What Made you Smile/What Ticked you off Today?

[bmoc]

Good to hear you're okay bmoc. Prednisone is a weird drug. I wonder if the costs outweighs the benefits. Feel free to elaborate on it as when I've had friends take it...oh boy. They were not the same.

I got some good news on this front today. I had my followup visit with my surgeon and in addition to getting the staples taken out of my incisions, I learned that my platelet count is now at 196K which is in the normal range! So now I get to start reducing my prednisone dosage. I'll probably be completely off of it in a month or so.

But you are right Luke. It is a nasty drug. In the past, I've had to take it for a few weeks at a time and never had a problem. But being on it for 7 months...that is hell. My side effects include: increased appetite, weight gain, swelling in the face and joints, joint pain, blurry vision, sleeplessness, acne breakouts, and it makes my teeth sensitive to cold things. All that adds up and makes one pretty irritable. The worst was the joint pain. I would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with intense pain in my knees. Sometimes is was so bad that I could hardly walk. The only thing that helped was sitting up and slowly moving my knees. It usually took about an hour for the pain to subside but one time it took four.

So yeah, I can't wait to get off this stuff and back to my normal self.

[Luke]

So yeah, I can't wait to get off this stuff and back to my normal self.

Seven months?

Jeez dude, I hate to hear that and I also can't wait for you to get back to your normal self. That's a super long time to be on that med. I also understand, a bit, where you are coming from. It's multiple side effects that build up as a whole that can make for one pissed off person. Doesn't help that the drug can make people (and animals) nervous and anxious.

Hang in there, and hopefully you can ween yourself off of it and one day be rid of it. Totally wish you the best man. Question your doctor like he or she was interviewing for their position, and keep 'em well informed about your concerns.

Best of luck bmoc.

[Exhuminator]

Corticosteroids are terrible for long term use. I had a friend who got on Pred for way too long, and that crap made him crazy and gave him full on Cushing's syndrome. All because he couldn't deal with allergies that were a result of him having cats living in his house despite him being allergic to cats. So rather than give up on cats he got on steroidal drugs that pretty much ruined his life. He kept switching doctors because they would start to want to ween him off of Pred, so he'd just find another quack to write him prescriptions willy nilly. I don't even talk to him anymore because his moods are so unpredictable. He did not used to be that way before he got on corticosteroids.

[Forlorn Drifter]

My grandpa had tons of issues when he was on Pred too. They kept trying to wean him off, but everytime they did, his condition got worse.

[prfsnl_gmr]

- Heading to the beach!

- Will probably get eaten by a shark...

[Ack]

- Will probably get eaten by a shark...

Not with that attitude, young man. Come on, be a winner! Fight to get that shark bite you've always wanted!

[prfsnl_gmr]

- Will probably get eaten by a shark...

Not with that attitude, young man. Come on, be a winner! Fight to get that shark bite you've always wanted!

My current plan is to cut myself, enter the water, and then shoot sharks in the face with fireworks. THAT should get me on CNN (or, at the very least, the local ABC affiliate)!

[CFFJR]

- Will probably get eaten by a shark...

Not with that attitude, young man. Come on, be a winner! Fight to get that shark bite you've always wanted!

My current plan is to cut myself, enter the water, and then shoot sharks in the face with fireworks. THAT should get me on CNN (or, at the very least, the local ABC affiliate)!

I like this plan. It is guaranteed to be entertaining.

[Stark]

Big ol' smile: Last week I got a bunch of friends together and we played 10-player Saturn Bomberman. SO FUN!!!!!! Just crazy to think about that possibility back in the day of having 10-player couch gaming. I love my job.

[Key-Glyph]

Woah bmoc, it's awesome to hear that your count is back up there! That's some crazy stuff you're going through, and you seem fantastically level-headed about it. Keep moving forward!