Anxiety with Prednisone

[MCC]

Hi guys,
hope you are all ok.

I just wondered if anyone of you have anxiety issues from taking prednisone? I've always been a bit of a worrier but in the last few months I've been getting really anxious and I wake up in the night with my heart pounding really stressed about the silliest things and I've only just clocked on that it could be the prednisone (googled it and it lists it as a side effect).

I am now on only 5mg, but i have been on pred for 16 months now. Is it the kind of thing that can build up? Is there anything I can do to stop it? I'm due to come off pred in 3 months anyway but was hoping something could help in the meantime.

thanks! x

[pberggren1]

Tell me about it Mandy. I have been on 60 mg for almost 4 weeks now and find I get very anxious and have weird dreams about doing stuff I can't handle and then get more worried. Have you ever tried St. John's Wart? I think it helps for depression.

[LilyPony]

I feel more angry about stupid things than I do anxious but definitely feel both. What has helped me the most is to slow down a second and think hard about if I am really feeling this way, or if it is the pred making me feel this way. Just that momentary pause lets me realize that that lashing out or worrying isn't going to solve anything. I too wake up thinking I'm stressed out or angry. In my case, I think that I feel the physical sensations associated with being anxious/angry (heart pounding etc) and my brain then has to invent something to justify the way its feeling. When I can separate the physical feeling and the emotion, I can chalk it up to being a physical medication side effect and not something in my head giving me a physical symptom. It's easier for me to "blow off" the feelings when I can rationalize a chemical process in my body instead of trying to work through insurmountable stress when I'm supposed to be sleeping.

I'm not trying to diminish any feelings you have because they're real. I'm just saying this has helped me personally.

[pberggren1]

Yes it does take a consious effort to slow things down a bit and rethink the situation.

[elephant]

Hey Mandy, How is your blood pressure? Are you on blood pressure medicine?

[Sangye]

Hi Mandy, nice to see you again. Pred definitely has that effect on me. It's famous for causing anxiety, depression and mood changes. If it's bad you might need an anti-anxiety med to get you through the next few months.

[Brooke]

I had the same thing, not fun! I was on an anti-anxiety med as well. If you can try to distract yourself - tv or book or talking to someone..... maybe that will help? I actually have called my mom in the middle of the night on several occasions and she came to my house and would calm me down.

[NicShaf]

Hi Mandy,
I am also a worrier by nature. When I was on a higher dose of Preds, 50-60mg, I noticed that I was more anxious than usual. But since I've been lowering my daily dose, I don't feel it as much.
I don't know if there is anything you can do to help it, but I agree with Brooke, finding something to distract yourself helps. When I started to feel overwhelmed and anxious, I would sit in my recliner and pick up my knitting until I felt better.

[coffeelover]

Yep...worry, anxiety etc all come with the pred use, I think. For over a year I took some meds to help me sleep (non addictive) and that seemed to help. I also will drink a cup of chamomille tea at night prior to going to bed and found that that will relax me enough to sleep, MOST NIGHTS.
I also had to go on not only a diuretic, but a beta blocker for my blood pressure. That seemed to help as well. I have been on 10 mg of pred for over two years now. Wish I could lower thedosage, but every time I try WEGS comes back worse than before.. I'll take the anxiety
Coffeelover

[vdub]

Could be steroid psychosis. I went thru a bit of that and ended up with a day in the psych ward.

Anxiety, hallucinations (pretty decent ones, tho), wimpery, depressed, everything bad. As soon as the heavy dose of steroids wore off, I was fine..... I now watch very closely how much I take. It might not all have been caused by the steroids, tho. I was under a tremendous amount of stress. My pit had just been ripped out and the doctors were juggling the quantities of a half dozen different drugs. It was a nasty bad two week part of my life and one heck of a way to start off on my wegs career.....