bethben Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 So, my dd is taking prednisone (steroids) for an allergic reaction (rash/hives) to grass that wouldn't go away on Benadryl. The doctor warned me of steroid rage. She is the opposite. She is so happy and joyful and has been so much easier to live with right now. She is going to school because the ranting and raving with being angry at me when she didn't understand something was affecting me very negatively to the point I knew I couldn't go on. I couldn't be mom and teacher to her. Three doses of Prednisone later and she seems like a different child. For instance, just now, she asked her brother to stop doing something and the tone was so much less irritated than her usual. Am I imagining things? I know she shouldn't be on steroids long term, but what is her body missing that seems to have been solved with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Maybe she's just felt like crud for so long that she's been snippy and easily irritated. I'd be inclined to look for further issues that he prednisone is further taking care of. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 We'll see if this child can sleep tonight. I have my doubts. 4 days full strength and then tapering off for 5 days. It was a pretty bad allergic reaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 She's been snippy and easily irritated for as long as I've know her. She has her moments of being a great kid, but I would describe her as easily offended and easily ticked off. She has a well child check coming up and I'll ask why this has made such a happy change in her. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangerine Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 It's just a side effect, a well known one. It's like being on amphetamines. It's really common. Yes. Steroid euphoria. My sister has been on and off prednisone her whole life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 So, the question is- what is missing in her brain that is not allowing happiness to get through? I could homeschool this child. She even asked her older brother to stop doing something appropriately with an appropriate tone of voice instead of yelling at him which usually starts fights and arguments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Happy sigh. I get that, too. I LOVE pred. I only take it when I can barely breathe, maybe for 2 weeks every 4-5 years or so. It makes me ecstatically happy, it cures ALL of my aches and pains, it opens up my airways to the extent that my voice deepens, and it knocked out my plantar fasciitis once and for all. It's like a big, scrumptious reset button for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Prednisone always made me feel good. Not euphoric, but I felt so much better than my usual. I loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Well, this explains DD#3's reaction to pred. She took it briefly for Bell's Palsy. She talks about it (the meds) fondly now, years later. I didn't notice a huge change, but she's a quiet kid. She must have felt the difference on the inside & it made a lasting impression on her. Another time The Hive gives me valuable insight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 If your daughter gets the effect Carol describes, I can understand why she stop being grouchy/moody while on prednisone. It makes me ecstatically happy, it cures ALL of my aches and pains, it opens up my airways to the extent that my voice deepens, and it knocked out my plantar fasciitis once and for all. It's like a big, scrumptious reset button for me. I am as good as allergic to prednisone. My cheeks swelled like mumps to the extent I could hardly drink from a straw or sip from a cup. The doctors just let me stay on erythromycin instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Since she's already an allergic child, is it possible that she is dealing with some untreated allergic rhinitis? TBH, my son can be really irritable and a bear. I thought for sure all of his issues were due to bad impulse control and even pegged for ADHD. We are just now running tests on his sleep and finding he has pretty significant allergic swelling. A daily dose of Zyrtec has helped, but we are looking into other possibilities. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Happy sigh. I get that, too. I LOVE pred. I only take it when I can barely breathe, maybe for 2 weeks every 4-5 years or so. It makes me ecstatically happy, it cures ALL of my aches and pains, it opens up my airways to the extent that my voice deepens, and it knocked out my plantar fasciitis once and for all. It's like a big, scrumptious reset button for me. This was my son's experience. The first time he went on it was for asthma and it had the side effect that he did not hurt (he has chronic pain) and was so happy to not hurt. He was 7, it was the frst time in as long as he could remember that he did not hurt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 I get very happy on steroids too. I feel so much better. I have energy that I usually don't have (fatigue is a big symptom of lupus and RA). Too bad it has so many bad side effects. I normally am on 4mg of Medrol which is equivalent to 7.5 mg of Prednisone and that dose does not make me happy or change my mood in any way. I only get the happiness when I go on a dose about 5 times as high. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 (edited) Funny, I just recently heard this same thing from an adult friend of mine. I'd never heard of it before, and thankfully prednisone never had mood-related side effects of any kind for my youngest, who was on them a lot when she was a child (lots of mysterious respiratory issues). I too wonder just what the mechanism is there. Bethben, maybe you've already looked into this, but have you investigated food additive as a possible cause of your daughter's behavioral difficulties? My youngest has always had a difficult personality, but it wasn't until she was six that I figured out that she reacts very significantly to many food dyes. I always thought of us as having a mostly healthy, natural way of eating, but a lollipop from a grandparent here, "fruit" snacks from a friend there, Chinese food for dinner one night, chicken nuggets for a quick lunch one afternoon running errands, children's ibuprofen for an earache, and so on... I even discovered that the caramel coloring in our "wholesome" whole wheat bread was a problem. When I really started paying attention, she was having food dyes of some kind every few days, and for her, the effects kick in after 12-18 hours and last for about 24 hours, so every few days was enough to keep her in a constant state of low-level anger and defiance. Any small annoyance was enough to set her off, and large annoyances (like being told a firm no to something she wanted) sent her into rages. I don't advocate too much "woo," but IMO, this is not woo, and eliminating food dyes from her diet gave us back our kind, snuggly, loving, reasonable kid. She still has a strong personality (something I'm assured I'll be grateful for when she's older!), but there's no more constant simmering rage that we have to tiptoe around. Just some thoughts. I know how hard it can be to live with a kid who's...well, hard to live with :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Edited September 27, 2017 by ILiveInFlipFlops 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 She was adopted and I have done various vitamin rounds to heal her gut (acidophilus and vitamins like grapefruit seed extract to get rid of the yuck). It has helped with her mood at times and I do the vitamin routine after surgeries which in her case always involve a round of antibiotics. I haven't noticed significant changes in her mood regardless of food. I cook most everything from scratch and we tend to stay away from candy and fruit chew type things. The only place food dyes could happen is if they're in the bread I buy. I don't even know where to begin with food allergies although that would make sense. Even when she was little and I did cook everything from scratch (even bread) she still had the irritated personality. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joules Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 I'd look into adrenal insufficiency. If she goes downhill again after, request a morning cortisol test with ACTH stim. That was my problem, I was not producing the cortisol my body desperately needed to function and feel well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joules Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Well, it's not so much that something's missing, more that she's on a drug and it's altering her personality :) Irritability can be a symptom of depression...any chance she's depressed ? It can also be as a result of allergies. In my case, it was something missing. Prednisone fills in for natural cortisol that your body makes (or doesn't.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insertcreativenamehere Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 (edited) I have one child that is frequently on Prednisone for respiratory issues. He's normally a noisy sleeper due to a floppy airway but when on Prednisone, he sleeps like a dream ... Another child of mine has taken it on occasion for asthma and it seriously causes him to lose all control of his emotions and behavior. My brother, as a child, was on it for asthma and it also had a serious, but temporary impact on his mental health. It's odd how it affects everyone so differently. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk Edited September 28, 2017 by insertcreativenamehere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvbug in Ohio Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Man, why didn't it make me happy when I had to take it? Lol. All I noticed was it made me hungry. Figures. :thumbdown: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I'd look into adrenal insufficiency. If she goes downhill again after, request a morning cortisol test with ACTH stim. That was my problem, I was not producing the cortisol my body desperately needed to function and feel well. I have adrenal insufficiency also, and was going to suggest this. Joules, how long have you had it? I don't know anyone else with it, and would love to chat about it. I went into a crisis in May, and it was frightening. Then a recent bout of flu/pneumonia - recovery was a bear. OP, I don't mean to hijack, sorry. The euphoria could be a side effect. But it could be something else, too. My first thought was Addison's, but it's rare, and probably unlikely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.