Posted by Vince S. on June 05, 1999 at 13:28:04:
In Reply to: Re: How long to get Verapamil out of system? posted by Steve on June 04, 1999 at 21:01:10:
Steve,
I too have gone through my own personal experience with Prednisone. I stopped it because of the
weight gain and the possibility of liver damage. As with all steroids, there are certain risks
associated with Prednisone which kind of scared me off it - but the way you’re taking it (for a
very short period of time) doesn’t sound too dangerous. My worst experience with the drug came
during a nightmarish headache several years ago. I had been up with the headache for nearly 9
hours - and it rated a “10” for most of that time. I was quite delirious when I finally decided to
trek to the ER, which is only minutes from my house. Unlike other ER visits, they quickly
determined that I needed immediate help, so instead of the usual long wait, I was quickly treated.
The ER doc gave me a “dose pack” of Prednisone, which required that I take many pills at one
time (I think 6 to begin with) - then 4 a little while later - then 2, and so on. Well, I don’t know if
it helped my headache or not....my “10” seemed to gradually decreased on its own, and I slept
all the next day. However, when I got up the next day, I became violently ill from poisoning my
body with all that Prednisone at one time. Although my family doctor later told me that “dose
packs” of Prednisone are a common way of administering the drug, I could never bring myself to
take it again after that experience. I guess it’s kind of like puking after drinking too much
whiskey - you’re not really eager to drink it again, because you get that “deja vu” feeling about
how sick it made you. So the reason for this post is: Prednisone is a wonderful
anti-inflammatory drug when administered in a regular daily dose - but don’t try to shock your
system with it by intentionally OD’ing on it - even with medical advice - because it just doesn’t
work well for CH when taken that way. The next time I showed up in the ER with a monster
cluster (several years later), I recounted my experience to them, so they instead put me on an I.V.
with several different drugs, including agents to prevent nausea. Now THAT trip was worth the
money, because as soon as I could taste the medicine at the back of my mouth, the headache
disappeared. In fact, I was a little “stoned” when it came time to leave the hospital and go home.
The doctor asked “can you drive?” I replied “not only can I DRIVE.....but....uh.....I think I can
FLOAT home!” They made me sit there for a while until I convinced them I could operate my
vehicle, then let me leave. One final note: of all the drugs I’ve tried and read about associated
with CH, Prednisone is the only one ever credited with CAUSING remission. This leads me to
believe that the pharmaceutical industry OWES us the courtesy of finding a safer, more
applicable steroid specifically designed to treat and reverse CH. This will not happen (less than
1% of the total population suffers from CH) unless we all write some SERIOUS letters to them
asking for their help. Research ain’t cheap, and unless some attention is brought to the industry
about the terrible suffering we all endure, we’re never going to have our “miracle” cure or
treatment. Here’s hoping it happens very soon! Pain-free days and nights to everyone -- Vince