Prednisone reaction

William Ware

I have recently been diagnosed as a large cell,interm., lymphoma,Gr I presenting as a node in my groin 3 yrs. after a T-cell nodule was excised from my leg. My treatment plan is 4 bouts of CHOP chemo. followed by local radiation. I've just completed the first chemo round and doing fair EXCEPT the side effects of the 500mg of prednisone: palpitations,etc, but mostly severe agitation,anxiety,depression,etc.. My question,to anyone who has gone through this and is willing to reply, how long can I expect these side-effects??
responses appreciated,
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From: Frank Britton
I did have to have my left hip replaced in Nov 95. I tried a core decompression in May 95 to save the hip. Upon looking at the removed bone my Orthopod said it almost worked, just that the head collapsed before the new bone and grown up that far.
I am now starting to ache in my right hip and will call the doc on Monday to start all over. I'm 41 now.
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>From Honsinger Post:
Kate,
Pam honsinger forwarded me part of your post. Hope you don't mind another response. All of what you said can happen. Do you take it with food? This is very important. Without food, it'll amplify all of the effects you mention. The other thing you have to totally cut from diet while you are on the pred is caffiene. Most folks aren't aware of how many things they eat or drink that contain it. It will and can double the Pounding, sweating, etc effect, not to mention that caff also reduces the bodies ability to absorb water- temporarily blocking it. Sodas, chocolate, coffee, tea, all will make you feel nasty. I drink crystal light lemonade and Decaf tea or coffee when I'm on it. Right now after round 2 of inpatient EPOCH for NHL, I'm on 100mg/day, for 8 days- on day 7. The sleeplessness can be helped, if you don't like "sleeping pills" per se,( I can't stand not to dream- just don't feel rested) by something called ativan (Lorazepam)- an anti-anxiety drug. It dosen't knock you out, but relaxes you enough to get the sleep you need. Ask your onco if this or something else might suit your needs.
Li 's post said you could ask for a reduction, this is also true, but be aware that pred is a big part of the protocol. Not only is it an anti-inflamatory but somewhat of on immunosuppressor, spreading it out and reducing the intake because of a few nasty side effects for a couple of days could prolong the cure. I am not an onco, and these are really just observations from a fellow patient. I hope you take my suggestions in the spirit they are sent. I'm in there with you, fightin' the good fight. Keep the Faith !
FYI, check out these sites, you can get a lot of good, medical data on drugs and protocol:
*Medicine Online- good place to get info on protocols. listed by disease. Also has a search engine available although it was temporarily down the last time I visited http://www.meds.com
*Cancer Links- don't let the simple name fool you- great site! lists info, guides, updates, newsgroups, listservers (mailing lists), clinical trials, resources, centers, organizations, and libraries. Long URL though http://indy.kbt.com/wm/leukemia/webmate/leukemia/page/leukemia/cancerlinks# MedicalLibrary (use capital letters where indicated)
Karl Wingate
baltimore
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Ativan relieves some of the nighttime prednisone troubles.
I found that taking prednisone as early in the day as possible, e.g. with breakfast and lunch minimized sleep problems. Be careful of becoming dependent on Ativan. When you stop taking Ativan you may experience severe nightmares or hallucinations.
Barry Wolman