Re: the lesser of two evils....

[Guest guest]

carrie,

your " cousin drippy " comment cracked me up!!!

>

> Hello,

>

> Some of us will be stuck on the pred no matter how much xolair is

pumped into us. I am on 5 mg pred per day and had a nice chat with

my endo yesterday who said that " generally ppl on that dose do not

have that many side effects " . That being said, some people may be

more sensitive. What do you mean by heart effects? I am unsure of

any heart-related side effects of prednisone (after being on it for

4 solid + years, I am pre-diabetic and look like a brain tumour

patient so I am well-versed in the side effects.)

>

>

> Neurosurg nurse

>

> ps , I too am visited by Cousin Drippy instead of Aunt Flo.

It's been worked up. It's due to the meds and not one in particular

(and certainly not the xolair which was the most benign of the

bunch).

>

>

>

>

> Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real

people. Go to Answers and share what you know at

http://ca.answers.

>

>

[Guest guest]

For many years I was on Triamcinolone (brand name Aristocort - no

longer available) for allergies and, for a while, for polycystic

ovarian disease. I couldn't handle prednisone at all - really caused

severe drops in blood sugar. Yes, I know docs claim it raises it

which it does but it then causes it to drop way below normal. Most

docs are totally uneducated in this arena.

I learned from the reproductive medicine-endocrinology doc that the

body makes the equivalent of about 4-5 mgs a day of triamcinolone

(prednisone and triamcinolone are just a couple of the commercial

pills). When I got up to 8 mgs I was no longer producing my own

because my body perceived me as having enough (in really simple

terms - it's all part of a feedback mechanism). That's the tricky

part as it was possible to cause me to be unable to make my own

gluccocorticoid. Now, then, the dose for prednison is DIFFERENT than

the dose for triamcinolone - i.e., 6 mgs pred is not the same as 6

mgs triamcinolone but I couldn't tell you now exactly what the ratio

is.

I also learned that the high doses really screw up hormones and often

cause polycystic ovarian disease (it did in me) but this varies a lot

from one woman to another. This can be a significant issue although

the jury I guess is still out. At one time it was believed to be a

higher risk for cancer plus a host of unpleasant effects.

I'd see a reproductive medicine and endocrinology specialist at a

major medical center. A gyno is not trained in hormones - I stopped

going to them 28 years ago for that very reason and it just about

saved my life! With wonderful equipment now for visualizing the

brain it might be that an MRI or catscan or other advanced imaging

system plus highly specialized hormonal tests could help target the

problem.

By the way, I rarely take gluccocorticoids (evil candy) any more but

when I do, even tapering over 4 days the way my doc said, I STILL get

the awful blood sugar effects!

>

> Hello,

>

> Some of us will be stuck on the pred no matter how much xolair is

pumped into us. I am on 5 mg pred per day and had a nice chat with my

endo yesterday who said that " generally ppl on that dose do not have

that many side effects " . That being said, some people may be more

sensitive. What do you mean by heart effects? I am unsure of any

heart-related side effects of prednisone (after being on it for 4

solid + years, I am pre-diabetic and look like a brain tumour patient

so I am well-versed in the side effects.)

>

>

> Neurosurg nurse

>

> ps , I too am visited by Cousin Drippy instead of Aunt Flo.

It's been worked up. It's due to the meds and not one in particular

(and certainly not the xolair which was the most benign of the bunch).

>

>

>

>

> Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people.

Go to Answers and share what you know at

http://ca.answers.

>

>