Prednisone and anxiety.

Alright so I started prednisone this morning (2 ten mg tablets) and I suffered a HUGE panic attack a few hours ago, shaking, trembling, racing heart, blurred vision, so I took 0.5 ativan and the feeling started gradually going away, and now a few hours I later I'm starting to feel the effects again, this time I have a headache and lower back and upper butt cheek pains. I am NEVER taking another pills of this horrible poison. I feel like I am losing my mind. Everything turns into anxiety or panic mood. Does anyone know how long one dose of this med lasts?! I need to know when it will be out of my system with no more side effects. It was one dose, two pills, 10 mgs each earlier this morning. (Around 10:30) please please please.

Very common for these type of meds to cause more problems than they are trying to fix. Personally I think they are given out with too much ease, i won't touch them. The effects will pass,if they're worrying you, best call the docs

Did you do okay. I also can not take any cortisones as they make me crazy nervous. Hope you are feeling better!!!

I'm a little on edge this morning, haven't got out of bed yet. I took 2 10 mg tabs yesterday morning and from what I read and heard it takes a day or two for it to leave your system. So I will stick with just taking zpak and ativan if my anxiety gets up there. I refuse to take prednisone again. That was one of the worst panic attacks I have felt. Even a couple hours after taking an ativan I started getting anxious, and nervous. It was hard to sleep.. I kept waking up every hour. It was horrible.

I am so sorry. I have a feeling I will have to take these meds soon, as I have COPD. And that is what they give you for it in the inhaler and pill form I think. Hopefully I can start with child doses lol. But they have not mentioned me starting them yet, as they still think all the breathing problems are anxiety. Of course I think I am dying, as we do with this crazy thing. Hope you can get some rest today. Maybe eating will help to dilute it some?

Yeah its possible, I'm sorry that you have to do that if indeed they do put you on the horrible med. I hate feeling the way I did last night. It was terrible.

Prednisone is known to cause nervousness, depression, and panic attacks. It will pass though, and in many cases the body can accomodate the medication and side effects will decrease. It's tough sometimes to weigh the benefits of the medication with undesirable side effect. Hope you are better, and rest assured that the anxiety can subside and is likely temporary. You also have the Ativan, and you can also use Xanax or Klonopin to help with anxiety if the problem persists.

Any idea how long until the anxiety goes away? I was on 40mg prednisone for 4 days. It's been about 3 weeks and I'm still dealing with the anxiety. I've never had anxiety like this before so I know it's related to the prednisone. Any idea how much longer? Or any suggestions? This will go away eventually, right?

I started on predisone for hives/rash. 80 mg a day. For 4 days, I'm now on 40 mg on day 7 and the dr wants me to stop Wednesday (day 10) cause of the side effects it's having on me. What a terrible drug. I'm laying awake at 3:30 in the morning and had one trip to the ER. I have never had anxiety like this in my life. Please tell me it will pass soon. My heart feels like it's pounding so hard. An ecg confirmed it was good but a slightly raised heartbeat. 110 bpm. I'm scared to sleep cause something will happen in my sleep. I haven't had a problem sleeping till now. I'm dissy during the day and feel sick. I will nerve take this drug again. And 80 mg seemed so high, even the hospital seemed shocked 

How are things now? Has the anxiety subsided any? 

I am having the exact same issue. Its been almost 2 weeks since I took the poison. 30 mgs for 3 days then 10 the last day and had to quit. I know its what caused the anxiety attack. How long did your symptoms last? I'm desperate!

How long did you have the panic attacks?

Hey Laura I’m having the same problem as you! How’s everything? Did the side effects go away? 

Hi Omar, the side effects will probably last until you are no longer taking the medication. Prednisone is basically synthetic cortisol, which is the stress hormone. It induces fight or flight, which is great if you are getting chased by a bear. Unfortunately, your body thinks that there is a threat, when there’s not. This feeling will go away after you stop taking the medication. Best advice is to stay busy and try not to worry about the feelings.  Your doctor has determined that the benefits of taking prednisone outweighs the risks. Get busy and stay off of the internet. It will get better. I had this same problem 10 months ago. See my post above. I remember freaking out at the time. I had extreme anxiety and panic. It went away. Just don’t focus on it. I hope this helps. 

How long it took to go away?

I have corticosteroid inhaler induced anxiety that still goes on. I stopped it 55 days ago and still little anxious

If you still have anxiety after 55 days then you probably had an underlying anxiety order to begin with. I can say this because I have an anxiety disorder myself. When I took prednisone it just intensified it. I had the same problem that you do. It had been long enough for the steroid to be out of my system, yet I still had anxiety. You may have had thoughts such as, “what if” this doesn’t go away. These thoughts are keeping your cortisol levels elevated, which makes you feel anxious, which increases your cortisol levels. It’s a cycle. My advice is to find something that will relieve your anxiety or re-focus it. I started riding a bike. You can do anything positive. Stay away from sweets, alcohol, and nicotine, as these are stimulates which will increase your anxiety. 

Well, technically speaking, alcohol is not a stimulant, but you will have rebound anxiety the next day, which will be worse. 

Thanks Chris I’m in so much relief now I was worrying. The doctor prescribed prednisone for Bell’s palsy 60mg a day for 7 days I stopped on the fourth day I wasn’t feeling good at all. It has been 3 days now and the anxiety And extreme fatigue are still here. I’ve had anxiety issues too and this aggravated it as well but I know how this anxiety thing works like you said. And I’m not going to ER for them to give me some antidepressants then I’m gonna feel way worse. Just a quick question how long did your symptoms lasted? 

The initial anxiety stopped after about a week. When I say initial, I mean the worst part. I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin. I was prescribed a prednisone dose pack for aggravating a herniated disc. I took 60mg over the course of 3hrs, drank two Red Bull’s, and went to work on zero sleep. I bet my coworkers thought I was losing it. I felt really weird, so I went outside to get some air. While outside I gad a panic attack. I experienced full derealization, which is terrifying. I somehow made it through the rest of the day at work. But, because I had the panic attack I was monitoring my symptoms, which made my anxiety last much longer. I even had the days marked on the calendar on my phone. I would count the days and google things about prednisone. I was obsessed really. So, to answer your question, my anxiety from prednisone lasted much longer than it should have because I made it that way. I would give it a 2-3 weeks so your body can regulate your cortisol levels again. 60mg is a big dose. Just remember that this will pass. There is nothing to fear. Just realize the anxiety is there and accept that it’s there. It’s not going to kill you, it’s just uncomfortable. The more you worry about it, the bigger it gets and the longer it takes to go away.