetes medications while taking prednisone.

Allergic reaction: Some people may develop a severe allergic reaction to prednisone that includes swelling of the airways (angioedema).

Immune suppression: Prednisone suppresses the immune system and, therefore, increases the frequency or severity of infections and decreases the effectiveness of vaccines and antibiotics.

Osteoporosis: Prednisone may cause osteoporosis that results in fractures of bones. Patients taking long-term prednisone often receive supplements of calcium and vitamin D to counteract the effects on bones. Calcium and vitamin D probably are not enough, however, and treatment with bisphosphonates such as alendronate (Fosamax) and risedronate (Actonel) may be necessary. Calcitonin (Miacalcin) also is effective. The development of osteoporosis and the need for treatment can be monitored using bone density scans.

Adrenal insufficiency and weaning off prednisone: Prolonged use of prednisone and other corticosteroids causes the adrenal glands to atrophy (shrink) and stop producing the body's natural corticosteroid, cortisol.....


I never tried any steroid in my life until now, is 5mg considered dangerous?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Chocolove

Tournament of the Phoenix - Rise Again
Messages
548
"A total of 725 drugs (3184 brand and generic names) are known to interact with prednisone.
  • 34 major drug interactions (93 brand and generic names)
  • 613 moderate drug interactions (2705 brand and generic names)
  • 78 minor drug interactions (386 brand and generic names)
Show all medications in the database that may interact with prednisone...."

"High Cholesterol (Hyperlipoproteinemia, Hypertriglyceridemia, Sitosterolemia)
Moderate Potential Hazard, Moderate plausibility

corticosteroids - hyperlipidemia
Corticosteroids may elevate serum triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels if used for longer than brief periods..."

High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
Moderate Potential Hazard, Moderate plausibility

corticosteroids - fluid retention
Corticosteroids may cause hypernatremia, hypokalemia, fluid retention, and elevation in blood pressure....

"prednisone disease Interactions There are 23 disease interactions with prednisone..."
https://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/prednisone.html


Prednisone side effects:
Major Side Effects
If any of the following side effects occur while taking prednisone, check with your doctor immediately:

More common:
  • Aggression
  • agitation
  • blurred vision
  • decrease in the amount of urine
  • dizziness
  • fast, slow, pounding, or irregular heartbeat or pulse
  • headache
  • irritability
  • mood changes
  • noisy, rattling breathing
  • numbness or tingling in the arms or legs
  • pounding in the ears
  • shortness of breath
  • swelling of the fingers, hands, feet, or lower legs
  • trouble thinking, speaking, or walking
  • troubled breathing at rest
  • weight gain
Incidence not known:
  • Abdominal or stomach cramping or burning (severe)
  • abdominal or stomach pain
  • backache
  • bloody, black, or tarry stools
  • cough or hoarseness
  • darkening of the skin
  • decrease in height
  • decreased vision
  • diarrhea
  • dry mouth
  • eye pain
  • eye tearing
  • facial hair growth in females
  • fainting
  • fever or chills
  • flushed, dry skin
  • fractures
  • fruit-like breath odor
  • full or round face, neck, or trunk
  • heartburn or indigestion (severe and continuous)
  • increased hunger
  • increased thirst
  • increased urination
  • loss of appetite
  • loss of sexual desire or ability
  • lower back or side pain
  • menstrual irregularities
  • muscle pain or tenderness
  • muscle wasting or weakness
  • nausea
  • pain in the back, ribs, arms, or legs
  • painful or difficult urination
  • skin rash
  • sweating
  • trouble healing
  • trouble sleeping
  • unexplained weight loss
  • unusual tiredness or weakness
  • vision changes
  • vomiting
  • vomiting of material that looks like coffee grounds..."
https://www.drugs.com/sfx/prednisone-side-effects.html
 

JES

Senior Member
Messages
1,320
Below is one CFS sufferers experience with prednisone. I'm not surprised it helped shot-term, but seems long-term is not very sensible to use:

Prednisone greatly helped my CFS/ME for a few months. My fatigue, brainfog, muscle weakness, lymph node soreness and hair loss got almost fully better, I did not really crash at all and my chronic fever, urticaria and seborrhea were gone, and overall my skin got better (I had some acne on my back which seemed to get permanently a lot better). My IBS, tachycardia, chronic congestion, headaches/migraines, urinary frequency and sleep problems did not improve. I only got one viral infection during the treatment and I think one bacterial one, which is less than I usually get. The side effects I had were mild, some joint aches in the beginning. I gained a few kilos of weight and my face got rounder. That went away soon after the discontinuation, but I still have a paunch despite being thin. However the taper was a nightmare - it lasted for eight months and caused e.g. lethargy, dyspnea, severe hunger pangs that were impossible to eradicate by eating, loss of appetite, stomach cramps, nausea, hair loss, fever, muscle cramps, joint aches and morning headaches (for a "normal" person a taper lasting a few months should have been enough and not nearly as horrible). On the good side, my chronic fever and the accompanying cold intolerance seemed have improved permanently.
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
Cortisol based steroids were a standard treatment back in the 70s. The results were so dire that they are almost never used now. However these were at immunosuppressive doses. Supplementary doses should not be confused with immunuosuppressive doses, and the side effects are probably much less, if any. Small doses of cortisol derived drugs are a standard treatment for CFS and ME. Timing is important too, as we can have too much cortisol at some times of the day, with too little at others.
 

trails

Senior Member
Messages
114
Location
New Hampshire
About two months ago, during a follow-up appointment with my sleep specialist, the doctor noted that many of my symptoms sounded to him like inflammation. Despite the fact that previous inflammation blood test results were negative, he prescribed me prednisone.

He started me at 20mg/day for two weeks, then 10 mg/day thereafter. For the first time battling this illness, the positive effect on my symptoms was nothing short of amazing. Within 3 or 4 days, I experienced breathtaking improvements in the following areas: PEM, neck/upper back pain, pressure at base of skull, fatigue, muscle weakness, brain fog, muscle tightness around the eyes, joint pain, dizziness, clumsiness, etc.

That’s not to say that all of these symptoms were completely eradicated, though some were. Additionally, some of my symptoms were not improved in any way (e.g., bowel issues). However, the overall improvement in my condition has felt like a new lease on life.

So, I’ve now been taking the prednisone for two months. As far as I can tell, the doctor intends to keep me on it indefinitely so long as it continues to provide a positive and significant effect.

I am aware of the dangers associated with the drug and will have to make my own decision soon as to whether or not to continue. I can honestly tell you, though, that I will be hard-pressed to easily give up these improvements .

I’ve waited two months to share this with you all to ensure that the improvements didn’t dissipate over time. I am aware that others (in other threads) have also shared their experiences with prednisone. As such, consider this testimony as “another country heard from”.
 

erin

Senior Member
Messages
885
@TedBakerBoy, I was given 1g (huge dose) Prednisone injection in december 2015 due to herniated disc on my neck. I felt great afterwards as if I didn't have ME anymore. The effect lasted 3 months I went back for more but the dr said no way he would put me on cortisol. He said "cortisone is double edged sword". So back to horrible fatigue with more symptoms added now. I was requested a cortisol test but I was not given one and waiting for an endocrinology appointment.
 
Messages
93
Location
Glasgow (UK)
@TedBakerBoy, I was given 1g (huge dose) Prednisone injection in december 2015 due to herniated disc on my neck. I felt great afterwards as if I didn't have ME anymore. The effect lasted 3 months I went back for more but the dr said no way he would put me on cortisol. He said "cortisone is double edged sword". So back to horrible fatigue with more symptoms added now. I was requested a cortisol test but I was not given one and waiting for an endocrinology appointment.

Hi erin, My Gp is useless in Glasgow they prescribed me Amitripyline, Prozac and Propranalol for CFS, i have no choice than to buy my meds online from Goldpharma.com. I'm also considering a consultation with Dr Chaudhury as i have some neuro problems that still have not been diagnosed by the nhs.
 
Messages
93
Location
Glasgow (UK)
About two months ago, during a follow-up appointment with my sleep specialist, the doctor noted that many of my symptoms sounded to him like inflammation. Despite the fact that previous inflammation blood test results were negative, he prescribed me prednisone.

He started me at 20mg/day for two weeks, then 10 mg/day thereafter. For the first time battling this illness, the positive effect on my symptoms was nothing short of amazing. Within 3 or 4 days, I experienced breathtaking improvements in the following areas: PEM, neck/upper back pain, pressure at base of skull, fatigue, muscle weakness, brain fog, muscle tightness around the eyes, joint pain, dizziness, clumsiness, etc.

That’s not to say that all of these symptoms were completely eradicated, though some were. Additionally, some of my symptoms were not improved in any way (e.g., bowel issues). However, the overall improvement in my condition has felt like a new lease on life.

So, I’ve now been taking the prednisone for two months. As far as I can tell, the doctor intends to keep me on it indefinitely so long as it continues to provide a positive and significant effect.

I am aware of the dangers associated with the drug and will have to make my own decision soon as to whether or not to continue. I can honestly tell you, though, that I will be hard-pressed to easily give up these improvements .

I’ve waited two months to share this with you all to ensure that the improvements didn’t dissipate over time. I am aware that others (in other threads) have also shared their experiences with prednisone. As such, consider this testimony as “another country heard from”.


Are you going to stay on the medication long term?
 

trails

Senior Member
Messages
114
Location
New Hampshire
Are you going to stay on the medication long term?
At this point, I'm taking it month-by-month. I just ordered another month's worth of pills, so will re-evaluate after those are gone. That will have been a total of 90 days on the medication. As stated earlier, unless I become aware of something more dire than an increased risk (or even likelihood) of developing osteoporosis, I'm not sure I'm willing to give up these improvements.
 

Chocolove

Tournament of the Phoenix - Rise Again
Messages
548
@TedBakerBoy The energy and good feeling you get from prednisone I have experienced. Here is my amalgam of personal experience, research and hyposthesis.

The adrenal gland produces cortisol a corticosteroid hormone to turn down the immune system when one is getting better from an illness. Like the army commander (adrenal glands) gets the word that the enemy has fallen, thus fighting should cease and resources be directed elsewhere and so they produce cortisol to accomplish this.

You may notice that when you become ill you feel tired, weak and often lose your appetite. The signal which causes this is preventing you from over expending your resources when they are needed to fight infection for survival.

When your adrenals get the all clear, they produce the corticosteroid which reverses the situation - now you feel energy, hunger and optimism even euphoric confidence. As your body is no longer fighting an infectious enemy, your body gets the message it is now ok to hunt, fight, and eat.... as your immune system activity drops.

So, by taking a corticosteroid you are overriding your body's decision and sending the message for the immune system not to fight. Clearly it might not be a good idea to send that message.

If for example, you are having a chronic reaction like asthma to mold in your home that you don't know about, you may initially feel better upon taking corticosteroids. But the mold is still there and you should be getting rid of it, or getting a new home because that is an enemy you don't want in your body. So taking a corticosteroid can send a false message, adding further problems and allowing the original problem to snowball. But the doctors don't usually tell you to look for mold or another problem, they just give out the corticosteroids.

In my situation - I had an extremely violent infection and afterwards, my immune system did not turn off but remained hyperactive to the point of hives and throat swelling almost shut. After months of seeing different doctors I finally ended up on corticosteroids which calmed my immune system. That was an emergency situation and the short term use of corticosteroids saved my life. My ANA levels, which had gone very high returned to normal. They should have tapered me off the steroids within a couple of weeks to see if my body had restored normal function. But the doctor never tried to take me off the steroids, which was a huge mistake that caused much serious damage to me, nearly costing me my adrenal function which you need to live.

Since corticosteroids lower your immune function thus I became susceptible to all diseases and I caught them, could barely recover, and became chronically ill in a downward spiral. I finally managed to get off the corticosteroids - which is a major feat not easily done. At least I am alive to tell you, there are many that are not so lucky.

Later, trying to figure out why my immune system went haywire, I later discovered that I was largely deficient in vitamin A. Having corrected that deficiency, I have found that my immune system has normalized.

Pharmaceutical corticosteroids like prednisone have a longer half life in the body than the natural cortisol your body produces. That interrupts the negative feedback system that the HPA axis operates on. Since the system no longer gets the message to tell the adrenals to produce the adrenals gradually atrophy and there is no guarantee that function will recover.

So while corticosteroids may make you feel better it often does not solve the real problem but makes things worse.
 
Messages
93
Location
Glasgow (UK)
At this point, I'm taking it month-by-month. I just ordered another month's worth of pills, so will re-evaluate after those are gone. That will have been a total of 90 days on the medication. As stated earlier, unless I become aware of something more dire than an increased risk (or even likelihood) of developing osteoporosis, I'm not sure I'm willing to give up these improvements.


Sound's great, The nhs won't prescribe me them and said there is no treatment for CFS so i ordered on Goldpharma,
 
Messages
93
Location
Glasgow (UK)
@TedBakerBoy The energy and good feeling you get from prednisone I have experienced. Here is my amalgam of personal experience, research and hyposthesis.

The adrenal gland produces cortisol a corticosteroid hormone to turn down the immune system when one is getting better from an illness. Like the army commander (adrenal glands) gets the word that the enemy has fallen, thus fighting should cease and resources be directed elsewhere and so they produce cortisol to accomplish this.

You may notice that when you become ill you feel tired, weak and often lose your appetite. The signal which causes this is preventing you from over expending your resources when they are needed to fight infection for survival.

When your adrenals get the all clear, they produce the corticosteroid which reverses the situation - now you feel energy, hunger and optimism even euphoric confidence. As your body is no longer fighting an infectious enemy, your body gets the message it is now ok to hunt, fight, and eat.... as your immune system activity drops.

So, by taking a corticosteroid you are overriding your body's decision and sending the message for the immune system not to fight. Clearly it might not be a good idea to send that message.

If for example, you are having a chronic reaction like asthma to mold in your home that you don't know about, you may initially feel better upon taking corticosteroids. But the mold is still there and you should be getting rid of it, or getting a new home because that is an enemy you don't want in your body. So taking a corticosteroid can send a false message, adding further problems and allowing the original problem to snowball. But the doctors don't usually tell you to look for mold or another problem, they just give out the corticosteroids.

In my situation - I had an extremely violent infection and afterwards, my immune system did not turn off but remained hyperactive to the point of hives and throat swelling almost shut. After months of seeing different doctors I finally ended up on corticosteroids which calmed my immune system. That was an emergency situation and the short term use of corticosteroids saved my life. My ANA levels, which had gone very high returned to normal. They should have tapered me off the steroids within a couple of weeks to see if my body had restored normal function. But the doctor never tried to take me off the steroids, which was a huge mistake that caused much serious damage to me, nearly costing me my adrenal function which you need to live.

Since corticosteroids lower your immune function thus I became susceptible to all diseases and I caught them, could barely recover, and became chronically ill in a downward spiral. I finally managed to get off the corticosteroids - which is a major feat not easily done. At least I am alive to tell you, there are many that are not so lucky.

Later, trying to figure out why my immune system went haywire, I later discovered that I was largely deficient in vitamin A. Having corrected that deficiency, I have found that my immune system has normalized.

Pharmaceutical corticosteroids like prednisone have a longer half life in the body than the natural cortisol your body produces. That interrupts the negative feedback system that the HPA axis operates on. Since the system no longer gets the message to tell the adrenals to produce the adrenals gradually atrophy and there is no guarantee that function will recover.

So while corticosteroids may make you feel better it often does not solve the real problem but makes things worse.


Assuming you have low cortisol levels and your adrenal glands are no longer producing from high levels of stress throughout the years this would be a good treatment? We're talking only 5mg three times per week, Not 60/80mg.
 
Messages
93
Location
Glasgow (UK)
At this point, I'm taking it month-by-month. I just ordered another month's worth of pills, so will re-evaluate after those are gone. That will have been a total of 90 days on the medication. As stated earlier, unless I become aware of something more dire than an increased risk (or even likelihood) of developing osteoporosis, I'm not sure I'm willing to give up these improvements.

Awesome!!! Can you list your symptoms before the medication use?
 

Jonathan Edwards

"Gibberish"
Messages
5,256
Sound's great, The nhs won't prescribe me them and said there is no treatment for CFS so i ordered on Goldpharma,

There is a very good reason why NHS doctors do not prescribe prednisolone for conditions where it has no proven LONG TERM benefit. When I first came in to medicine in 1970 the medical profession were trying to cope with the catastrophe of widespread use of steroids in the 1950s and 1960s. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis were dying of diabetes, spinal fractures, ischaemic legs needing amputation and so on and the survivors had cataracts and muscle weakness and obesity.

If you think an NHS doctor is useless because they do not prescribe steroids, I would suggest thinking again. Unless you are over 60 5mg three times a week is already taking out a loan your body may never be able to repay.
 

Binkie4

Senior Member
Messages
644
@Jonathan Edwards- could I ask the significance of age in the prescription of steroids. I am 69, and you commented that unless you are " over 65 5 mg three times a week is taking out a loan your body may never be able to repay".

I understand my local CFS service immunologist is willing to prescribe me low doses of hydrocortisone. My GP isn't keen but would probably agree if pushed. I haven't wanted to do this because of dependency issues when prescribed high doses of natural progesterone ( a precursor on the steroid pathway I understand) for PMS in the late 70s: it took years to reduce/ almost eliminate the dose. But if hydrocortisone is safe at low doses in the older patient, I could maybe reconsider.

Could you elaborate a little about the over 65 patient? Would be wonderful to get a 10-20% increase in functionality.