Any one else taking Prednisone regularly?

[DangerLee_Industries]

I'm doing cycles every few weeks to help recover from a severe spinal injury over a year ago. I'm having a hard time getting more than 3ish hours a sleep and it's usually between 5-8 in the a.m. Is anybody else fighting or has fought something similar and have you had any luck with anything to knock you out?

[jhood001]

I'm not sure if it will counter-act the prednisone, but Melatonin supplements knock me out. It is cheap and easy to find at Walgreens. Hell, even Costco has it. I would ask your pharmacist if it is cool to try it though first.

[DangerLee_Industries]

I was just reading about that as well. I'm tired of all the prescription meds so hopefully this is easy on me and will work. I'm calling my pharmacist in the a.m.... Thanks for the heads up...

[rondog]

Any chance you may have sleep apnea? I've got it bad, and a CPAP machine changed my life. Used to be, I couldn't sleep for shit. Now, you could walk up on me and conk me on the head, and I'd never hear you coming.

If you snore real bad or make gasping, choking noises, or sound like you stop breathing, mention it to your doc and ask for a sleep study. Ask your wife if she's noticed anything. Just a thought.

But I've had two spine surgeries, so if it's a pain thing, I know where you're coming from.

[Clint45]

I'm not sure if it will counter-act the prednisone, but Melatonin supplements knock me out. It is cheap and easy to find at Walgreens. Hell, even Costco has it. I would ask your pharmacist if it is cool to try it though first.

Melatonin is SAFE and natural . . . comes in gelcaps and "Dream Water" reverse energy shots. Much better than OTC sleeping pills. Whatever you do, stay the hell away from prescription sleeping pills like Ambien or Halcyion . . . I've heard too many horror stories about crazy side effects.

[DangerLee_Industries]

Any chance you may have sleep apnea? I've got it bad, and a CPAP machine changed my life. Used to be, I couldn't sleep for shit. Now, you could walk up on me and conk me on the head, and I'd never hear you coming.If you snore real bad or make gasping, choking noises, or sound like you stop breathing, mention it to your doc and ask for a sleep study. Ask your wife if she's noticed anything. Just a thought.But I've had two spine surgeries, so if it's a pain thing, I know where you're coming from.

Yeah it's definitely nerve pain that's the root cause. I'm fortunate and don't snore/apnea at all but I know that's tough since my buddy has been fighting that same issue his whole life. I can usually get almost 5 hours of sleep which works for now except when I'm on the roids. They definitely help to reduce the internal inflammation to where it doesn't feel like my spine will explode if I bend over. But damn I'm just jittery as shit for the 9 days I have to be on them and can't sleep at all. The last thing I want to do is a prescribed sleep aid as I'm very sensitive to meds. I hope the melatonin works that would be awesome.I feel for you needing that CPAP machine since I know that's long term. I'm lucky and only have another 3-4 years of this crap hopefully....

[Fentonite]

Insomnia is a pretty common side effect, as is anxiety. Some people get full-blown psychosis (rare). You might ask your doc to try a Medrol Dose Pack, instead of prednisone. Still a corticsteroid (methylprednisolone), but some folks tolerate it better. It comes in a blister pack that tapers over 6 days. You can take the entire day's dose in the morning instead of throughout the day, and you might sleep better. Just a thought. Worked better for me before my back surgery.

Have they considered local steroid injections instead of systemic steroids? Less side effects. Continued corticosteroid use can really monkey with your body, in lots of ways. Be careful. Good luck.

[Great-Kazoo]

Make sure you stay out of the sun. You become sun sensitive with that shit. While melatonin works [ for some] it did nothing but cause serious ulcer irritation. Have you talked with your doctor about these issues?

[Bailey Guns]

I don't have any issues nearly as serious as the OP in terms of pain. But I do have chronic issues with not being able to sleep. I'll occasionally take two benadryl before bed and it helps a lot. As far as I can tell there aren't many side effects.

[muddywings]

in case you hadn't heard....they legalized weed here in CO!!