Prednisone: is it good, bad or dangerous medicine?

[Maddman]

I have read some info about it, but heard alot of other stories ....

Is Prednisone a bad or dangerous drug ? When taken briefly or when taken for long term??????


Does anyone have any opinions or experience with someone taking the stuff for a long period of time ?

What could some effects be ?

IS it harmful to be taken over long periods of time ????

[Lindaru]

No one in our household has ever had to be on it personally but I will tell you what information I can from our prescription drug reference.

It can be taken short term or long term (for instances of immune system suppression or multiple sclerosis).

Common side effects are increased appetite, indigestion, nervousness, insomnia, greater susceptibility to infections, increased blood pressure, slowed healing of wounds, weight gain, easy bruising and fluid retention.

You are advised to avoid excess sodium while on the medication, and to avoid medications that contain sodium and potassium, antacids, diuretics, along with others.

Given the number of disease contraindications and other medications, I would make sure you go over your entire health and prescription history with your doctor before going on it.

If I can answer any more questions, post back here, but this really is something you need to go over with your doctor if you have not already.

Good luck!

Lindaru

[feelbad]

it is a good med when it is used appropriately and for short term,but some people have to take this particular med for a longer time becasue of transplant or breathing issues or other inflammatory problems. with any med,its kind of weighing using it vs not using it and any consequences there of. my son has to take this every single day ever since his liver transplant,without it,as we have found out the hard way,he goes right into rejection. so in his case,its a very good drug,you know what i mean? it is just a huge multipurpose med that can help with soo many different conditions. but it does,as the above poster pointed out, have some side effects too.

it all comes down to what treatment options you actually have with any given condition and whether this really would help or hinder your health in taking it. alot of meds are kind of a trade off of sorts. they can harm as well as heal or help. i have had to use this several times for inflammation of certain conditions,and it has helped alot where other meds just wouldn't be able to do what pred does. but it is not something i would actually 'want' to be on long term like my son. he is down to only having to take 5mgs(originally was on 50mgs a day) a day now and this is where his status stays well within the no rejection parameters.

if your doc Rxes this for you for a certain condition,just ask as many questions about the need as you feel you need to. but short term and long term,this med really can do amazing things for so many different conditions. its main job is to just reduce inflammation. FB

[bethsheba]

I took a small dose for 10 days for a badly swollen throat due to mono. I had serious problems for 2 years afterwards, which I, at the time, attributed to the mono. In the past year, the info I've seen suggests the problems I experienced were due to the prednisone, not the mono.

I had an open wound (no injury) on my hand that would not heal...if I recall correctly, it took 5 different antibiotics over a period of weeks/months to close the wound. My doctor said I was lucky not to lose my hand. The antibiotics caused other problems....also experienced severe mental health issues which I had't had before. But on going over the two years were bronchospasms that lasted 5-30 minutes. Didn't experience bronchospasms again for 15 years until I started taking medication for blood pressure.

All medicine is dangerous...it's important to know what the risks are, what the side effects can be, and what to do about the side effects BEFORE you decide whether or not to take the medication!

Bethsheba

[janewhite1]

In the short term, it rarely causes serious harm, however, it can cause extreme irritability, short temper and sleeplessness.