So this afternoon, my doc gave me a script for prednisone, since my blood oxygen had dropped to 86% :eek: and I can’t walk more than ten steps without becoming completely winded. Anyone have experience with this drug? (esp. how long it will take to kick in) I’ve read up a bit on prednisone already and it seems like just a WONDERFUL drug…
I have taken prednisone for severe allergic reactions.
Yes, it can be wonderful but like anything else, if it’s strong enough to help you it’s also strong enough to hurt you.
It quickly reduces inflammation - at least in the case of allergies there can be noticeable relief in 12-24 hours in my experience but I have no idea how fast or effective it would be for cancer. If inflammation is causing you problems it should make a significant, or even miraculous difference.
It can also cause craving for food - particularly, in my experience high calorie, greasy and salty stuff. It can cause fluid retention and thirst (yes, probably those two are related). Some people gain weight very fast with this one, but as you have cancer increased appetite and something to help keep your weight up might not be all bad. Unfortunately, some of the gained weight is retained fluid, which can lead to “moon face” and the like.
Some people become VERY moody. You may find yourself laughing or crying for no or little reason - or not. Not everyone experiences that side effect.
All of this is dose dependent - the higher the dose the greater the effects both positive and negative.
There are long term effects you get from being on it for years… but maybe you’d prefer to focus on getting through chemo, first.
I’ve had it twice for severe sinus/bronchial infections. MAN, the boost of energy was like being on amphetamines. Would NOT want to get hooked on that. It did cut the recovery time in half.
The longest I took it was for pneumonia, which was several weeks. Apparently it really helps with breathing issues and is protective of the lungs. Yes, for me it really gave me energy. It can cause insomnia, so take it earlier in the day if you can. I know you’re having trouble with nausea and it may help with that. It’s also part of the chemotherapy regimen for certain types of cancer (not yours). Make sure all of your care team know that you are taking it, so they can adjust accordingly, since it comes with so many implications for long term care. It may really help you though. I wouldn’t worry. I think overall it may be a positive.
Well, it’s been two hours since taking the first set of pills, and holy crap, what a kick in the tuckus. Not necessarily pleasant – it actually feels like my lungs are more congested than before, even though I’m definitely getting more oxygen now since I’m no longer passing out or breaking into a cold sweat just from standing up. Guess it’s the steroids elbowing their way through the galaxy of side effects from all the other medications I’ve been taking.
Oh, shit, totally forgot to mention. Last week’s PET scan, which had confirmed this lung inflammation was definitely chemo-induced, also confirmed a dramatic reduction in the tumors shown in the last scan, on the order of 90%. And that’s after only 2½ cycles of chemotherapy. Hells yeah!
Son of a bitch! Great news; you’ll kick its ass yet!
Maybe, with the inflammation subsiding, your lungs are better able to clear mucus and crap out, so they seem more congested but that’s really your body “taking out the garbage”, so to speak? If so, you should start feeling even better in a few more hours.
Anyhow - glad the chemo is doing something good (would suck worse to go through that and not get something positive out of it) and I hope the steroid helps.
Best wishes to all the Dopers going through this.
For asthma, prednisone kicks in (for me) within a couple hours. It truly is lurvely stuff and I’d take it every day if I could (if it weren’t for all those pesky side effects).
If it’s reducing inflammation and helping the lung passages open up, you may well feel like you’re hacking up more crud - that always happens with me (typically, it’s a result of a respiratory virus that aggravates the asthma).
Depending on your instruction, you may want to get in the habit of taking it first thing in the morning. Supposedly less suppression of your body’s own steroid production.
Be careful with that.
Prednisone can upset the stomach by itself - causes heartburn.
A mistake I made 25 or so years back: I was on theophylline (known to increase stomach acid) for asthma, then got put on prednisone for a flareup.
And I ate a slice of leftover pizza for breakfast, before heading to the doctor’s office.
He sent me down to the lab for a blood draw… and being a busy teaching hospital, I had to wait for something like an hour.
With no antacids in my purse. :eek::smack:
Yay!!!
That’s great!!
StG
I think it’s one of the effects that’s variable by individual. I haven’t had that issue. I am nauseous almost all the time, but when on prednisone I can eat. In fact, I have to watch myself that I don’t eat too much.