How long would you wait?
 

I've got bad vertigo this week, and my right eye is super dim right now (I was just sitting outside with my parents)

My neuro said he'd give me steroids if this lasted longer than a day. (oral Pred) It's now halfway thru day 2 of the dizzies, and I talked to the neuro earlier and he said he'd give me the choice of IV or the oral, and he seems to be pushing the oral.

I'm just not particularly thrilled with the thought of steroid side effects. Almost tempted to try to wait out the dizzies. (hey, I'll lose weight this way, food is not totally appealing to me right now)

He told me to up my dosage of Meclizine and to call him by friday morning if I want a Rx for the 'roids. I'm starting to already rethink my decision to try to wait this out. I just dont want to deal with the nasty tasting prednisone, and the stomach problems and all the other side effects. I could do the IV, but a lot of the side effects can be worse with that, since the neuro told me it's stronger.

I just dont know if I can wait another day. This is the one symptom that I really dont deal with very well at all. The numb and tingly stuff is really annoying, but it was easier to deal with.

I just dont like feeling like I'm drunk when I didnt even get to have the fun of drinking flavored drinks all night.

Right now I've got ice on my head (inbetween typing sentences here) trying to cool off the brain so that hopefully I wont be so dizzy and that my vision wont be so dim.

why does MS have to be so <swear word> annoying???

How long would you wait?

I dont know, Erin. I have never dealt with vertigo or vision issues (ON) related to MS.

Using steroids or not can be a difficult decision. I tend to wait out my exacerbations but I used oral prednisone for my first 2.

I hope your doing better soon :hug:

I wouldn't wait at all. I've been down both those roads too many times. I would take the IV over the oral any day of the week.

Erin - I hate being in that position. Personally, I use the steroids b/c I hate the symptoms and figure why suffer. Of course, my first two times, I used IVSM and it not only worked like a charm, the side effects were pretty much nil.

But as I'm sure you read, I just finished an horrendous course of oral prednisone. And i'm still struggling - and have been thinking about asking my neuro for an IVSM course. I was going to call today to get it started, but just didn't have the energy. I actually see him tomorrow....I might ask. Just such a pain in the butt. And it is costly (a few hundred $$ vs $30 for the pills). However, with that said, I don't think I will EVER agree to take those pills again. OMG - :eek: I just keep telling myself that it would have gotten worse had I not taken them....because if I believe otherwise, I get upset and even nuttier.

Good luck - vertigo and double vision STINK!!

~Keri

I would also recommend the iv over the oral. I will not take oral steriods.

I may just ask him for the IV...have to see which one he pushes over the other... If I do the IV, I'm taking a bunch of crochet/knitting stuff with me. I really hated the taste of the oral pred last year. Taking it with some lemon flavored yogurt (lemon meringue Yoplait) helped it a little bit. At least I didnt get bad stomach aches when I ate yogurt with the steroids.

I'm just tired of the vertigo already, and am hoping that if I do a steroid that I'll get some visual benefits from it too.


Maybe I can get a couple of days of the IV with a taper chaser.

I just hope that if I take the steroids, all the weird little piddly MS things will leave me alone for awhile...the numb toes (used to be the entire foot) and the weird dim vision, the vertigo...and hopefully the steroids will help my sore back that I dont think is MS related.


I just dont want to get a ton of infections like I did after the last steroid I did last year. Ended up with bacterial vaginosis, MRSA in my nose, and I just hated having to constantly go potty because the steroids made me pee every 2 minutes.

Hi Erin! I may be the minority here, but the Oral Roids have not bothered me w/side effects at all. I have taken them several times and the only side effect I had was more energy *yah* and a loss of appetite *another yah*.
Alot of people have trouble w/the orals, so maybe the IV route is the way for you, but I think you really need to get in touch w/your Dr.

Good luck and do keep us posted.

I have to see which steroid the neuro is being the most pushy about. I got the feeling that he wanted me to take the oral.

I'm just wondering if I should check with my regular doctor to see if I have any infections (like a UTI, or even an ear infection) before hitting the steroids.

I'm not sure, but arent steroids + infections = bad juju?

If I had severe vertigo I'd request the IV steroids. I hated the pills with a passion. :eek: The IV didn't bother me near as much. I hope I'll never need the 'roids again, but you never know!

You'll just have to decide which you hate the most - the sx of the vertigo or the side effects of the steroids.

How are ya feeling?
 

Erin,

How are you today? Any decision on the steroids? I hope you're doing a little better. I hate the vertigo. I feel like I need to be wearing a seatbelt while sitting in a chair!

Hope you're well!!

~Keri

I only just woke up at 2pm today, but I think I might be feeling a little bit better. I didnt wake up dizzy, and when I stood up, I only felt a little wobbly for a few minutes. I've been sitting here, wandering the internet, waiting to see if I feel dizzy today.

So far, so good. Maybe I wont have to do any steroids.

I'm supposed to call the neuro tomorrow if I'm still dizzy.


I havent been in a car for several days, so I dont know if my car will set off any vertigo. I think I'm feeling better, so I might attempt to go up to the craft store later this afternoon to buy a new set of knitting needles. See if I get the spinnys from that.

I do still have the weird headache that I seem to get with the vertigo, so maybe it's just waiting to strike me when I least expect it. (after I've gotten into the car and driven a mile away from my house probably)

it's a tough choice erin. i don't envy you having to make it.
but, i'd be more worried about your vision. if your vision doesn't improve i'd definitely consider something.

please keep us posted.

Hi Erin, I hope you are feeling better today. :hug:

I was feeling better. Starting to feel all spinny again. I'm happy that it left me alone for awhile today before the world started moving me again.

Just wish it would have left me alone for good. I hate vertigo!

I still dont know if I'm going to call the neuro tomorrow for the steroids. I might actually try to wait over the weekend.

I really dont want to have to deal with all the stupid side effects of the steroids. Last year when I did steroids the first time, I absolutely LOVED the way I felt, no numbness, vision improved, I felt GREAT, but then all the side effects started to kick in, and then the steroids wore off and I felt like crap.

So, while I'd love to have my body feel somewhat normal for a short while, I really dont want to have to deal with the side effects. If I call him tomorrow, I think I'll ask him if it will make my vision improve, if it'll help the vision and the vertigo, I might just do it, but I think I have to get past the fear of the side effects. (peeing every 3 minutes does not sound like fun. And my dad was going to tie me down last year because I was bouncing off the walls from the steroids)

I can see why you want to wait until the weekend goes by -- if you feel like you can deal with the MS crud. I'm just afraid you are in a flare up. I will tell you that I've done IV steroids 2x. The first time I had a long prednisone taper and it was absolutely horrible. Awful awful side effects. And then I had problems with fatigue, headache, abdominal cramps when the oral ended so they thought I was having adrenal insufficiency and put me back on 10 mg. so I would taper down from that. UGH. So the tapering took a month or more if I remember correctly. The second time after the IV I did no taper at all and it was SO much better--just unbelievably better. The neuro I spoke to today said that some people handle no taper more easily and have way more problems with the oral prednisone after the IV ends. I will tell you that when I did the no taper I did have about a week of feeling pretty funky (tired, felt like a truck ran over me) -- but I bounced back pretty quickly. So you might ask your neuro about an IV course with no taper. I can't even begin to tell you how much better it was and I will never do an oral taper of steroids after an IV again.

Oh, I think I've been in a flare since sometime in February of this year. Got optic neuritis in the right eye then. (the ON isnt getting better yet) In March, my right foot went numb down to the bone (it's getting better). My vision in my right eye has gotten worse in the past few weeks.

and now this week, I've had vertigo. So, I would not be surprised if I was in a flare or exacerbation right now.

I'm waiting to see how I feel tomorrow, if I have vertigo tomorrow like I've had, I'll call him up and get the Rx. I might not start to take it immediately, but I think I will get the Rx just in case I need it over the weekend.

I think I'm going to ask him for a Rx for some Nexium while I'm at it, because if I do take the steroid, I'm betting it will cause me tummy issues too.

So, no steroids for me....Yet!
 

Just talked to the neuro. He'd been trying to figure out how to avoid giving me any prednisone since I dont like the side effects.

He wants me to get my ears checked for an actual ear infection, and if there's no infection, to go to an ENT (Ears, Nose, and Throat doctor) to see if there's something physically affecting my inner ear.

The neuro asked me if I was having any problem hearing. Told him my ears were sensitive to loud noises, my tinnitus (that I've had since I was a small child) is a little more noisy than it usually is, and there is some pressure in my ears.

Also told him that when I had mononucleosis in 96, my head got so swollen that I couldnt breathe thru my nose, couldnt hear anything, and couldnt speak for close to three weeks. He's wondering if the mono could have damaged my inner ear somehow and made me more susceptible to the vertigo from things other than the MS.

I dont know if I'm disappointed or not at not getting any steroids today. At least the neuro is paying attention and wants to make sure of things before he starts writing out the Rx for the 'roids.

hi ya erin,

i think vertigo is one of the worst symptoms of ms myself. deciding what to do about a flare up is right up there too. if it were me i think i would ask him to call in an rx and then you can pick it up ''IF" things don't simmer down for you.

none of us like the side effects it causes however on the flipside we don't care for sitting on the fence and waiting it out either :confused: if you have the rx called in and there for back up at least you have that choice if you get my drift. nothing worse then imo then not having your neuro at your fingertips and heaven forbid it be a weekend or the middle of the night. with that said i hope you can manage without them :wink: