More Painful Side effects from IV Steroids Does this sound familiar?

[pokeyleggs]

Hi again everyone,
I am still trying to get over 1 day of iv steroids. Was supposed to be 3 but neuro stopped treatment due to the bad reaction I had after the first infusion.

I ended up with a severe headache, nausea, and vomiting and they gave me phenegren which helped but now my skin and muscles have become extremely tender and sore, almost like every inch is severely bruised. I have never felt like this before.

I am drinking a ton of water to try and flush this mess out but I am not peeing hardly anything.

Barbara

[calcal]

When you take exogenous steroids, your adrenal glands oftentimes completely shut down. That's why a prednisone taper is often given, so that you continue to receive corticosteroids while your adrenal glands begin to function again which they start doing once the oral steroids reach levels lower than the amount your body needs so they begin to produce them again.

Usually they don't shut completely down with a few days of IV steroids which is why steroid tapers aren't normally given.

You might be an exception.

I would check with your doctor because your adrenal glands may not be functioning again and you may need a prednisone taper to get them to kickstart again. It could be a cause of your symptoms (I actually don't know the symptoms when the adrenals shut down, sorry, but you might be able to look it up).

[Lady]

Originally Posted by pokeyleggs

Hi again everyone,
I am still trying to get over 1 day of iv steroids. Was supposed to be 3 but neuro stopped treatment due to the bad reaction I had after the first infusion.

I ended up with a severe headache, nausea, and vomiting and they gave me phenegren which helped but now my skin and muscles have become extremely tender and sore, almost like every inch is severely bruised. I have never felt like this before

Originally Posted by pokeyleggs

I am drinking a ton of water to try and flush this mess out but I am not peeing hardly anything.

Barbara

Barbara, I am sorry to hear of all the horrible problems you are having with the steroids.

Does your Neurologist know that you are drinking lots of water and not eliminating it? I would discuss that right away to him. You may be retaining the fluid, or have a bladder problem. Just a thought.
Lady


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[newlyb12def]

Hi Barbara. I'm sorry you're still feeling so crappy!

I did have that bruised feeling a few times after IVSM, but it went away quickly with rest and advil.

Like lady, I'm very concerned that you're drinking a lot of water but not urinating much. Is your urine dark? Are your feet/ankles swollen?

Can you call an on-call doctor, or go to a walk in clinic? Some insurance companies also have RN lines you can call into for insight. If things get worse, you may want to go to the ER.

Please let us know how you are doing! I hope you get better soon!!!
-Kay

[pokeyleggs]

I am sorry I worried everyone. After talking with the Dr. and the home health nurse checking my blood pressure they felt I was more dehydrated than I had realized. Nothing dangerous just needed to keep drinking as much water as possible which many of you recommended but I was just too nauseated to drink a lot at one time.

I am feeling much better now that things are getting flushed out. Still very tired and woozy off and on but much better than the last two days.

Thank-you again everyone for your input. I truly appreciate your time. This disease is the pits and mine is mild compared to many of you so I can't even imagine what many of you have been through trying to get better or get some symptom relief.

I couldn't even get through a 3 day IV steroid course. I did find out however that they used a small bag and the infusion time was 1 hour and the last time I did this it was a larger bag and the infusion time was somewhere between 2 and 3 hours which was much easier on my body. The nurse said I need the longer infusion time and then it would not be so bad.

Anyways, it going to take a lot more for me to do another one of these. For those who are new to the IV Steroids ask the nurse or Dr for a long infusion time to help minimize the side effects.

Take care everyone and have a wonderful 4th!
Barbara

[lady_express_44]

Sounds like a rough time for you pokeyleggs ... and nice to see you back here, btw.

Dehydration seems to happen so quickly for us! I was out in the heat a while back, and even though I drank lots of pop at the ball tournament, I got this splitting headache and nausea! I was thinking, I hope this isn't what happens to me in the sun starting this year ... but the next time was no problem with lots of water.

My daughter had major dehydration within about 12 hrs one time. She spent several days in the hospital after that ... so never underestimate the power of water!!

Hope you get to feeling better soon, and sorry the steroids aren't going to work out for you. I've never used them anyway, but I know it is nice if the relapse is over quicker, especially if you have to work.

Cherie

[newlyb12def]

I'm glad that you got in touch with the HHRN and your doctor! That makes me worry less. I guess that all these drug we take can do wonders, but they are powerful drugs.

Here's to a speedy recovery Barbara!