Steroid question -- somewhat off topic

[lfran]

Hi all.

 

I was just given oral prednisone for myself (not for PANDAS) and I am having side effects that I don't like -- insomnia and increased thirst and frequent urination.

 

Since I know a lot of people here have had PANDAS kids put on prednisone as a steroid burst, I am just curious what the dosage and time frame and ramp up/down is for the pre-IVIG protocol -- just want to compare it to what I've been taking, since I'm not real happy with my current dosage.

 

I'm probably going back to the doc tomorrow, for clarification, but thought someone here might not mind sharing.

 

 

Also, I am about to have my own blood drawn for ASO and DNASE titres. Anyone have any thoughts if being on short-term prednisone will affect that?

 

Thanks.

 

-- lfran

[Kayanne]

I believe that these are all common side effects of prednisone...although you should let your doctor know about the frequent urination. Here is a website that gives some good general info on pred:

 

http://noairtogo.tripod.com/prednisone.htm

 

This site lists frequent urination as a symptom to report to your doctor--it can effect your blood sugar.

 

The "pre-IVIG" protocol you are referring to I think is Dr. K's typical use of prednisone for 5 days to determine if a child may respond to IVIG...I think the dose is anywhere from 10mg - 60mg...depending on the size of the child--tapering is not needed.

 

My daughter has used prednisone as a treatment twice...each time it was for one week of full stength, another week of half that, and then 2-4 weeks of a tapering off. The first time she was about 42-43 lbs and her full strength dosse was 10mg 2X/day. The second time she was 47-48 lbs and her full strength dose was 15mg 2X/day.

[EAMom]

The first time we did a burst we got 1mg/kg for 5 days (it turned out to be 25mg/day). The second time we were more aggressive and did almost 2mg/kg for 5 days (50mg/day--dd was 58 pounds at that point).