Prednisone and Anxiety

[A Mom on Spin]

Was curious to see if anyone else has noticed that, when taking prednisone, anxiety levels go up. 

I had been taking 10 mg of prednisone daily for the better part of a year, but tapered off after my recent bout with septic shock and in advance of my visit to John's Hopkins next week.  I started to see a therapist last fall because my anxiety was through the roof and I felt like my life was falling apart.  When I saw her yesterday for the first time in a month, she noticed a big difference in me that I hadn't noticed.  I am going places and doing things that would have had me fretting and worried for weeks in advance before.  I feel as if there is almost no stress in my life.  She thought I should mention it to the next doctor who wants to prescribe a steroid for me.

Quite honestly I am nothing sure if this change is due to the lack of prednisone or if it stems from gaining a better perspective on life after having almost died.

Has anyone else noticed a connection between steroids and anxiety?

Liz

[AnneNeville]

My anxiety dropped significantly, but I had a serious, practically debilitating multi-year problem with anxiety. I think the prednisone helped by reducing overall inflammation. However, it did make me, on the higher doses, very jittery, which could feel like the physical symptoms of anxiety. For me, when my heart starts to pound and I feel wired, the anxious thoughts tend to follow.

[SjoGirl]

Yes, among other things I felt wired when I was taking Prednisone. FYI side effects, see second item:

https://www.drugs.com/sfx/prednisone-side-effects.html

[A Mom on Spin]

Anne and SjoGirl,

Thanks for your quick responses.  If you follow the link that Sjo posted, it seems that the side effects of prednisone can be almost anything.   Fast heart rate, agitation, neuropathy, and even hair loss!  Didn't know that it even acted as an immunosuppressant.  Funny, but when I had septic shock ( because Imuran wiped out all my white blood cells in 2 weeks) they gave me IV steroids.

  I suffered from both depression and anxiety long before the rheum put me on it last year, but I had a very tough time with anxiety over the summer and then again in the fall.  The worst it ever has been.

Interesting. . .

[Nomad]

YES. Especially when I was on 20 mgs. it was a big issue that was made worse when I drank coffee. I didn't pick up on it and I think I may have actually offended someone and I'm unsure if I should say something or not. I had a lot of stress, drank a ton of coffee, was rushing to meet with them and realize (in retrospect) that I was hyper and a little obnoxious! 

I've gained weight and have had a lot of sleepless nights.

I'm now down to 10 mgs and I can tell you all of this  better. Correction: I started 9 mgs today. I'm doing a v e r y s l o w taper which I think is best for me for a variety of reasons.

I strongly suspect that when I get to 5 m gs I'll do significantly better. But, I noticed improvement at 10. (I guess compared to 20, 10 is better!)

If your doctor approves maybe  in the future a 5 mg or 7.5 dosage would be better for you. Something to consider...
Feel better.

[SjoGirl]

A Mom, I would be concerned about taking any drug that might increase my anxiety if I already suffered from it. You might ask your doc about Medrol, I can't take Prednisone anymore, but can take Medrol, which does not seem to have so many of the ill effects. Even so, I feel giddy or a bit anxious when on it.