About this Blog

~Hi, my name is Courtney. I was a full time college student, starting to be a dancer, and used to work with kids part time, living on my own until my illness disabled me.
~I became sick in 2005. I created this blog in the summer of 2006 to record my "headache" diary and to see if anyone finds it interesting.
~12/2006 I lost my job then after, failed a year of college.
~2/2007 Dx Lyme Disease with Bartonella: prescribed 8 months of oral antibiotics. I'm not even sure if I ever had the Lyme Disease.
~11/2007 The doctor took me off medicines while I was still improving but not fully recovered.
~6/2008 Dx Chiari I Malformation by a neurosurgeon in Beverly Hills.
~8/2008 Decompression and Lamenectomy helped 80% of my problems.
~2/2009 Dx Hypermobility by an Orthopedic Surgeon/School Doc: Started PT, dancing, going to school and working.
~6/2009 Started working full time as an Infant-Toddler teacher, which requires lifting. Dancing part time, maybe I'll finish school eventually...lol
~12/2009 Dx Chronic Sinusitis: Stopped dancing due to constant infections.
~2/2010 Sinus Surgery & complication: Severe Epistaxis: Became severely anemic.
~3/2010: Dx Ehlers Danlos Syndrome: by Geneticist
~4/2011: Switched jobs, now work at a Pre-K teacher for 3 and 4 year olds. Less lifting!
~5/2011: Started PT and exercising again

Friday, July 20, 2007

Steroids

just a question but has anyone ever felt better when on any steroid? i know its not good for you but last year when my symptoms were starting to debilitate my life one of my docs gave me prednisone for a week and i felt great! too bad it wont do much for me lol.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I got sicker on steroids. Dr. Burrascano finds his Lyme patients who were given steroids got sicker, not felt better.

Read this:

"Since Lyme is a bacterial infection, the question naturally arises as to what is the role of steroids in Lyme disease. Before the bacterial nature of Lyme was discovered, it was common to treat the arthritis complications and heart blocks with steroids. Early reports suggested that the heart blocks responded well to the steroids. However, in reports dealing with patients with Lyme arthritis, steroid injections into the joints prior to antibiotic therapy were associated with a worse prognosis when antibiotics were finally given. We have seen literally dozens of patients with Lyme who were initially treated with steroids who reported a dramatic worsening rather than improvement as would be expected. Dr. Joseph Burrascano has coined the expression, ' Steroid Disasters, ' to describe his patients. "

Anonymous said...

Also, this is from Dr. B's guidelines

"More evidence has accumulated indicating the severe detrimental effects of the concurrent use of immunosuppressants including steroids in the patient with active B. burgdorferi infection. Never give steroids or any other immunosuppressant to any patient who may even remotely be suffering from Lyme, or serious, permanent damage may result, especially if given for anything greater than a short course. If immunosuppressive therapy is absolutely necessary, then potent antibiotic treatment should begin at least 48 hours prior to the immunosuppressants."

Anonymous said...

Steroids should not be given to a Lyme patient unless absolutely no other choice exists, unless it's an emergency and life or death.

I was on high doses of steroids for a long time and it damaged my skin tissue, joints, and really significant injured my immune system. The result was a powerful surge in symptoms that devastated me.

The steroids should not have been given to me, given Pentasa already existed on the market and would have "smoothly" resolved the problem in combination with an acid pump inhibitor like Nexium.

Anonymous said...

I believe I'm as sick as I am as a direct result of being on steroids.

Though I believe I've had lyme since age 10 or 11, my immune system had kept it at bay with only lingering nonspecific symptoms until I was put on multiple courses of Prednisone in the course of a summer. After that, I was never the same. Steroids suppress your immune system. I'd honestly avoid them like the plague. I really think that had I not been put on them, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Anonymous said...

steriods are the worst for people with lyme, however you may have felt better because they can mask infection. brian

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