In the fall he got shingles. A lot of people get shingles, you know. It’s relatively common, especially once you hit 40. I can’t count the number of friends and acquaintances I have who have gotten shingles.
The doctor did what a lot of doctors do and wrote a prescription for prednisone. That’s one of those common drugs that anyone who has children has been thankful for. I guarantee that if you live in America, are in the middle or upper classes and have at least one child you have at some point filled a prescription for prednisone. (ETA: I now hear from a lot of friends who actually won’t take or allow their kids to take prednisone. I KNEW I shouldn’t have made such a blanket statement.)
Its very commonality makes it seem non-threatening. “Prednisone? I’ve given that to my dog!” “Prednisone? I took that for really bad allergies last spring!” It’s up there with things like Tylenol and Z-Pacs. People know it and that familiarity breeds comfort.
So nobody really thought much of it when he started taking prednisone for the shingles.
Now, five months later I think there are a lot of people wondering why we didn’t burn the prescription instead of getting it filled. Why didn’t we flush those pills? Why? Why?
Actually, several of us have been asking that question since Christmas. We watched him have trouble sleeping, have trouble gathering his thoughts and fall into bizarre mania. We watched him propose outlandish solutions to problems that weren’t really problems. Just things his altered mind dredged up to taunt him.
Like hundreds of thousands of other people, my brother-in-law was a victim of Prednisone Psychosis. It’s a very real thing, but most people don’t know about it until their spouse or other loved or–God Forbid–they themselves switch from a person with a painful itch to a person with a broken brain.
I’ll not go into all the details of the last few months because they aren’t germane. The number of hospitalisations and medications attempted to treat the problem are all kind of moot at this point. Because like 3% of people with Prednisone Psychosis do, my brother-in-law killed himself. The break in his mind took over and he took the only way out he could see.
In the fall he got shingles. In the spring he got a casket.
There are almost always alternatives to prednisone and other steroids. If your doctor prescribes that medicine for you, ask about alternatives that do NOT involve steroids. If there are no alternatives please let your loved ones, your pastor, your support people know to keep an eye on you. Keep an eye on yourself. Leave yourself a note insisting that if you stop sleeping or start thinking that selling all your cars would be a GREAT idea that you get back to the doctor right away.
Prednisone is not harmless. Let me salvage hope for others out of this tragedy.
*hugs*
I am sorry that your family is having to go through this. No one should.
Oh, no, Kat. I am so sorry this happened to your family. Prednisone is definitely not always a good thing. My dad had several very serious side effects when he was taking high doses of prednisone because of his end stage renal failure. Not, thank God, as serious as this, however.
Thank you for your knowledge, and sharing this difficult story with everyone.
I’m so sorry this happened. May I ask if you know whether this condition will self-cure or can be cured once discovered? Or is it a permanent condition? Wondering if you are Always allergic to Pregnisone or is this like other allergies, can come on suddenly?
Now I’m worried. And I actually THANK YOU for that worry. After seeing what a medication can do to my dog when it appears safe for other animals, now it’s occurring to me that humans can be just as vulnerable.
Blessings upon you and your sister’s family.
Kimberlee, it really acts differently in different people and seems to also depend on the amount of the dosage (this happens most often in doses over 30mg), the length of time the person was taking it and how they taper off of it. There are so many variables.
I have an autoimmune disease and when this was brought up in the fora for that disease there were several people who have to take prednisone often and who get steroid psychosis every time, but have it go away when they stop taking the prednisone. But then there are folks that have to have other meds to kickstart their seratonin production. It’s really more of an art than a science, figuring out how to fix this.
Thank you Katherine. Seems the more we know, etc., etc., – - -
Gotta get a better handle on OUR FDA.
(hugs to you, Coble)
The problem is that untreated shingles can (I emphasize can, not will) cause brain damage, permanent nerve issues, and other charming stuff like that. So I think people may be less careful than they would otherwise be when it comes to treatment. I’m going to look into the vaccine, though.
There are really a lot of treatments now that are actually MORE effective. Prednisone treatment is pretty much just the equivalent of flipping off a bunch of switches and then expecting your body to reboot itself in safe mode.
More progressive and aware physicians seem to be Rxing things like anti-virals coupled with gabapentin or another nerve-pain medication.
I am very much in favour of treating shingles as quickly and definitively as possible. I’m of two minds about the vaccine for myself, especially in my immunocompromised state. But that’s just a personal issue based on my own medical circumstance and not some sort of political or sociomedical blanket position.
I had decided against it because of the immunodepressed thing. But this is the second dreadful story I’ve heard about shingles recently, and I’m starting to re-evaluate.
Isn’t it odd? It’s like this is some season for Shingles Horror Stories.
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Holy cats, I’m so sorry. And your family has my prayers. I had no idea that prednisone could cause problems like that, so thanks for sharing.
Wow, I have never heard of that. I’ve suffered the ‘roid rage so many times that I desperately try to avoid prednisone (and the things that require me to take it), but this never occurred to me. I’m so sorry for you and your family.
This is so terrible. I’m speechless.
Sending prayers to you and your family.
I knew the man you are talking about. He was my friend and led me to the Lord in 1995. I miss him deeply and am sorry for your loss. I will continue to Pray for your family. Your post has answered some hard questions on why this horrible thing happened.