Stir Crazy on Steroids (Prednisone)

From the last full week in June until July 29th I was taking prescription prednisone. Prednisone is a powerful anti-inflammatory in a class of medicines called corticosteroids and was prescribed along with the antibiotic levaquin to aggressively fight an infection that had been causing pain (pleurisy) in the left side of my chest since May. I was given lorcet for the pain. I've never experienced anything close to the reaction my body had to prednisone. I had been taking the steroid for just over a week when I received a call from Kim Harbin at Dr. Hendrick's office with news about my CT scan results. Kim had called Dr. Cannon at Valley Imaging to check on my CT scan findings. Kim knew the July 4th holiday weekend would be a long one for me not knowing the outcome of the CT and he was kind enough to find out what the results were the very next day after I received the scan. It was very thoughtful of him to do that. I really appreciate his concern and effort to get the information to me so quickly. He is a good man. Kim told me that after viewing the CT scan Dr. Cannon believed there was a slight indication the small nodule in my chest was showing signs of calcium buildup. That would indicate that my body was trying to encase the area or seal it off as an old wound. Man, that's a good sign. It would mean the nodule is probably not cancerous. Dr. Cannon suggested I could either get a biopsy, or based on the evidence of calcium around the nodule, schedule another CT scan in three to six months and evaluate any changes occurring at that time. I got the feeling Dr. Cannon thought a follow-up CT was the way to go. I opted for another scan in a few months; thanked Kim for his kind effort and began the July 4th weekend feeling somewhat relieved even though the chest pain persisted and I was starting to experience a reaction to the steroids. After a week taking the prednisone I could sense a difference in the way I felt within minutes after swallowing a tablet. I took the first steroid prescription for about a week. My second prescription called for three tablets a day for seven days; two tablets a day for seven days and then one tablet a day for seven days. The first noticeable difference was that I couldn't sleep at night for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. I had been having trouble sleeping already because of chest pain. This was different. I couldn't sleep now because... I just couldn't sleep. Wake up three or four times an hour all night long for several weeks and it starts to get aggravating. I tried other beds, chairs, the floor and just not going to bed at all. I mentioned in an earlier post that over the years I've not been one to take pain medication. Well I decided that the lorcet might help me sleep so I took it. The lorcet didn't seem to make much difference except that I wasn't as aggravated that I couldn't sleep. Even a combination of brandy and lorcet didn't help me sleep. However this combination did help ease the chest pain a little and completely removed any guilt I was experiencing for keeping other people awake. After a couple days of this I decided it was not the approach that would be a good idea for the long term. So, I get up from another night of not sleeping and start the new day with more prednisone. Well by now I'm a little dull from the all the medicine and the being awake all night and things that don't usually bother me are ticking me off. I don't have much patience with things. I can't get my thoughts together one minute and in the next I'm concentrating on a deep intellectual idea that I'm sure is so profound I need to write it down. I'm thinking, people need to hear about this. Very simple tasks seemed complicated. At work I'm finishing an order for some picture frames and I feel compelled to count the frames. Not that I don't know how many I'm working on, I just need to count them. So I count them again. Then when I start applying the paint, for some reason I think that it would be a good idea to count them again. And then when I paint two of the frames I look over at the other ones and wonder how many are left now that I've painted two. So, I count the ones that are left and then think about how many I would have if I added back the two I just painted. The really interesting and frustrating thing is this kind of stuff goes on for several weeks. Deep thoughts about life and then an inability to decide If I'm screwing on the right plastic cap on my purified water bottle. Less than ten minutes after taking a prednisone and I sense the start this strange behavior. The side effects of high doses of steroids include: back pain; headache; muscle aches or weakness; nausea or vomiting that looks like coffee grounds; cold; fever; sore throat; unusual weight gain; unusual weight loss; loss of appetite; mood, mental or personality change; swelling of feet, hands, or back. Included in the allergic reactions are: rash, itchiness, dizziness or trouble breathing. The side effects include lots of other things I didn't list. In fact, there is a note on the information that comes with the prescription that you should call the doctor if you experience any side effects not listed. One side effect I found interesting was that everything I ate tasted great. Water tasted sweet like it had sugar in it. Black beans were fabulous. The other side of that was a complete loss of appetite. Strange that everything tasted so good but I had no interest in eating anything. In addition, the prednisone also affected my blood sugar level. I have hypoglycemia and big changes in my sugar level can produce very similar side effects. Mix steroids with blood sugar problems and you can quickly find yourself between here and never-never-land. I didn't experience all of the side effects but enough of them to wonder how this stuff can be good for you. It was a wild ride. If you don't believe me ask my wife. On July 29th I took the last of the steroids. WooHoo! The last week, particular the last few days, as the frequency of taking them dropped to once a day, I've been going through steroid withdrawal. That's also one of the complications of taking them. I was very edgy, confused at times, mad at nothing and wide awake. I felt like I needed to take them for the first time. I didn't want anybody to mess with me. I knew a guy a long time ago; said he had a friend who liked to fight. He said his friend liked fighting so much he just walked around hoping someone would drop a hat. I think I know how he felt. Man, there were couple of days I would have loved for someone to drop a hat. As I've related my experience with steroids to the doctor, the pharmacist and to other folks who have either taken them or knew someone who has; no one seems surprised at my experience. When I stopped to tell the pharmacist about some of the side effects he said; "Oh yeah, a friend who I used to work with got a divorce while he was taking them". "They'll completely change your personality, there bad." Well I'm sure glad I stopped in to tell you about it. You've been a great comfort. Today I thank God that the pain in my chest is gone. The side effects of the steroids are dwindling. Getting some sleep is good and the probability that the nodule in my chest is old damage has reduced my load considerably. I feel like I've weathered a storm and it's time to take the reefs out of the sail, bail a little water and get back on course. In a few months I hope a second CT scan will end any further worry about my chest problems. Oh, I did write down a couple of those thoughts I had while I was stir crazy. I'll share those with you in time. Thanks for bearing with me the last few weeks. It is nice knowing there are a few folks out there interested enough to read this. Surprising really.