Hi everyone. Has anybody suffered with ... - Vasculitis UK
Hi everyone. Has anybody suffered with depression due to long term Prednisolone use? JacquiM
Not that I'm aware but I suffer because of the damned disease and its 'cost'. I know pred can cause depression and anxiety but I'm no different now I'm off it. It shouldn't be a surprise or disassociated from the vasculitis in my opinion. There's no such thing as a discrete illness. We're a body made of interconnected bits and our mind is an integral part of that body and every reason for people not to apply stigma to 'mental health'.
Kindest and healthy wishes.
i have. i was referred to a psychologist as i didnt wish to go on pills. i have been on pred 5 yrs and some days i am so down i can barely get up....but i carry on because i need to keep my job and my home. im not sure if its the pred or the illness though.
when i got sick i lost my job, my accomodation, my partner, my mates, my partners family along with my health....its all survivable, believe me 
xx
You're not alone. I too lost my job & my so called "friends", except one, and you're right...it's survivable. My husband is my rock but I know of vasculitis patients whose partners bailed out when their wife/husband became ill.
I did get bouts of depression whilst on the Pred' but I've been off it completely for 7 months and I still have bad days, however they are more infrequent now.
My family and friends have been a great support since I moved back to the north west....its been a tough ride but its also showed me how strong i am compared to other people who have gone on antidepressants because of something less serious. Someone I know had to take time off work as she had a borderline breakdown after a fight with her boyfriend...if only she knew what it was really like hey
Believe it or not John suffered with depression in the early years of being diagnosed.. I think it was a combination of Vasculitis and Medication.... He was also very angry he was diagnosed with this horrible disease too, which did not help or help in our relationship. He came very close to driving me away... His anger and mood swings were frequent and he seemed to take it out on me.... it took a while for me to realise he was not angry with me but with the disease....Even now when the WG reminds John it is still there he still gets quite angry and can get quite low sometimes... but he tries to channel all his spare energy into raising awareness about Vasculitis with all the medical profession and supporting people who have Vasculitis or are newly diagnosed....as Martin says the body and mind are interlinked in a physical sense... I am afraid unless you have Vasculitis or live with someone with Vasculitis on a day to day basis you have no idea what it is like or even understand.....even the doctors and consultants don't really know what it is like to live with Vasculitis on a daily basis... the good consultants always listen to how the patient is feeling.....xx take care Jackie...you can always give us a call... we are home on Sunday..
That is so spot on and really could have been my partner writing that. These bloody diseases really do make me angry and resentful at times. I find that I really don't tolerate people very well, those who moan and whinge yet habe great health. I am good with others who suffer disease and loss but I now find it difficult to relate to "normal" folk.
I understand it's all relative but my tolerance for BS is low. My circle of friends is now very small and I take care in who I allow in to my life. I find that people tend to divide into 2 distinct groups. Drains and radiators. The drains can take all of your energy ( if and when you have any) and can be what I call psychic vampires yet others can radiate such positivity and good. I try my best to radiate but I feel I fail and because I have had so much go wrong in a short space. 2 brothers and my parents died in a 3 year period and I had Crohn's and vasculitis to deal with. I had times when I truly wanted to sleep and never awake BUT I am still here and still fighting. I just take care with who I allow in and I now don't give myself such an hard time for being what I felt was weak.
I was brought up from a military family and was a Royal Marines commando until I was medically discharged. I also lost the then Mrs, job, house and begged my parents to have me back home, until I was able to cope again. I ended up being their carer and looking after them up to their deaths.
For me, looking after them really took my attention off of my own crap. I am now loooong into voluntary work, I just cannot get work due to my ongoing health problems.
I think depression is really quite normal when we deal with such nasty disease. The best advice I can give you, based upon my own experiences, is to be kind to yourself. Easier said than done but really try not to give yourself an hard time when you feel fatigued. I habe days where I can do nothing but stay in bed and read or use my iPad. I just don't tell myself I am a bad person for being "lazy"
Good luck
I have had periods of 'very low mood' / depression since the diagnosis 2 years ago; having come back from cancer 3 years before that and had returned to running and being very active, returning to a job and seemingly getting life back on the rails. It seemed a blow too far and a struggle ever since with a disease that is unpredictable and the treatments with their own side effects. family try to understand but as has been said it's hard for them to undersatand how a contition can make you feel so ill and yet at times look 'well'.
I'm told that the disease can cause depression but then again having a chronic disease can cause depression through the effects it has on our lives. I am still finding it hard to accept that life has changed so much and after a recent flare am on a low dose steroid which has helped the disease settle and I now feel less depressed - cause or effect who knows!
I didn't want to take antidepressants and the consultant I'm seeing wanted to hold off and see if getting the symptoms under control would settle the depression. So for me a return to a now low dose of prednisolone in addition to the other medication does seem to have helped.
So does pred. cause depression? possible but it's such a complex disease and a range of reactions to it that there may be no way of knowing. Whatever the answer being depressed over a long period is not good for anyone whatever its' cause and it's best to try and get it sorted out in whatever way suits and is acceptable to you.
Best wishes.
It's a difficult one. Many of my medical team insisted I should be depressed and this made me determined not to give in to this emotion. I was very lucky to have the full support of a wonderful family and many friends and this helped. I've always treated depression aas a negative emotion and never worth concidering. It contributes absolutely nothing to your well being and, with patience, can be overcome. I wish you all the best.
I went into borderline depression by being taken off a high dosage of prednisolene very quickly. I was put in touch with a psychologist which really helped.
All the best.
I think it's touching that members here have felt comfortable enough to be open about their own experiences. Thank you.
The more I become immersed with others in a similar predicament to myself, the more I'm becoming aware that the secondary effects of vasculitis (and indeed many other diseases) are often far more damaging and difficult to cope with than the primary disease itself.
Any treatment should never be about the label but unfortunately there's still a huge strand within the medical fraternity who focus on the illness and not the person.
Thank you all so very much for your honest answers.
I have been off work four months due to depression, I am told. I really didn't want to take anti-depressants but eventually agreed to take them for my own mental health as I was having very dark thoughts - not wanting to be here anymore etc. It doesn't help that I live alone, have no family support since I lost my parents and not being at work.
I think the cause of this depression was that I was told, at a renal appointment that, I would be free from medication in 18 months, which would have been by August this year! That didn't happen of course so that was like the light at the end of the tunnel being snuffed out for me :--( I now know that was incorrect information in the first place. Add to that the fact that I have this unpredicable disease which caused my kidneys to fail then I am not surprised I feel the way I do!
I have been having counselling regularly, provided by the hospital, which has helped me a great deal. Also, I did a CBT day course which proved very successful for me and maybe the anti-depressants are beginning to kick in as I haven't thought that I feel I wish I wasn't here since Saturday which is a result
I wasn't aware that Pred can cause depression until I found that information on a NHS website so now I know that could be one of the causes of my depression I am much more able to deal with it. I'm the sort of person who has to know the reason why something happens as that is the only way I can deal with things, if that makes sense?
As I am beginning to feel a tad brighter and to stave off anymore low feelings I am going back to work once my certificate expires 7 Dec, if my GP considers me well enough of course.
Again, that you all for you replies. It's good to know that I am not alone
Bless you all and take care each.
Hi, I too had the dark days & the even darker nights. I was persuaded to take anti-depressants they made me feel worse, so after a couple of weeks I stopped them.
I now watch a comedy or listen to the radio or tape anything to give me a smile as I go to bed, & in case I can`t get to sleep I have my ipod again with humour or music to lull me to sleep.
Please don`t think I`m being trite, I`ve been doing this for over 4 years & I`m sure it has helped.
If nothing else it`s worth a try
All the luck in the world
Tony
Most definitely and this was something that my Crohn's specialist was aware of. I was diagnosed with IBD May 07 and started on 40mg prednisolone plus azathioprine. My disease was seemingly cured ( the joys of ignorance when first treated) and my mood was high. I mean I felt high and got a lot done. As I titrated the dose down, my mood darkened and I was suicidal. I have been on prednisolone mostly all of the time since but my specialist tried to avoid high doses of oral steroid and instead I have pulses intravenously or my deep muscular injection, called depomedeone. My mood is not so bad when taken other than orally. I recently, am ashamed to write this, fully exploded upon my partner and frightened her very badly. I have always been quite vocal but I just lost it and got right into her face and said some awful things. I saw my GP and we tried to address this.
I am now in the process of getting diagnosed with GPA and am on a low dose of prednisolone plus azathioprine but the azathioprine at 200 mg. I have osteopenia at 4 sites and my hips are very bad. I have pulses of methylphenidate but am still on 10 of prednisolone. I seem to be ok when on a lower dose. It's quite tragic that the thing that helps us also damages us. I am on amitriptyline for sleep and the depression. I would not want to take another chance at the anger & so we keep the dose low. I could write an essay on it but, to cut a long story short, the steroids really do very badly affect my mood and I can get suicidal.
Wishing you the very best of luck. May god be with you
