Some concerns with Prednisone

[TattooedCrohn]

Okay so I did some reading on prednisone and I have to say this stuff is just not cool, I can't sleep. Only been taking it a few days but I cant sit still. My apartment looks amazing because everything thing is cleaned put away but at some point I am going to run out of things to do haha. But thats not the real issuse I am having with it. Two main things. One, my eyesight is out of wack, things are blurry and sometimes I just cant focus my eyes. This is ticking me off because I need these babies to work, my work depends on it, BIG time. Has this happened to anyone and is it just a side effect or do I need to see a eye doc soon. I already wear glasses so possiblitiy I need a check up is likely, but this blurry vision happened only recently. Second, Reality, where the hell is it? I feels like if I keep moving then the world is fine, but once I sit for a few minutes my thoughts just run crazy. I catch myself just looking around the room looking for something, but I have no idea what I am looking for. I am not having any scary or harmful thoughts, just uncertian thoughts. Can anyone tell me how I can lessen the side affects? Or some good advice to keep things in check. Thanks, TattooedCrohn.

 

[muppet]

Oh boy I wish I still got the productive mania I used to get with Prednisone, ha ha. Now I just get irritable and paranoid. I've never encountered eyesight difficulties with Pred, have you found support in literature for that side effect?

I experience the confusion you're talking about, but it's such a normal part of my life and thought process that I've never considered that it may be from the prednisone I've been taking on and off for the past 29 years.

Prednisone is not good stuff, but when you need it, it can be a lifesaver. It's a tradeoff.

As for reducing the side effects, I think just the things you'd normally do for anxiety, irritability, or sleeplessness will work. I use a glass of red wine at dinner to sleep sometimes when I'm on a high dose, but I can't vouch for that method as it may cause you issues with your gut. I get away with it but you might not.

 

[lizzy16]

Hi TattooedCrohn,

Yes it can be quite nasty stuff when it comes to side effects, has it been helping you with your pain?

Might be worth checking with your doctor about your eyes just to be sure. I've definitely had "space brain" from the Pred - getting confused, memory problems (I'm only 28) and I'll mix words up when I speak.. very annoying, especially at work!

 

[Danico85]

I had the exact same problem with my eyes and sometimes i felt i was loosing my sight.
Just one of many side effects.

Joining the gym helped me with my restlessness

 

[TattooedCrohn]

Thanks for the replies, Still adjusting to all of this so thank you for your help and advice. I have noticed that the space brain happens more at night than the day, maybe I am just getting tired and it makes it worse but I have noticed that. And sleep all together is lacking, I am staying up later and later. that normal?

 

[muppet]

Yep I have to force/remind myself to go to bed on time when on Pred. It really is better for you to get to bed early, even if you toss and turn for awhile, in my opinion. Staying up later and later just makes you feel fatigued, disconnected, and depressed, or, it makes me feel that way relatively quickly.

 

[TattooedCrohn]

yeah today I feel run down. and my head is just foggy. So just make myself go to sleep.. a me verses me going on here haha.

 

[Dukeis]

yeah today I feel run down. and my head is just foggy. So just make myself go to sleep.. a me verses me going on here haha.

Have you had your blood pressure checked? I had some of the problems you describe while on prednisone and my BP was very high.

 

[UnXmas]

I've had problems with insomnia and crazy thoughts on prednisone. I get to sleep ok, but then my sleep is really disturbed and I wake up and can't get back to sleep again, and from the early hours I'm awake as if it's time to get up in the morning when it's not. Does anyone else have this sleep pattern from prednisone?
I've resorted to trying to get some kind of sleeping med out of my doctor, but no luck so far. He said sleeping meds are addictive so they avoid prescribing them. Which wasn't much help to me!

A lot of the time prednisone seems to make me "euphoric" -at least that's what the side effects leaflets seem to call it, though what I experience feels more subtle than that. Just a sort of cool, high feeling combined with more physical energy. But it's not as good as it sounds because I know it's not a genuine feeling, which makes me terribly disconcerted - I want to be rational and in control of my moods and emotions. Then at times I get that anxious feeling too. I can't be productive because I can't settle to anything and can't concentrate. It's not fun! :ybatty:

I guess I could ask doctors about things to calm me down - like anti-anxiety meds or something - but that feels like getting into a potentially deeper mess with drugs counteracting drugs which come with side effects of their own... and so on.

I think it's mostly just a question of waiting it out and dealing with it moment by moment (or sleepless night by sleepless night ). It's only supposed to be a short term treatment so I assume you won't be on it that long? Or at least your dose will be reduced? And then the side effects should reduce too. (Mine are proving stubborn: they didn't diminish in correlation with tapering as I assumed they would.)

If you feel really out of control talk to your doctor though.