pred questions

I have been on 60mg a day of pred. for about a week now, sunday night I started feeling weird racing heart, feeling like I can't breathe, and today I keep feeling like I have something stuck in my throat. it doesn't hurt but I keep swallowing and drinking an nothing seems to help. Not sure what is going on I have never taken pred before so I don't know what to expect. thoughts please!!!!

Call your doctor. Today.

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a601102.html
Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:
vision problems
eye pain, redness, or tearing
sore throat, fever, chills, cough, or other signs of infection
seizures
depression
loss of contact with reality
confusion
muscle twitching or tightening
shaking of the hands that you cannot control
numbness, burning, or tingling in the face, arms, legs, feet, or hands
upset stomach
vomiting
lightheadedness
irregular heartbeat
sudden weight gain
shortness of breath, especially during the night
dry, hacking cough
swelling or pain in the stomach
swelling of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, throat, arms, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
difficulty breathing or swallowing
rash
hives
itching

thank you I figured this wasn't good!!! I haven't felt right but thought it was suppose to be like this since I have never taken it before

It could just be anxiety and/or acid reflux. It won't hurt to have it checked out.

Hi Chels,

When I go off Pred my saliva (not 100% sure this is the right word) seems to change and swallowing is different. So my guess is there is a change too when I start taking the drug.

Good idea to talk to the doc.

Cheers
Joerg

Chels one of the quotes in my signature says it all:

Instead of wasting your time worrying about symptoms, just get it checked out. -Nieca Goldberg, MD

If there is any question, any doubt we need to go in - and this is not just for ITPers, this is for everyone.

Let us know how you are doing and what the doctor said!

Thanks everyone I have an apt with my hemo tomorrow I did go today and get a blood drawl. So we will have it for tomorrow. I was against taking the pred anyway because of all the side effects and stuff but he proscribed it at my very first visit a week ago and wasn't very informative to I will see him this time and if I feel same again I will be looking for a new hemo.

My gp sent me to him cause my count was 45 then 2weeks later it was 74 and I hadn't taken any treatments but hemo went ahead and proscribed pred before my count was takin in his office. Really confused and wondering what my count is today. any insight would help. Has anyone else been treated with these counts.

hospital just called to remind me of my apt tomorrow and they had my labs back count is 160 so will we taper the pred now????

Hi Chels,

160 is great! Enjoy it!

It is also no surprise that it went up when you are taking predni.

My doc has two exist strategies.
1. If you have taken it no longer than 3 weeks - get off it completely in just one day.
2. Take the full does (in my case usually 100mg) for 3 weeks and reduce it over ~20 weeks.

He usually goes for number 2 since he considers it to have a higher chance of success.
So I guess it depends on what your doctor prefers and what kind of experience he has. Since you also had your treatment started at a relatively high level (74) you are in a different position than I was in when I took high dose of predni. (which was 0 and 13)

There is no agreed standard treatment in ITP. There are many variable and unknown factors.
It think what matters most is if you trust your doctor.

Cheers
Joerg

Chels:

I have no idea if he will taper the dose. He should. You've only been on it for a short while but tapering over a week or two (or longer) would probably be easier on you physically and may help avoid a crash. Going down too quickly could cause your counts to go lower than they were in the first place. That would be my concern - that you'll end up treating for a long time when you need not have started in the first place.

I rarely ever see anyone treated with counts above 50k. It's just not necessary. The treatments can be worse than the disorder and are reserved for lower counts when bleeding can be a concern. I still think you should get another Hemo to manage this for you.

Thanks guys I just know that most cases when u start to taper ur counts will go down to. Just didn't know how fast or how often and if this was a small increase in counts for a week on pred

Chels you really can't say that in most cases tapering drops the count - the only thing that is for sure with ITP is that nothing is for sure.

I'm with Sandi - a slower taper is better. When my dr started to taper my prednisone he took me from 60mg a day to 30mg a day and boy did my count drop, so back up to 60mg and a slow taper.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone here be put on a treatment with a count of 74k - a platelet count should be done before any treatment is started.

thanks everyone, I had a hemo apt today and I get to start my pred taper, I'm pretty excited! but also know there is a good chance that my counts will drop again I just really don't like the pred and my doc knows that.

Glad you will be getting off prednisone.
What is your taper?

thank u me too i went from 60 to 40