an FYI on Prednisone

[Chemar]

I saw this elsewhere and thought it might be of general interest as I know prednisone is used for the steroid burst

 

it is just basic information for those interested, compiled by an MD and has more of a long term use focus, but still outlines the overall effect of prednisone in an easy to understand way

 

http://www.gihealth.com/html/education/drugs/prednisone.html

[Pace2009]

Thank you -- Lots of good info. My 9 yo daughter just started her 5 days of prednisone on Tuesday. The tics are less today. Her anxiety is decreasing. She's having lots of chatty, social conversations...maybe random, will have to wait longer to see if it's not a fluke, but I don't think so.

[Chemar]

glad to hear you are seeing an improvement after the pred

 

It does seem to help so many people with inflammatory and/or autoimmune problems

 

I have friends with MS who would not be able to cope without it

 

 

 

I have posted cautions before for anyone who knows they have Tourette Syndrome to be extra careful before doing a steroid burst, because corticosteroids are dopaminergic and people with TS tic more when dopamine is stimulated

 

I came across an easy to understand piece at tourette101 discussing, amongst other things, why cortisol may have negative effects on people with TS

Cortisol and DHEA

Cortisol is known as the “stress hormone”. It maintains blood pressure and cardiovascular function, reduces the immune system’s inflammatory response, balances the effect of insulin in breaking down sugar for energy, and regulates the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. When the body is stressed, the level of cortisol in the body increases. (e.g. athletes, pregnant women, depressed people, alcoholics, malnourished people and those with panic disorders have higher than normal levels of cortisol.)

It is believed by many that cortisol has a negative effect on Tourette syndrome; that is, it makes tics worse. So it may be cortisol that makes tics worse under stress.

Discoveries (Biol. Psychiatry 1996 – as cited by J. M. Howard 1997) have shown that Touretters have significantly higher levels of corticotropin-releasing factor, the precursor to cortisol, than normal.

to read more please go to

http://www.tourette101.com/chem.php

Edited April 15, 2010 by Chemar
typo

[lynn]

"It is believed by many that cortisol has a negative effect on Tourette syndrome; that is, it makes tics worse. So it may be cortisol that makes tics worse under stress.

Discoveries (Biol. Psychiatry 1996 – as cited by J. M. Howard 1997) have shown that Touretters have significantly higher levels of corticotropin-releasing factor, the precursor to cortisol, than normal.

to read more please go to

http://www.tourette101.com/chem.php

"

 

In my role as dumb girl in the back of the room, can I just ask this and see if anyone who understands these things better than I knows the answer?

 

In trying supplements for tourettes, I have given DS two things that had effects that terrified me. One was magnesium taurate and the other was acetyl L carnitine (the other form had the same effect but much more muted.) Both supplements made him develop new tics and amplify those he already had in a sudden and frightening way. It took quite a while (almost a month) before the new tics went away and I vowed to never give amino acids again unless I had documented proof of deficiency. So can anyone make a leap from those two supplements and their effects and the possible effects of prednisone? If not, sorry, I'll go back to chewing gum...

 

Lynn

[Chemar]

Hi Lynn

 

I am a self confessed biochemistry dummy so I honestly dont know the pathways of taurine and carnitine and how they would relate to that of corticosteroids

 

but

if your child also has PANDAS then it may be that the supps that sometimes help with TS (as taurine and carnitine do for some) are having adverse effects because of the additional complications that are PANDAS related

 

amino acids are strong stuff and I always think it wise to be very cautious before adding them unless there is clear evidence that they are needed

Edited April 16, 2010 by Chemar

[Caryn]

Cerebral Allergies could also be indicated too.

 

I would check the additional ingredients on the bottle. It is possible that there is an allergen to another ingredient that your child reacted to. My son was very reactive to corn when he was sick with the neuro issues and had the multifocal ticcing behaviors. We did many things for a long while that improved him but it wasn't until I got down to the nitty gritty with the corn allergy issue that we saw a turn around.

 

My son used to tic when I gave him any form of Vit C because he was reacting to the citric acid-- which I learned is often corn-derived. I found a form that was in a green powder w/o citric acid and he had no problem with it. Also, The Kid's Calm magnesium made him tic too. I learned after having used it for a while that it was also corn-derived. So I stopped using it and looked for a corn-free magnesium product (not easy to find) and he responded well to it.

 

It could be that the magnesium taurine itself was the culprit, as the acetyl L carnitine. I wouldn't know how that would play out from a biological perspective. I just wanted to share that sometimes it can be a completely different thing altogether than what we originally thought to blame.

 

This is also very true for fish oil brands.