Do steroid bursts work and do they have the dreaded side effects?

[sharroN42]

I react very badly to dexamethasone (apparently 4x stronger than prednisone) and wonder if 2 to 3 week 'bursts' of dex has worked for others who have extreme reactions to it and if the bursts give them/you the same side effects as longer doses.

I have an appointment with my haematologist in 2 weeks and am pretty sure this is what he will recommend. In the meantime I am taking papaya leaf juice.

Thanks,

Frankie

[PatrikP]

I got 2x dex bursts when I was sick this winter (a very light pneumonia/bronchitis - walked most of it off) and my count fell to 10 (only identifiable by smear, machine count was ZERO). Each burst was 4x 20mg pills daily. I hate it. Insomnia, high blood pressure, elevated heart rate, not being able to think... But it was extremely effective for me. From "zero" to 200 in several days; and 200 is for me a record since i was diagnosed 5 years ago....

[sharroN42 in reply to PatrikP]

Thanks Patrik

[NickyD]

I had several tries with high doses of dex, made me go loopy. 2 - 3 hours sleep a night for a few weeks on end. Didn't work for me. But no lasting side effects. Hated it. Nicky

[sharroN42 in reply to NickyD]

Thanks Nicky

[conquerator2]

I also had decamethazone boosts here and there, sometimes in combination with Nplate. Usually boosted my counts into the hundreds, up to 400. Also hated it, they usually did anywhere between 20 to 60mg over three days. The last one I had was particularly bad, felt hyped followed by utterly drained, then everything subsidized.

Currently my platelets are good but have other issues so

But yea, corticosteroid bursts were very effective when needed, most of the time

[sharroN42]

Thanks Luke