General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI have a personal story that I need to tell.
In 2015 ,the Drs. found a brain tumor. They put me on dexamethasone to control brain swelling and to reduce fluid pressure in my head. This led to a psychotic break on my part. The doctor reduced the dosage by 2/3. This relieved my mental turmoil.
This occurred in the cancer ctr.a t Wake Baptist
and the head of oncology dept. visited me daily with his bevy of ducklings. He told me he had researched the use of this drug in older patients and had found that my reaction was quite common and that the older the patient the greater the risk of psychosis
I was saved by surgery and the tumor turned out benign . I went through 8 mos. of rehab to learn to walk again but the worst of the post surgery was the steroid. I was on it for 3.5 mo.and it was harder to kick than cocaine. Every time I got to zero mg. my Brain would swell and back on it I would go. It was terrible!.
The moral of this story is that any one on this drug is unfit to work imho.
Also I m finally thru that episode and am eternally thankful for the life that the surgeon and his staff along with the rehab workers gave
me the chance to live.
YOU ROCK Dr. Laxton.
Solly Mack
(90,762 posts)Karadeniz
(22,492 posts)MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)The more people who share their medical history, the more we learn whats going on.
livetohike
(22,133 posts)octoberlib
(14,971 posts)BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)Best of everything to you.
Maraya1969
(22,474 posts)I've been on steroids several times in the last year for asthma. Doctors are very cautious with these drugs. You don't want to be on them but they can also be a life saver.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)My SIL had a similiar side effects from dex. And yes she had one hell of a time,mostly Sleep Walking and total delirium. Caught her walking down her country road at 3 am not aware of where she was,this happened twice in three days . Her dosage was changed after the second event.
Unfortunately she past about a month after this happened. The Tumor enlarged with in days causing her body to just collapse all functions.
OneBlueSky
(18,536 posts)and I'm so glad you came through what must have been a frightful time . . .
mcar
(42,296 posts)Glad you are OK. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Dem2theMax
(9,650 posts)I am so glad you are okay. And thank you for sharing a very personal experience with us.
Demovictory9
(32,445 posts)58Sunliner
(4,379 posts)TruckFump
(5,812 posts)Thank you for the information.
Illumination
(2,458 posts)Glad you're here with us @ DU ronatchig!
mgardener
(1,815 posts)I am so glad you are doing better.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Steroids are nothing to joke about or take lightly.
Trump went to the WH which has a MD and fully functioning medical unit.
He did not go to NY or Florida.
RestoreAmerica2020
(3,435 posts)..paz
volstork
(5,399 posts)Thank you for sharing.
ms liberty
(8,572 posts)Great hospital. I have a friend who was there around that time with leukemia, and had to have 2 bone marrow transplants before he was cured, and it took a couple of years, if my memory is correct. My sister was there after a heart attack a few years ago, too. I'm only about an hour west of Winston, so Baptist is the closest large teaching hospital.
gademocrat7
(10,653 posts)Take care.
marlakay
(11,446 posts)nolabear
(41,959 posts)If its that Wake Forest Baptist I know docs at that hospital! Surgery though, not oncology.
Edit to say glad you got through what sounds like a dreadful time!
ronatchig
(575 posts)And Dr.Laxton is head of neurosurgery who specializes in meningiomas.
nolabear
(41,959 posts)ronatchig
(575 posts)the foothills
nolabear
(41,959 posts)Kind of Blue
(8,709 posts)Aviation91
(114 posts)Kitchari
(2,166 posts)Glad you're OK now -
Skittles
(153,138 posts)thank you for your personal story
Cha
(297,091 posts)you had and you wrote it so interestingly.. Thank you for sharing it with us, ronatchig
niyad
(113,229 posts)ronatchig
(575 posts)Maxheader
(4,371 posts)Took it for a swollen optic nerve...
Got a lot of work done while I was on it....
calimary
(81,193 posts)But what I liked best was your description of the head of oncology being followed around by his bevy of ducklings.
I love that word picture! I can just see it!
ohtransplant
(1,488 posts)Good to meet a fellow brain tumor survivor.
You're absolutely right about these medications. They ain't beanbag and that's not to mention the cocktail he's taking. There's not much known about that.
Reach out any time you like.
YOU ROCK!!! ronatchig.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)It's not that easy to tell whether he's getting even worse.
I'm glad you pulled though. I hope the rest of us will.
Texin
(2,594 posts)Cheetolini is feeling pretty good right now, and so long as he's on this steroidal treatment he will fee okay, but unless his underlying infection is resolved - and I would be hard-pressed to believe that this early in his infection it is - his condition can deteriorate. I'm not familiar with how they treated Herman Cain, whether he was on dexamethasone or not, but tRump is in real danger of having a very serious relapse of symptoms. And it was very obvious to me last evening with his Megalomaniac on a Balcony moment, that he was having a hard time pulling oxygen into his respiratory system. His mask was sucking back into his nose and mouth quite obviously. He whipped that mask off as much to make him feel like he could breathe easier than it was in defiance of face coverings.
This idiot is NOT out of the woods by a long shot. And, frankly, if I were Joe Biden, I would no more get onstage with this irresponsible idiot for a debate that I'd volunteer for a moon shot through a cannon. I just hope Dr. Jill physically intervenes to prevent Joe from doing it.
malaise
(268,885 posts)ranatchig
crickets
(25,959 posts)I am so glad that you recovered, and that you're here at DU. 🌻
True Blue American
(17,982 posts)And are now good. I can relate to relearning to walk. A week in a coma when I was 15 caused me to do the same.
Bozvotros
(785 posts)Last year I caught a rare auto immune disorder that required me to take large injections of methylprednisolone. It didn't work on my condition but I hallucinated wildly for several sleepless days and nights. The perceptions I had were terrifying, sinister and bizarre. Thankfully my early substance abuse training kicked in and I was able to navigate my way through them.
I bet the ochre ogre wasn't so prepared and fell right into the Ninth Gate. Which is just as well. He was going there anyways.
True Blue American
(17,982 posts)Until after his re- election, then he would pass a big bill!
Tell me Trump is not delusional?