withdrawal aggravated by prednisone ?

phoenix · 05-30-2008, 04:37 AM

Hello fellow withdrawal sufferers,

This is my first post but I have been consulting this forum for some seven months now as I am in my eighth month of effexor withdrawal. My experience is really no different from a lot of other people; for most of the eight months of this horrible experience I have been practically non-functional with devastating physical symptoms the worst of them being strange attacks of extreme pain in almost every part of the body combined with nausea, dizzyness and a feeling of an electrical current running through my body.
These attacks were getting less severe after 6 months or so and I started to get some windows of feeling normal again. Unfortunately my immune system started to crash at this point giving me a stomach ulcer en a case of Bell's Palsy in short succession. The illnesses themselves were not much of a problem (by now you are no longer a sissy, right) but the neurologist convinced me to take one week of Prednisolone 50 mg a day to combat the infection that presumably caused the Bell's Palsy. I had lots of misgivings about the whole thing but because the Prednisone would not interfere with my brain directly I followed the doctor's advice. About one week after finishing the medications I crashed and burned again, feeling even worse than the previous months. Does any of you have similar experiences with this particular medication during withdrawal; is it possible that my setback was caused by the Prednisone ? I know that nobody really knows for certain what all these things are doing to our bodies but I am terrified all the months of suffering have become undone somehow and I am now back to square one.
About my background: I am female, 41 years of age and have been off and on these anti-depressants for eight years. My initial problem was just a mild anxiety problem which could easily have been solved with some decent cognitive behavioural therapy and has been resolved since. I have had withdrawal symptoms for months in between the medications, never understanding what was happing to my formerly very healthy body and as a result ending up on the stuff over and over again. It was not until I found this forum that I realised what had been happening and for this alone you all have my sincere gratitude. Thanks for listening.

texgirl · 05-30-2008, 05:18 AM

Steroids routinely cause aggravated withdrawal symptoms. Threre have been many threads about this here. Type "steroids" into the search field to read others' reactions.
Welcome to PaxilProgress!

Amaya's Nana · 05-30-2008, 06:41 AM

Hi Phoenix and welcome to PP!!

I am right there with you my friend. I was 24 months post-Paxil in March of this year. I had been doing great for almost 12 months. I had to take a week's course of a steroid and I'm here to tell you, I was plunged into the pits of hell. There's no other way to describe it. I'm just now starting to feel better and its been two and a half months. So yes, steroids can definitely do a number on you. They can do a number on someone whose never taken an SSRI. Nasty, nasty drugs, although I understand that sometimes they are necessary. Our bodies are so incredibly sensitive for so long. Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever NOT be hypersensitive to things.

I hope you get some relief soon and this exacerbation is short-lived.

phoenix · 05-30-2008, 07:32 AM

Thank you Amaya's Nana and Texgirl for your quick responses. It is a great relief to know that the Prednisone is the probable cause for my relapse; I suspected as much but it is always better to hear these things from people with as much withdrawal experience as yourselves. Glad to hear you are feeling better Amaya's Nana.

All the best.

rubbyducky · 05-30-2008, 08:21 AM

Definitely, definitely. Due to asthma, I went on a course of inhalers that contained a combo of steroids/long acting beta-agonists and they pretty much plunged me into a state of dysphoria, upon inhalation.

Now I just take a child's dose of pure beta-agonist once a day or as needed, and though my asthma isn't perfect, I'm doing better emotionally.

Alsacienne · 05-30-2008, 02:33 PM

Prednisone needs tapering too! It can do a great deal of good, but make sure you have help from your doc rather than take it long term.

05-30-2008, 04:37 AM	#1
phoenix Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 14	withdrawal aggravated by prednisone ? Hello fellow withdrawal sufferers, This is my first post but I have been consulting this forum for some seven months now as I am in my eighth month of effexor withdrawal. My experience is really no different from a lot of other people; for most of the eight months of this horrible experience I have been practically non-functional with devastating physical symptoms the worst of them being strange attacks of extreme pain in almost every part of the body combined with nausea, dizzyness and a feeling of an electrical current running through my body. These attacks were getting less severe after 6 months or so and I started to get some windows of feeling normal again. Unfortunately my immune system started to crash at this point giving me a stomach ulcer en a case of Bell's Palsy in short succession. The illnesses themselves were not much of a problem (by now you are no longer a sissy, right) but the neurologist convinced me to take one week of Prednisolone 50 mg a day to combat the infection that presumably caused the Bell's Palsy. I had lots of misgivings about the whole thing but because the Prednisone would not interfere with my brain directly I followed the doctor's advice. About one week after finishing the medications I crashed and burned again, feeling even worse than the previous months. Does any of you have similar experiences with this particular medication during withdrawal; is it possible that my setback was caused by the Prednisone ? I know that nobody really knows for certain what all these things are doing to our bodies but I am terrified all the months of suffering have become undone somehow and I am now back to square one. About my background: I am female, 41 years of age and have been off and on these anti-depressants for eight years. My initial problem was just a mild anxiety problem which could easily have been solved with some decent cognitive behavioural therapy and has been resolved since. I have had withdrawal symptoms for months in between the medications, never understanding what was happing to my formerly very healthy body and as a result ending up on the stuff over and over again. It was not until I found this forum that I realised what had been happening and for this alone you all have my sincere gratitude. Thanks for listening.

05-30-2008, 05:18 AM	#2
texgirl Regina Benzodictius Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,073	Re: withdrawal aggravated by prednisone ? Steroids routinely cause aggravated withdrawal symptoms. Threre have been many threads about this here. Type "steroids" into the search field to read others' reactions. Welcome to PaxilProgress! __________________ Adverse reaction to Lexapro led to Paxil, 10 months use, 2005. One month taper. Benzos (Xanax, then Klonopin), 2-1/2 years use, 2005-2007. 8 month taper. Completely free from psychiatry since 8/5/07 Face. Accept. Float. Let Time Pass. — Dr. Claire Weekes *We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.* — Carlos Castañeda

05-30-2008, 06:41 AM	#3
Amaya's Nana An "A bucket" gal! Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 6,467	Re: withdrawal aggravated by prednisone ? Hi Phoenix and welcome to PP!! I am right there with you my friend. I was 24 months post-Paxil in March of this year. I had been doing great for almost 12 months. I had to take a week's course of a steroid and I'm here to tell you, I was plunged into the pits of hell. There's no other way to describe it. I'm just now starting to feel better and its been two and a half months. So yes, steroids can definitely do a number on you. They can do a number on someone whose never taken an SSRI. Nasty, nasty drugs, although I understand that sometimes they are necessary. Our bodies are so incredibly sensitive for so long. Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever NOT be hypersensitive to things. I hope you get some relief soon and this exacerbation is short-lived. __________________ a/k/a Lisa PAXIL FREE AS OF 3/18/06! Fully recovered! Focus your attention on the here and now. Recognize it for what it is: the one moment of the only life you will ever have that you truly possess. Rare is the individual who has come to completely accept that the past is no more than a memory and the future an assumption about unborn events.

05-30-2008, 07:32 AM	#4
phoenix Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 14	Re: withdrawal aggravated by prednisone ? Thank you Amaya's Nana and Texgirl for your quick responses. It is a great relief to know that the Prednisone is the probable cause for my relapse; I suspected as much but it is always better to hear these things from people with as much withdrawal experience as yourselves. Glad to hear you are feeling better Amaya's Nana. All the best.

05-30-2008, 08:21 AM	#5
rubbyducky Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 278	Re: withdrawal aggravated by prednisone ? Definitely, definitely. Due to asthma, I went on a course of inhalers that contained a combo of steroids/long acting beta-agonists and they pretty much plunged me into a state of dysphoria, upon inhalation. Now I just take a child's dose of pure beta-agonist once a day or as needed, and though my asthma isn't perfect, I'm doing better emotionally. __________________ ------------------- 2003 - Started Effexor, 150 - 225mg 2003 - 2007 - +/- various drugs May 2007- drug free . "And if the old guard still offend, they got nothing left on which you depend, so enlist every ounce of your bright blood, and off with their heads, jump from a book,You're not obliged to swallow anything you despise. See, those unrepenting buzzards want your life, and they got no right. As sure as you have eyes, they got no right."- The Shins

05-30-2008, 02:33 PM	#6
Alsacienne Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: France Posts: 448	Re: withdrawal aggravated by prednisone ? Prednisone needs tapering too! It can do a great deal of good, but make sure you have help from your doc rather than take it long term.

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