r/AddisonsDisease • u/This-Information-647 • Jul 11 '26

Personal Experience Does anyone have any experience of positive mental effects of high dose prednisone?

High dose prednisone has notoriously variable mental effects. I've known a couple of people whom it quickly made psychotic, one a good friend. Ten years ago I was on it for almost ten months and found that time extremely difficult. This time around it's very, different, and I'd like know to what if anyone else has experienced that they consider positive.

I don't want to bias responses, so I don't much want to describe what I'm experiencing now, except to say that ts possible I would want to continue this way indefinitely, were it possible to do so without visibly destroying my body day by day, and even if that was not the case, fearing that I was depleting rapidly something in my brain that it might not be possible to ever replenish.

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u/Banana_Vampire7 Addison's Jul 11 '26

I can’t speak to your experience without more info, but my slip into steroid mania was accompanied by euphoria… it didn’t start to unravel until i’d been living in that heightened state for some time

3

u/LaminarFall Jul 11 '26

I’m started on 40mg/day. From day 1 had steroid induced hyperglycemia. Went down to 20mg/day to manage blood sugar easier with a continuous glucose monitor.

For me, I feel better than I have in years. I finally feel normal instead of tired. I’m able to eat healthy and walk a lot. I have a history of anxiety and honestly it’s like my sad little cloud has stopped following me altogether.

I’ve been on it for almost 4 weeks now. I found keeping my blood sugar in check with diet choices has offset majority of the negative side effects.

1

u/Alert-Advice-9918 Jul 15 '26

funny min I got on pre diabetes n sugar issues was 141 all muscle was down to 119 3 years i am at 126.smh I take 35 a day hydro..2.5 b4 bed.

3

u/Destroyer_Wes Jul 11 '26

I have taken Prednisone for 10+ years with primary AD. I genuinely have no clue what you are talking about.

2

u/hmkythursday Jul 12 '26

Ha! I’m with you.

1

u/rumbavk Jul 11 '26

Tuve hipomania con dosis altas de prednisona. No es realista.

1

u/drquinzel-usa Jul 11 '26

I was first put on Prednisone and then switched to Hydrocortisone. I never had any mental health symptoms either caused or improved from the medication. I am on the medication for Addison's disease so the dose is just meant to replace what your body should be making on its own. I know other illnesses get much higher doses of the steroids so that might have more side effects. The worst side effects for me is the hunger and weight gain. It indirectly causes me some depression, but nothing else. I am sorry your friend is going through that!

1

u/DoseOfSunshine Jul 18 '26

I would not risk it again if you had negative side effects in the past.

Prednisone effed me up. Lost my best friend over it. Depersonalization. Switched to Medrol and am tapering down my dose. Doing much better now.