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From: Nadine.Thomas@p1.f7.n300.z1.fidonet.org (Nadine Thomas)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Steroid Treatment
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Date: 15 Mar 91 22:18:07 GMT
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This is a very difficult post for me.

First, if your friend is only having the steroids for 3 days then she has a
good chance of escaping most of the side affects.
On the other hand she could be thrown into a lupus flare of MAJOR proportions.

It is a treatment that has no significant results one way or the other.
I know that I had a 1000 mg. bolus (I.V.) of solmedrol (steroids) Dec. of 1989
and within 2 days I was into one of the worse flares I have ever experienced.
 My two surgeries this past Nov 1990 I was given 100 mg. and 200 mgs. and I
was thrown into an even worse flare then the previous one and I have ended up
having to use a 3 wheeled cart and no prognosis for my future.

Second, Rusty is going on the prednisone for 6 months and then Imuran if I read
his post correctly.
I know that we had corresponded quite a bit about prednisone when Rusty first
came on the echo.
It is nice to say to hell with the side-affects but I want to tell you a couple
of stories.

There was a wonderful man by the name of Tim Watts who used to be on this echo.
 He had lupus and had gone the route of steroids.  He developed diabetes, kidney
failure, eyesight problems etc.  He ended up on I.V.'s continuously (24 hours
a day), and his diabetes had him to a point where they were cutting him up and
removing parts of him a little at a time.  He went from a walking productive
human being to a person in a wheelchair who's legs no longer had the circulation
necessary to keep him going. He was facing losing BOTH his legs last year.
Mercifully he died before they cut him up any more.
All that from taking steroids.

I took steroids for about 7 or 8 years before I started seeing problems - I
had gotten diabetes after only 3 years on it.  I had massive severe infections
that were killing me.  The infections were in my bloodstream too.
I was dying.  The steroids had compromised my immune system so much that it
was not protecting me from rare organisms.  I had put on 100 pounds.  My mood
swings were horrible - I would be on crying jags and feel suicidal and not understand
what was going on.  ANY medication that can suppress my immune system has the
potential to KILL me.

When you say that drugs affect people differently you are correct to a point.
Steroids - once started - are one of the MOST DIFFICULT to get off of - it is
worse then a drug addiction.

My stories are not, unfortunately, isolated incidents but rather the rule then
the exception.

My neighbor has MS and she knows of many, with MS, who tried the high doses
of steroids and they were ALL thrown into severe flares.

Am I trying to scare you? Yes.  I want you and Rusty to know the severity and
the consequences of steroids - especially if used on a long term basis.  Trading
off for another immune suppresant is not always the answer either - immune suppressants
are just that - they stop the body from defending itself from bad bacteria and
organisms.  If I am not mistaken one of the side affects of Imuran is cancer.

Believe me if I thought there was ANY kind of hope by taking steroids Iwould
be taking it RIGHT NOW - I guess I'd rather be in pain then dead right now (although
that is not my thinking a lot of the time).  I don't know what I want at this
point but I do know that if I do the steroids again then I am closing my option
door forever.

Rusty mentioned that he is devouring ice cream and his sugar level is going
wacky.  DANGER!  You had both better take this seriously.  He needs to see a
nutritionist NOW - he needs to know what free foods are so he can keep his sugar
and weight under control NOW.

--
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