Quote:
Originally Posted by blueangel50
Hi there,
I live with a man who was diagnosed with ocular myasthenia gravis 8 years ago. He is on continuous prednisone which is increased to 90mgs per day during relapses which is then slowly tapered.
I am also a medical professional and concerned that the medical professionals arenot explaining to patients and relatives the side effects of prednisone.
I would love to hear from other's experiences but am struggling at the moment with my partners moods, irritability, walking on egg shells and afraid of an outburst. He too says awful things and blames me.
Knowing it is the steroids makes life easier but he won't acknowledge this syo I can't force him to see his consultant.
Can anybody offer any advice please or share their experience so that I know its not me going mad.
Many thanks
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Hi BlueAngel,
Youre not going mad. Prednisone, as you know, causes horrible mental side effects. Ranging from rage to anxiety to suicidal thoughts. Not only is the mind affected, but the body as well. My husband was on 60 mgs a day then tapered. And a Salumedrol shot every month. This went on for 7 years. The effect on his bones is devastating. His hip joints are severely deteriorated. His spine is, too. His shoulder joints are bad. He has osteoperosis in his legs. His teeth are gone. But with his Crohns, he cant take Nsaids for his inflammation due to the bleeding risk. His doctors only use Pred if he has a bad flare up. They know about the anger it causes. Ive told them about it. Most people (as you can see) do not understand that certain meds cause anger in the people taking them. It IS an excuse. When people, like our husbands, have to take this medication, they are not themselves. And people who dont understand or experiance it for themselves, they automatically prejudge them as abusive.
My advice to you would be to talk to your husband's doctor(s) about lowering the dose as much as possible without affecting its effectivness. And also, see if the doc can put him on a mood med or even an anxiety med. Those help my husband when he has to go on Pred. You should be able to talk to his consultant yourself about the side affects. I agree with you about medical professionals not being very up front about this certain side effect. They need to stress to their patients beforehand. That way the patient knows themself that it is the med causing the mood swings. I hope things go well for you and your husband. I know what you are going through...