Full of cold & have been given Pred today not had it b4. Its 5mg x 5 days. She just said it was just a steroid like my brown inhaler but someone at work told me their husband had had it before & it was horrid as he had night terrors & went all hyperactive then could not sleep at all. What will it do as am worried now - I thought it was just concentrated becotide but it sounds a bit more extreme? Had terrible cramp in my foot this pm hardly ever get cramp - is that because of the pred (only had 1 tablet so far)? Also on Becotide & Serevent which have also been increased today (Becotide now 6 puffs a day & Serevent now 4 puffs a day). Thanks for your help.
That is a very low dose for an acute episode normally 40 mg for 5 days I would query if its enough. Why do you think we are all raving mad - its side effect of pred! Seriously in some people it can make them very depressed or psychotic read the side effects list on the information in the box. I do think it is rareish though I have only had one friend with very bad effect like that. He became seriously depressed but was fine within a few days of stopping.
Cramp more likely from increased ventolin than pred.
Hope this helps
Den
Thanks red den - I guess the ventolin cramp makes sense - was pretty much having it every hour.
Its 50mg not 5 sorry - type-o. Is that a low dose?
Im plodding heart doing crazy things but am too busy to notice much! 50 sounds better no thats an ok dose for a short course. Beware of mad tendancy to agree to reckless things while on the pred it definitely alters judgment ability!!!!!
Try taking it in the morning with food. You are more likely to be hyped up all day but get some sleep at night.
Thanks for the tips - will try not to agree to anything & will take in the morning.
Hope you feel better red den & you are ok Angela.
Munchies
I cant stop eating!! Not hungry but am starving if that makes any sense? I've eaten twice what I normally do for the past couple of days & had to try so hard to stop myself eating more! Will this stop when I stop the pred? Might pop soon!
You could eat the person that got in your way to fridge on pred!! Yes it will stop. Its an incredible hunger that is hard to control try lots of slow release carbs and not to many sweet things!! I try to munch on fruit as much as possible. I am ok thanks for asking trying to just get on with life cause have lots of things organised in next week or so.
Take care Den
Hey Den i try the fruit lark but it oesnt satisfy like chocolate and crisps does it
andrea xxx
Doesn't chocolate count as a vegetable then? After all, it largely comes from the cocoa bean and beans are veg ...... You think this could be where I'm going wrong with the weight loss plan? ;oP
Hi all
I tried the carbs Den but more chips than you could shake a stick at! Pasta/ brown bread just was not appealing & fruit - well does it count if dipped in melted chocolate?! Demolished 3 packets of doritos, 2 bags of wotsits & a bag of chipsticks & 2 bars of galaxy (1 melted with strawberries dunked in) - was then sick in the night - no surprise really as ate enough to satisfy a village for a day! Poor hubby was sent to buy particular food from Sainsburys at 9 last night - I had major cravings that needed to be satisfied - got what will I be like one day when I am preggers?!
Chocolate is defo a vegatable! You should have at least 5 portions a day! Even more if you are having chocolate covered strawberries as its a double whammy!! :o) Yummy!
Hm interestin is choc a veg cause it comes from beans will have to ask out resident wig head Deek he is always in the know bout these things. Sounds like I am so virtuous NOT. Yesterday had party and consumed rather too many cheese rolls like sausage ones so small and could be eaten in one go! Yummy stuff but full of fat, sugar (oops did not do blood sugar yesterday at all what a shame) and salt all no no.
As for chocolate my allergy to choc products means steering clear of it still feels that life has ended for me!!!!!!
Den
Hope you had a nice party - its Christmas you deserve a treat. So you have as many cheese rolls as you like. Bite size things are hard once you get going to stop with aren't they? Those mini flapjack bites in the tubs from M&S are divine! I have to be careful as I could easily munch my way through a whole tub even when not on pred! Hope that you wont make yourself ill though?! Take it easy today. Sorry ypu have a choc allergy - that sucks. I have developed an allergy to spices which blows as chilli/curry/fajitas etc were my fave dinners & I cant have them now so have to stick to bland stuff! So know how you feel in a way...
Hope you have a very merry Christmas & you stay well.
My local health food store has 500g bags of carob drops! very nice & very similar to chocolate! Milk free too.... just had to hide them at back of cupboard as bought them for cooking ... ha ha!
Kate
xXx
You say you're allergic to spices, but have you tried the whole seed/chilli etc, rather than the ground spice. I'm allergic to ground spices because of the colourings they put in them, but I'm okay with the the real mccoy, which I can then grind myself. Maybe be worth investigating coz then you could have some nice chilli again - yum.
Hi Msc we appear to have wandered from the pred bit have you stopped now? How are you doing without hope its ok main aim in life is to stay out for christmas.
Kate can eat the 70% choc stuff but of course that does in blood sugars so its a bit of a catch 22. It is something in comercial choc products probably because milk not heated high enough to kill protiens I suspect. Actually it keeps me off the stuff which given my current state of porkieness is probably a good thing.
Hope you stay well too
Den
Hi Den, Had my last Pred on Saturday am. Felt heaps better (like a new person) so went out into town on Saturday night to celebrate with friends (pre-Xmas gathering). Maybe not a good idea though as I only had 2 WKD drinks & felt like I'd had way too much (maybe alcohol & pred is not a good idea?) & the smoke did not do me any favours (roll on July). Anyway, went home early at 11pm (lasted 2 hours) with a very sore head & aching lungs! Peak flow had dropped down again to 280 (it was 400 before I went out)! Not improved much since?! Have I gone & ruined the benefits of the Pred by going out into town? Should I go back to the drs do you think - I was 250 when they put me on pred? Feel stupid now as pred wasn't nice to be on so feel like I have undone the good work it does but get so fed up of missing out on things because of badly behaved lungs! All my friends go out every weekend.... I rarely get to go because of the effects of the smoke on me or if I do it takes days & lots of Ventolin to get over!
Becky - thanks for the tip - will defo give it a go..... would love to have some chilli again.... you're right yummy!
Hope you are both doing ok.
Take care!
Hi den & mrsscoles,
Yeah mrsscoles is correct cocoa beans are definitely vegetable. Now here comes the science bit (as he pulls on his Willie Wonker wig and highjacks this thread).
Chocolate high in cocoa (70% plus) is said to be good for you. Chocolate containing high levels of cocoa is only found in dark chocolate. Milk chocolate that contains high levels of artificial flavouring, colouring and low levels of cocoa are said to be bad for you.
When someone says he/she is allergic to chocolate this is probably not strictly true. Allergic reactions to cocoa is in fact very rare. What people react to is normally the ingredients/additives where the symptoms takes the form of chemical sensitivity/intolerance rather than straight forward IgE allergic reactions.
There is a close association between the following health conditions which often overlap. A person described as a multiple symptom allergic could suffer from some/all conditions;
If a positive health benefit (e.g., eating chocolate high in cocoa) is reported relative to one condition it is possible that a similar improvement could be found in one/all of the associated conditions outlined above. Since everything we do should be done in moderation, I would recommend that specialist advice be sought before exceeding the RDA of any substance.
In support of the positive health benefits of eating chocolate rich in cocoa, I would offer the following abstract from a recently published paper on this subject:
High cocoa polyphenol rich chocolate improves the symptoms of chronic fatigue (T Sathyapalan, P Campion, S Beckett, AS Rigby & SL Atkin)
Endocrine Abstracts (2006) 12 P68
Background
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating condition with high morbidity and associated reduced quality of life. There are data suggesting neuro-endocrine axis involvement in CFS including disturbance in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, growth hormone axis, opioidergic system and interactions with 5-Hydroxy Tryptamine (5-HT) system. Studies with selective 5-HT-releasing agents, using prolactin or cortisol responses to stimulation, found evidence of enhanced serotonergic responses in patients with CFS. Cocoa is known to increase neurotransmitters like phenyl ethylamine, serotonin, and anandamide in the brain.
Objective
To study the effect of high cocoa polyphenol rich chocolate in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Design
Double blinded, randomised, placebo controlled fashion using high cocoa polyphenol rich chocolate in comparison to simulated iso-calorific chocolate dyed brown as placebo.
Results
Ten patients were enrolled in the study of which 5 patients completed both arms. The Chandler Fatigue Scale score improved significantly after 8 weeks of the high cocoa polyphenol rich chocolate phase (32.6 vs. 22.0 p value 0.012) and, interestingly, fell significantly when patients were given simulated iso-calorific chocolate (25.3 vs. 28.6 p value 0.026). The residual function, as assessed by the London Handicap scale, also improved significantly after the active phase (0.485 vs. 0.628 p value 0.018). The mean weight before and after the placebo arm were also unchanged (73.43 kg vs. 73.85 kg, respectively p value 0.345). Anecdotally, two patients were able to return back to work after having had their symptoms for a 2 year period and continued on high cocoa polyphenol rich chocolate.
Conclusion
High cocoa polyphenols rich chocolate 15g three times daily improved fatigue and function in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome over a period of 8 weeks compared to simulated iso-calorific chocolate. Whether hormonal modulation by this high cocoa polyphenols rich chocolate also occurred needs clarification.
I can usually control attacks with Ventolin, but I have the occasional severe attack, and get given prednisolone.
The first time I a given fairly high dose as a 'kill or cure' and it sent me into cloud cuckoo land. I was in college at the time, and my personal tutor had me marked down as either a dope fiend or having a severe nervous breakdown. I had absolutely no control over myself, and that was really scary. e.g I just happened to wander past a music shop one day, and bought an expensive mandolin as an impulse buy - never figured out why!
I refused to take it thereafter unless my life was on the line. The next time I was given it was about 10 years later. My GP persuaded me that it was the best option, and for a fortnight I just got in a rage about anything and everything. I made Yosemite Sam look like Gandhi. Uncontrollable rage. Again very scary. I discussed it with my GP (in fact, I told him he could stick 'em in his ear) and he worked out an exit strategy for me, and a coping strategy for bad attacks (Good GP). As I work in a customer-facing job, the inexplicable rages were going to mean the sack at some point.
I had a further severe attack over Christmas/New Year, and am back on the pred again. So far... no ill effects. After discussing it with my new GP she put me on the lowest dose she thought would be effective, but as the Chemist could only make it up with 2.5mg tablets, I'm on twelve tablets every morning. Good job I'm not angry really!
I've talked to other people about this, and to cut a long story short, it seems to take different people differently. Certainly, all of the three times I've been on it it has reacted differently.
Mood swings are indicated as a possible side effect. I'm not sure that quite hits the mark! I'm told that the number of people who experirence this stuff is relatively small, but I have no figures on that.
Perhaps I should change my handle to 'The PRED - itor', or 'The Predinator'. Hasta la vista, baby!
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