I am into my third week on high-dose prednisone and so far, I haven't had any noticeable side effects, but the word noticeable must be noted! All sorts of havoc may be being unleashed inside me where I cannot see it or feel it - yet. And who knows what tangos and cha-cha-chas it is doing with all of the other wonder drugs I take so that I don't have to loose weight (high blood pressure), diet (cholesterol), exercise, be suicidal (depression), reflux, get infections, and whatever else can be directed my way. Mostly I try to just not think about it.
It would make me crazy to sit here and combine all the potential side effects of all the meds and all their combinations-Yikes! But I can breathe today - and actually do some physical activity too. What a change from a month ago - when taking a shower was an epic journey for me.
Back to Prednisone. It is in a class of medications called corticosteroids. I am taking it because of the sarcoidosis, the inflammation part of the disease. My lungs are inflamed which causes the fibroids and scaring, lack of breath, painful breathing, exhaustion. The prednisone is working in place of the T cells that should have knocked out the inflammation. My immune system messed up, so I have sarcoidosis, take prednisone, and now am open to any infection in my vicinity.
The list of medications and supplements that you should tell your doctor about before starting Prednisone is unbelievable. This drug must interact with just about everything. And since I take a lot of just about everything, I should be more worried than I am.
Then the side effects. This is where I parted ways with all of the literature on this drug and others in my medicine cabinet. Along with 2 dozen or so of the more usual side effects, none of which are heartening except maybe for "inappropriate happiness," there are the real scary side effects, including cancer (for which it is also sometimes used as a treatment?).
I am grateful that I can breathe again and get through my day with relative ease, but at what cost? The damages that accompany Prednisone are daunting. And I am grateful that I can get through my days without overwhelming hopelessness and despair - but what are the anti-depressants moving around in my brain? Will I find out in 10 years that it all shorts out?
There is uncertainty piled on top of an alp of uncertainties today. It is frightening to realize the absolute limits of what I know, and the solar systems of what I do not. How can decisions be made? Is there any right answer anymore? It depends!
