Health issues from taking steroids 14 days?

[Tumbleweed]

Hi, everyone:

I'm posting this question on behalf of a dear friend who just informed me they suddenly lost most of their hearing three weeks ago. Of course, I told them they should get an MRI. A doctor at Stanford suggested my friend take a 14-day course of steroids, but my friend is concerned about "losing his hip joints" from taking the drug that long. He knows 2 friends who took steroids in their twenties and 20 years later it destroyed their hips.

Has anyone on this board suffered long-lasting health problems from taking only one course of steroids (tapered doses) for 14 days? If so, please describe what problems you have had from doing this -- especially those relating to joint problems but please include any problems not related to joints also.

Thanks a bunch!

Best wishes,
Tumbleweed

[wendysig]

Tumbleweed,

I took two tapering courses of prednisone this year, each for 14 days -- one in March and one in June with no ill effects.  Hop this helps.

Wendy

[Cheryl R]

I find it hard to believe that the steroids would give problems 20 years later.Possibly if the drugs were taken for many many years.   I am guessing that large doses were given way back then and now it is a better version. There is more than one steroid type med.     We gave solumedrol all the time to people with lung problems      I do know of one ANer who is not here that did have hip problems and think even that it was not just from the steroid use.         One would have the problems fairly soon after taking the drug.            The 20 yr later problem might not even been the steroid related but the person involved wanted to think that was the cause.      Would have to know their age and what work and sports they may have done also.       They may be right but the short term meds now should be no problem.       I have had 4 AN surgeries now with decadron given IV 3 times while in the hospital and this last time was on a oral tapered doses.           No hip problems so far but it sure helped my arthritis feel better for a while.           I can not think of seeing any hip fracture pts when I worked that was the cause.     They would also have all kinds of symptoms that were the steroid related.        Moon face,poor skin and veins, and other long term problems.                                              Cheryl R   

[sgerrard]

Here is the best quote I found after a brief Google session on this subject:

"Side Effects From Long-Term Use of Steroids

Side effects that may be caused by the long-term use of steroids include cataracts, muscle weakness, avascular necrosis of bone and osteoporosis. These usually do not occur with less than four weeks of treatment.

Avascular necrosis of bone, usually associated with high doses of prednisone over long periods of time, produces hip pain and an abnormal MRI scan. It occurs most often in the hip, but it can also affect the shoulders, knees and other joints. Caught early, the joint can be saved by "decompression" by an orthopedic surgeon. Once full developed, Avascular necrosis is  painful and often requires surgical joint replacement for pain relief."

Whether or not the 2 friends who took steroids in their twenties decided for themselves that it caused their hip problems, or whether a doctor did, is not clear. It is possible, if they took enough for long enough. It should also be noted that anabolic steroids and corticosteroids have some differences in their long term effects.

I found nothing to suggest that a 1 or 2 week tapered dose treatment, as typically used to treat acute symptoms, has this kind of long term effect.

Steve

[Tumbleweed]

Great posts, everybody. Thanks so much.

Anyone else care to add their personal experiences with taking a two-week course of steroids?

Thanks,
Tumbleweed

[mk]

For some reason both times my ENT prescribed a much longer course of prednisone. Let me see .... 1 week at 40 mgs, 2 weeks at 20 mgs, 10 days at 10, 10 days at 5, 10 days at 2.5 ... you get the idea. Total almost 2 months. This seems way longer than what everyone else has mentioned. I wonder why ....

I haven't really had any problems, other than some sleep disturbance and upset stomach when I was taking the high dose.

I think every person reacts differently. I remember my GP who is a very experienced doctor said that he was once invited as an expert witness on a trial about a lawsuit involving a person having severe hip problems after taking prednisone. So it can definately happen, but he was saying this is not common.

Marianna

[Tisha]

i've had two rounds of steroids in the past 6 weeks.  The first was prenisone.  No problems and it relieved the head fullness.  I had never taken steroids before and it took me 5 days to realize that my incredible energy was from them.  I would come home at night and do all sorts of chores I usually don't do or put off for months.  You should have seen my HOUSE! 

The 2nd round was because my hearing was becoming very distorted and I was experiencing hyperacusis.  The Doc put me on 2 weeks tapered decadone (low dose).  My hearing came back to normal, very clear (except for the fullness) after just 2 doses. He said it was the swelling around the tumor.  No ill effects except for sleepllessness.  Now that I"m off of it, my hearing is bad again, very tinny.  But he says I can't take any more steroids, so I'm staking 1800 mgs of ibuprofen thruout the day.  It doesn't work that well, but it's keeping the hyperacusis at bay.