My LLMD thinks I may need to add some prednisone to help get rid of the badly itching skin. Aren't steroids supposed to be bad for Lyme?
Nancy
Posted by lymie tony z (Member # 5130) on :
If it were me, I would thank the nice doctor and not get the script filled and buy some benadryl....
I personally can't take steroids of any kind it makes my symptoms much worse....prednisone is something that I would'nt take even if I had no lyme disease.....
The itching will eventually disperse with treatments...unles it's being caused by something other than the lyme...it may even be a reaction to the abx you're taking....zman
Posted by Lymelighter (Member # 5310) on :
My LLMD thought I should try some as well. 2 doses totally screwed up my endocrine system and I'm now on Cortef, a low dose steroid, to try to correct the problem. It wasn't worth the trouble. Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nal: Aren't steroids supposed to be bad for Lyme?
Nancy
YEP!
Posted by duramater (Member # 6480) on :
Ah, the knee-jerk, anti-steroid group is out in force I see. Well, to offer a completely different perspective, if all other treatment (e.g., antihistamines, topical steroids) have failed (this is assuming a hypersensitivity as the cause of said itch as you didn't specify) then LOW dose, alternate-day therapy might be quite useful.
I have severe abx allergies and such treatment has allowed me to used the abx that I might have not otherwise. I have twice recovered from csf-positive meningitis with extremely long remissions (last one being about 6 years in duration).
I also use daily inhaled steroids for my asthma and have for many many years. You couldn't pry it from me as it has made my life infinitely better. Judicious use of steroids can be a real life-saver.
Posted by livinlyme (Member # 3773) on :
WOW,, i thought they were a big big NO- NO! No one in my family can take them ... we are all members of the Lymies clan! I would question why the llmd would do such a thing? although if it is topical I understand that it is not the same as oral....
Have you tried the VICKS trick for itch????? I could not believe this would work and thought hte person was Cracked... SORRY .. but I did .. then I tried it .. it will burn a slight bit but well worth getting rid of the itch and it will go away .. (if it is the kind that I could not get rid of with all the other scripts and tricks I was told to try) look in general for Vicks Itch... I tried a lot of things.. Linda D
Posted by mbroderick (Member # 5220) on :
I would find another doctor as fast as you can! I've been told by my LLMD to only take steroids to save my life, not for any other reason!
Posted by Foggy (Member # 1584) on :
They were a No No for me. Steroids, which were also approved by a LLMD I might add, erased s year of abx treatment. Unless life threatening or a replacement dosage regimen, I wouldn't touch em with a '10000 pole.
Posted by Tj33 (Member # 7214) on :
Prednisone is dangerous and addictive in the sense once you start it you cannot stop without adverse reactions.
It usually given to Asthma suffers to make the lung muscles strong enough to overcome the resistance to breathing caused by Asthma.... Your lung muscles can be hyped up so much that you can crack a rib when you cough... You will quickly gain weight on this stuff.
Most ducks don't understand how dangerous prednisone is and over prescibe it. My wife was on it for asthma at 40mg a day. It took her 2 years to taper off....
You need to get another opinion before you start this stuff...
Tj
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tj33: It usually given to Asthma suffers to make the lung muscles strong enough to overcome the resistance to breathing caused by Asthma.... Tj
Just wondering....I thought steroids were given to asthmatics [like me] to reduce inflammation. I do take inhaled steroids, but they have not affected me negatively for the Lyme. HOWEVER, I would not take it in the pill form [in high doses].
Posted by lymeloco (Member # 7192) on :
I read that vicks vapor rub is good for fungus of fingernails and toenails. Has anyone lost nails?
I used to have a neighbor across the street years ago. She used to get severe migrane headaches.
I'm not kidding, she put vickd on her eyelids she said it was the only thing that helped!
It used to burn my eyes when it was on my chest as a kid. I guess if it worked for her, more power to her!
Posted by duramater (Member # 6480) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tj33: Prednisone is dangerous and addictive in the sense once you start it you cannot stop without adverse reactions.
It usually given to Asthma suffers to make the lung muscles strong enough to overcome the resistance to breathing caused by Asthma.... Your lung muscles can be hyped up so much that you can crack a rib when you cough... You will quickly gain weight on this stuff.
Most ducks don't understand how dangerous prednisone is and over prescibe it. My wife was on it for asthma at 40mg a day. It took her 2 years to taper off....
You need to get another opinion before you start this stuff...
Tj
Good lord --
what a bastion of misinformation!
1. prednisone is not addictive! the adrenal glands down-regulate the amount of corticosteroids they produce as one takes these meds. you slowly decrease the dosage as you wean off of them to give the adrenals the opportunity to upregulate the production. if you only take low doses, especially alternate-day therapy (ADT), you can stop at any point without adverse reactions.
2. Prednisone IS NOT given to asthmatics to increase the strength of lung muscles. It is given to reduce the inflammation in the airways caused by the asthma.
3. Either your wife had HORRIFIC asthma that was uncontrollable by ANY OTHER MEANS than daily prednisone OR you had a horrible doctor.
4. It is not necessary to take 2 YEARS to wean off of any dose of prednisone. People who take much larger doses daily for control of, for example, Crohn's disease take months not years to wean.
Posted by lymie tony z (Member # 5130) on :
Hey look durameter...
If you want to take the stuff and it works for you go ahead...
The majority of lymies have had bad results from steroids.... we are not some kind of steroid knocking society....
We just know our own bodies and the reactions of steroids on them......
I would'nt give prednisone to anyone I like...it did my mother no good and I have seen others that were put on it to no good end.....
Just personal observations/experiences which is what was asked for////
zman
Posted by NUTBOBUTT (Member # 7242) on :
I took steroids for 6 1/2 months with lyme(sometimes at very high doses) and weaned off of it slowly.
I am starting to get better with my antibiotics. So I don't think that it had a huge negative impact with me.
If you look at Dr. B's protocol he does say that at times it may be necessary to take steroids especially with PMR sx.
If I was asked if I wanted to take it again I would refuse as it did not help me every day only sometimes and I wouldn't want to depress my immune system.
Just my 2 cents!
Posted by duramater (Member # 6480) on :
Lyme ED:
This last time in July, I did 10 mg every other day and then tapered down from there. I was on prednisone about 5-6 weeks. The last time I did an IV cephalosporin to which I am allergic, we started with IV medrol and then switched over to oral prednisone. That time I did a max of 15mg every other day, but got by with 7.5-10mg every other day most of the time.
In addition to the low dose, its the every-other-day component that is key. Do a search on alternate day therapy for corticosteroids -- it hardly shuts down your adrenals relative to daily therapy but, depending on your situation, can work just as well. There is a decent literature on this approach to corticosteroid use.
Let me know if there is more I can answer for you.
~Dura Mater.
Posted by psano (Member # 7785) on :
Nal, I'm not an md, but was a clinical pharmacist for a # of yrs. I would try other antihistamines before trying prednisone. Did you ever try the chlorpheniramine (Chlortrimeton)? I have allergies to all sorts of things and it works for me. I only go to my rx med (Allegra D, which costs a fortune, and my insurance no longer pays for it). There's also Claritin on the market over the counter, which used to be an rx drug only which you could try.
I personally don't like Benadryl, but if it works for you, great. It causes drowsiness and is actually prescribed by some mds as a sleeping pill. Chlortrimeton doesn't make me drowsy like Benadryl does.
Prednisone reduces inflammation by suppressing your body's own immune response, thereby creating a "dependence" on it. That's why people who have been on it for a while must be weaned off. Since your immune response has been suppressed, your body can no longer fight off infections on its own, and you become more susceptible to bacterial/fungal infections. It can also cause salt/water retention, increasing weight and putting a greater load on your heart. There are other side effects as well, so it's not a drug to be taken lightly.
Posted by DolphinLady (Member # 6275) on :
psano and foggy make very good points.
Posted by duramater (Member # 6480) on :
hi. just saw your follow up Qs.
did the claforan for 50 days over 3 months (using prednisone) then we did orals (just looked at my notes as this was in '90).
dosing is kind of standard for prednisone. also, we were going on what worked for me in the past. as for the 7.5-15 mg range ADT, it was based on symptom control.
don't remember why we started iv medrol one time and then switched as that was in '93.
gl w/ your own trmt.
Posted by Tj33 (Member # 7214) on :
Wow, duramater, you know nothing about prednisone. Steriods have a side effect of reducing inflammation. This is where most doctors get in trouble using this stuff. There are better ways to reduce inflammation without the terrible side effects. When your lung muscles can't handle the resistance of the asthma, then the doc uses prednisone to super charge them. You have to taper off slowly after being on this stuff, otherwise your lung muscles can "lock up". She was on 40mg a day I cannot imagine anyone taking 60.... She is on inhalers now and takes a 10mg predinsone tab when she gets congested with a cold, if (big if) necessary.
Our asthma doc was one of the top Asthma docs in the world, he is at Scripps San Diego....
The wife had lyme at the time (we didn't know it). The lyme is gone and so is the severe Asthma...
The graveyards of Wisconsin are filled with folks who died of Asthma. Wisconsin is a hot spot for lyme. I wonder, is there a connection????
Tj
Posted by duramater (Member # 6480) on :
Alas TJ, you are wrong. Ask your "top doc" about "super-charging" lung muscles. You will find you are mistaken.
Of course you taper off prednisone (all corticosteroids)! It just doesn't take TWO YEARS! And you do so because of the adrenals, not because of lung "lock up." Again, check with said "top doc."
If that is what this person is telling you, then you might re-evaluate the doc's purported status....
I wish your wife health and reduced lung inflammation (the key effectl that she will get from corticosteroids, as opposed to pumped-up lung muscles).
![[cussing]](graemlins/cussing.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
which is what was asked for////