Monday, December 7, 2009

PMS: Prednisone Mood Swings

I had a first this last week. It was the first week I ever dated myself while on my period. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??" you ask? Let me explain...

As many of you know, Ronnie decided to do a burst of Prednisone to get rid of some of the inflammation in his lungs. AND, as many of you know, Prednisone makes people irritable. Well I found out this week that apparently Ronnie is no different than the average bear when it comes to how Prednisone effects him. He is on edge, a little snappy with me, and nothing is wrong, per-say, but nothing is quite right. It is SO foreign to me to experience him like that. If you know Ronnie, even in the slightest, you know it is HARD to get a rise out of him. I can TRY to and still can't. But since he started Prednisone, it is all too easy. Yesterday, I'd had my fill. I was frustrated that he was not being his typical self. I was annoyed that he wasn't quite as loving towards me as usual. I was sad that he seemed a little agitated with me.

And then it hit me...this must be what it's like dating me once a month. Talk about a wake up call. It made me rethink my frustration with his sudden attitude change. I actually began to feel a little guilty. I began to think, "well shoot, if he can put up with this 12 times a year, I can put up with it a few times a year."

For those of you who have never been on Prednisone and want a little more details about it's side effects, I here is a link from webMD of all the side effects. And below I've listed some that Ronnie seems to be experiencing (from my perspective):
  • Increased Hunger
  • Visible Water Retention
  • Mood Changes
  • Temporary Redness of Face and Neck
  • Not Feeling Well
Needless to say, I'm excited for his burst of Prednisone to be over, but I'm glad I got a little insight into what it must be like to date me once a month and I hope I remember this down the road, to be sure to curb my own PMS. I must say though, he is REALLY trying. I can tell he is making an extra effort to keep his agitation inside and that he's going out of his way to love on me when he catches himself getting snappy. And that makes me feel a lot better. Regardless though, I'll be happy when Prednisone gives me my fiance back!!!

Comments (8)

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Mandi,
Boy am I thankful for spouses/SO that seek to understand. Pred. is a doozy....there have been times I have been on it and have RFC (random fits of crying!). My husband is patient and reminds me "it's the Prednisone".
Haha! Great post Mandi. I was expecting the worst when Mike was on Prednisone the last week or so (I had been warned), so I was relieved that it wasn't as bad as I feared, but I definitely saw a lot of those side effects you listed. Especially the eating! I had never seen him eat as much as he did while he was on Prednisone.
funny! my husband has been on whopping doses of prednisone since his transplant and i was not surprised when the patient care coordinator told us that there were a lot of marital problems after transplant because of this - we were headed towards di-vorce pronto if it did not cease! LOL- i kid, but that is really what i was thinking...GET ME OUTTA here fast...cranky!!
I'm so glad you posted this. My 7 month old son with CF was just put on Prednisone on Thursday because he is having really bad inflammation in his lungs due to complications from the h1n1 he had last month! Anyway he is a maniac on it..I call him "the hulk" because he has extra strength and he makes these crazy grunting noises!! Needless to say giving breathing treatments and chest therapy to a 7 month old 4x a day not fun..doing all that 4x a day to a 7 month old on streriods..REALLY NOT FUN!!!!
You're so supportive, Mandi!!!!
Mandi, you rock! Love the post. My daughter Livia had a 5-day Prednisilone burst when she was 8 months old. I don't recall any extreme changes in temperment but I'm pretty sure I chalked up her crankiness to typical infant behavior. So nice to know what might be in store for any possible future Pred doses.
haha oh prednisone is the worst, my mood changes on it were SOO severe i went form flying high to get me the heck out of here i hate everyone ! it made me very depressed though so none of that for me after that experience, but it is great you are so supportive, it's gotta be nice for him to have you around ! <3
Very funny, and informative piece here. My husband is on predinsone and I feel like I can't bear any more of his drama.

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