But every now and then, steroid-based drugs like prednisone might cause side effects like brain fog, anxiety, and sleeplessness, says Dr. Blazer.
Clinical Manifestation Early indicators of steroid-induced psychosis include confusion, perplexity, and agitation that typically occur within the first five days after initiation of treatment (6-7). Patients may go on to develop hallucinations, delusions, and cognitive impairment (2).
These findings suggest that administration of high doses of exogenous prednisone may facilitate the experience of negative emotion and shifts in frontal EEG activity, and impair some aspects of cognitive functioning in humans. The multiple roles of glucocorticoids in memory, attention and emotion are discussed.
Many people experience severe psychological reactions to high doses of such drugs. Steroid psychosis can cause anxiety, agitation, euphoria, insomnia, mood swings, personality changes and even serious depression. Some may experience memory problems or hallucinations.
The results of Study 2, a prospective, longitudinal study of the effects of prednisone on memory across 3 months of therapy, suggest that even acute treatment can adversely affect memory.
A buildup of fluid, causing swelling in your lower legs. High blood pressure. Problems with mood swings, memory, behavior, and other psychological effects, such as confusion or delirium. Upset stomach.
You could expect a dose of prednisone to stay in your system for 16.5 to 22 hours. The elimination half life of prednisone is around 3 to 4 hours. This is the time it takes for your body to reduce the plasma levels by half. It usually takes around 5.5 half lives for a drug to be completely eliminated from your system.
This medicine may cause changes in mood or behavior for some patients. Tell your doctor right away if you have depression, mood swings, a false or unusual sense of well-being, trouble with sleeping, or personality changes while taking this medicine.
Nausea, heartburn, headache, dizziness, menstrual period changes, trouble sleeping, increased sweating, or acne may occur. If any of these effects last or get worse, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly.
A gradual reduction in prednisone dosage gives your adrenal glands time to resume their usual function. The amount of time it takes to taper off prednisone depends on the disease being treated, the dose and duration of use, and other medical considerations. A full recovery can take a week to several months.
Short-term treatment (7–14 days) with oral prednisone is used for many acute inflammatory and allergic conditions.
Common side effects of daily low dose prednisone include elevated blood pressure, swelling, changes in blood sugar, increased appetite, weight gain, insomnia, osteoporosis (thinning of bones), irregular menstrual periods, and mood changes.
Official answer. Prednisone does not usually cause sleepiness but may make you feel dizzy, irritable with mood swings, or cause you to have trouble sleeping (insomnia). If your dose is stopped too quickly or if you take prednisone for a long period of time you may feel severely fatigued.
This depends on your health problem or condition. You may only need a short course of prednisolone for up to 1 week. You may need to take it for longer, even for many years or the rest of your life.
Typically, the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis recovers after cessation of glucocorticoids, but the timing of recovery can be variable and can take anywhere from 6–12 months.
When a person stops taking prednisone or other steroids abruptly, they may notice symptoms similar to adrenal insufficiency. These include lethargy, low appetite, weight loss, and a general feeling of being unwell. Prednisone is a corticosteroid that doctors prescribe to treat swelling and inflammation.
Prednisone has a tendency to raise the level of glucose, or sugar, in the blood, which can cause increased body fat or diabetes in some people. It is important to avoid "simple" carbohydrates and concentrated sweets, such as cakes, pies, cookies, jams, honey, chips, breads, candy and other highly processed foods.
These symptoms generally last one to two weeks as you are tapering. Make sure to avoid other medications unless your doctor says it's okay. The psychological symptoms can stick around longer than the physical ones. Frequently, the psychological withdrawals can last two to eight weeks.
The starting dose of prednisone may be between 5 mg to 60 mg per day. A dose above 40 mg per day may be considered a high dose.
How long will symptoms last? Ideally, if you can taper or stop taking steroids, your symptoms will improve. According to a 2017 review , a person's eye pressure usually decreases within one to four weeks after they stop using steroids.
Official answer. There is no set limit on how long you can safely take prednisone.
Other alternatives to prednisone
Common over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis include ibuprofen, naproxen, and diclofenac gel.
Many people only need a short course of prednisone (1 to 2 weeks) to treat their condition. And this is good because most side effects of prednisone are “dose dependent.” This means the risk of side effects increases with higher doses and longer courses of steroids.