PredniSONE Side Effects of Prednisone, Weaning Off Prednisone, Losing Touch, Thanks in Advance, Neuropathy

Posted over a year ago

I have been weaning off Prednisone for sometime, from 50mg down to 5mg in two week steps, 5mg at a time. I've had quite a few of the physical side effects of Prednisone, though none so severe that I would have considered not taking the drug, as it is helping the neuropathy that it was described for. When I hit the 5mg dose, I really seemed to be having trouble with my mental state. I seemed to switch back and forth from knowing what was going on to wondering if I was starting to go insane or losing touch with reality. Hard one to explain. It seems to occur later in the day when I am fairly tired. Back on 10 mg for the last three days and seem to be tired but not so mentally confused. Don't know if this is all from the Prednisone, though. Has anyone out there had any seemingly similar mental things happen on this drug. Thanks in advance for answering if you have had these experiences, they are scary and am hoping that it is the drug and not something else.

7 Replies

Notagain - Roberto, you need to have your cortisone levels checked. I had a similar experience and found out that for some reason (no one has figured out why) my cortisol levels dropped even lower than they already were even though I was still taking the same amount of prednisone. Most of the time you will not find out about all the side effects, even after asking my dr about the side effects, often I had to go back to him and tell him others had that same side effect. I would say that most doctors who prescribe prednisone and its relatives do not understand all of the implications, but I also think most of the time they expect a short term use of steroids not the amount of time that some of us spend taking them. After 9 years on prednisone/methylprednisolone I have osteoporosis, cataracts in my eyes, 40 extra pounds, moon face, bruises covering my body and it took me 4 months to heal from an accident that required 12 stitches. That does not take into account mood swings, weird dreams, sleeplessness, leg cramps and a multitude of other side effects. I see a new endocrinologist in a few weeks, the last one seemed to know nothing about adrenal issues and just kept monitoring me for diabetes, which is still not an issue for me. I would say keep doing research and seeking out boards like this one to check your side effects and tell your doctor and make him/her listen to you.