Mrs. D.

I know someone who takes prednisone (low dose) daily. I ran this by her asking if she would recommend this drug. She just wrote this to me:

"Melody

Sadly, I would NOT, NOT, NOT recommend a long term prednisone usage, despite how much better it makes him feel to start with. I was started on it after my daughter was born, as I was COMPLETELY crippled, in horrid pain, and unable to hold my newborn baby...so I didn't question it, just started taking it...and had almost immediate relief. Sadly, the relief didn't last long, so they "upped" the dose...again, immediate relief, and the vicious cycle started. They kept upping my dose, over and over, and I never questioned it...until I became ENRAGED one day, which is NOT like me in the LEAST!!! I am very mild mannered, don't yell, don't get flustered...never have, but I just felt like I was crawling out of my skin, and I was very anxious and aggitated at EVERYTHING...my husband took me to the ER, and it turned out I had "steroid induced rage"!!!! I had never heard of such a thing, but apparently high doses of steroids can cause even the most meek and mild to quite literally go bezzerk! (no idea how to spell that, lol) I had to spend a week in the hospital having IV steroids administered and titrated to get it under control, and then had to spend YEARS titrating down to a maintenence dose, which I will have to take for the rest of my life, since once your body is accustomed to the steroid, it quits producing on its own, and you can die if you miss a dose, even by just a few hours! Furthermore, it COMPLETELY destroyed my bones, which is the ONLY reason I am in a wheelchair now. Prednisone (same thing as what Allen is taking, different name) leaches all the minerals from your bones, as well as other side effects, and NO amount of sprouting or healthy eating can counter balance that. Prednisone TEMPORARILY restored me, then it DESTROYED me in the long run-bad news, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE look for alternatives! I have been to the BEST doctors in this country and in England, top clinics, top hospitals, yada yada...and they all encouraged me to stay on the prednisone...all the while it was destroying me. BAD NEWS!! You know me well enough by now to know that I shoot straight, and TRUST me when I tell you, he can get better and get rid of his back pain JUST by watching what he eats-he very likely has some unknown allergies or sensitivities that you might need to deal with, and its hard, but WAY better than taking a pill that ultimately only makes matters far worse. His back pain won't get any better if he ends up with a steroid induced fracture in it! I wish I could give you more encouraging news, but NO WAY would I lie to you and suggest that I think it is a good idea...far from it. The GOOD news is, there are plenty of herbal/supplemental stuff that can help him with the pain, but I suggest trying to figure out what his food triggers are too. Valerian root is a natural muscle relaxer-it is what VALIUM is made from, only it is natural and not full of crap that makes matters worse-tastes vile, comes in drops or pill form, amazing stuff!
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This scared the hell out of me.

Melody










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