A Dr. who 'gets' the problem

[gotts1936]

Hi Brooks,
isn't there ugly side effects from taking Prednisone?

[cjbrooksjc]

Yes. Steriod theraphy MUST be closely managed because it:

1. Lowers your immune response. You are slower to heal from injury, and you are more susceptible to bacteriological or viral infection.

2. Makes you much more sensitive to UV radiation and should avoide prolonged sunlight exposure.

3. And oddly, although Prednisone/prednosilone uses cholesterol to perform its functions, it also restricts the formation of HMG CoA in the liver as statins do (not is the same way, I understand). Weird, huh?

For these reasons you should only stay on either drug for a limited time; then you have to give your body a break and allow it to recover to normal levels.

FYI Prednisone is converted to Prednosilone in the liver. Taking Prednosilone simply skips the conversion step.

Best,

Brooks

[cjbrooksjc]

Gottd: Here is a pretty fair description of prednisone/prednosilone uses and cautions:

**http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_prednisone.html

Brooks

[Biologist]

Interesting, Brooks. (While I have not read your last hyperlink yet.)

If it were me, I would give some thought to increasing my dietary cholesterol consumption while on the drug. Think eggs -- raw or lightly cooked.

Just a thought.

Biologist

[gotts1936]

Brooks,
Looks like up are up on the prednisone side effects. Good job.

Biologist,
Eggs! something so simple. Great recommendation.

Gotts

[cjbrooksjc]

Biologist: Yes, eggs! While I don't mind eating raw eggs & actually ate raw, cold storage eggs while in the service , I prefer soft boiled ones. Still, I have very little confidence in dietary management of cholesterol given the liver's immense role in its production. I think I'll let my body guide me. This will be a venture outside my comfort zone so I'll be paying close attention.

Best,

Brooks

[eml256]

cj, occurs tome that you may benefit from reading about/corresponding with individuals who have had muscle bx to diagnose mitochondrial myopathies. there exists a Yahoo group "Mitoldies" consisting of several individuals who have undergone this procedure--you may wish to join. I believe mitochondrial dysfunction is a major adverse effect of statin toxicity, thus the reason for my membership in this group.

[cjbrooksjc]

thanks, em. I'll take a look on Google.

Brooks

[Allen1]

Hi there Brooks,

good luck with your biopsy tomorrow ;-)

All the best,
Allen :-)

[cjbrooksjc]

'Ta' very much, Allen

[Allen1]

You're welcome Brooks, it will either be over now or soon will be. Here's to a Quick recovery

All the best,
Allen:-)

[Brian C.]

I'll drink to that (even though it's only camomile these days)!

Here's to you Brooks...


Brian.

[cjbrooksjc]

Thank you. I consider you both gentlemen, and I don't care what anyone else says.

All I can tell you now is this hurts like the devil; enough that they provided me with a Rx for hydrocodone, compression stockings, and a list of aftercare warnings. This is a lot more involved than I had expected initially but necessary certainly. The results won't be available for about 6 weeks.

On the up-side: I can now lay about with good reason. "Where the devil are my slippers?"

Brooks

[Brian C.]

Haven't you got your Heal-EM yet?

Brian.

[Allen1]

Hi there Brooks,

its good to see you are back safe and sound, I dare say you won't be doing anything strenuous for a while till you heal properly (apart from a little walking or stretching to help things along). Those stocking are to help you stop getting deep vein thrombosis/blood clots and to support the wound, they work very well when the stay up, my only problem with them is that they never have any that match with my shoes or handbag

Eeh the things we do to get out of doing the choirs

Take it easy Brooks, but try and stay mobile within reason, who would have thought that those little pills could possibly lead to all these serious problems down the line!

All the best,
Allen

[uncle2blade]

Brooks,

I've mentioned this before, but I'll say it again. We are the pioneers in the statin damage, and recovery dilemma. I thank you for your courage and all the help you've given us all. The people that come after us with problems we have had, are going to benefit from our experiences.

My prayer is for you to have a speedy recovery, and I'll be anxiously awaiting your results.

As for me, I think my new Dr. has been a big help. I' feeling a lot better. My next app. is the 13th of July. I'll do a update after that app.

Best to you Brooks, Craig

[cjbrooksjc]

Brian: The people responsible for shipping my EM pulser must be the same ones responsible for your sauna: ordered, paid for, in transit. I DID manage to wrangle a 10% discount... a puppy pulser - how odd that seems

Allen: I wore Bermuda shorts to the hospital and was quite a sight in my shorts and white 'leggings" on the way home. I looked a bit like a vacationing D'artagnan (sp?) minus the cape, foil, and chapeau.

Craig: Happy to hear you are feeling better - it gives us all hope.

Thanks for the "flowers"

Brooks

[Biologist]

Thanks for playing guinea pig for us, Brooks!

*http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/nickel_sara/guinea-pig.jpg

Biologist

[cjbrooksjc]

B: Thanks. I always wanted ginger hair :)

[cjbrooksjc]

OK. Results. I got the outcome of my biopsy back, and although I requested and was assured the test included mitochondrial staining, it did not. The result was essentially:

Moderate cell damage
Moderate Muscle damage
No red fibers in evidence
Unable to confirm a cause or diagnosis

They could not even tell me if the mitochondria were migrating within any cells (clustering).

This was a disappointment to say the least, and although I got referrals for the procedure, I am still waiting for insurance to refuse to cover the cost; we'll see.

On the up side: I have started, against my better judgment, a prednisolone regimen. I waited until the biopsy incision healed completely before starting. Now, I don't want everyone to jump on this, but due to the results of the Australian study, I relented and began taking the stuff. I feel so much better after one week on the medication, and my mind is clearing dramatically. I did the entire week's worth of NY crossword without a problem; I haven't been able to do that in three years... COINCIDENCE? ... who knows. They started me on 15Mg and told me to drop that to 10 Mg after one week. The 15 Mg kept me up all night, and I only took it for two days before dropping to 10 Mg which I will continue for a month or so before taking a break.

That's about it. I'll keep you informed as the days pass, but for the time being, I am hopeful and energized again.

Best,

Brooks