The Unusual Adverse Side Effects of Super-Potent Topical Steroids ESPE2019 58th Annual ESPE

They do this by treating inflammation in your airways (this is when your airways are swollen and narrow). The risk of thinning bones and breaks is much higher if you take high dose steroids for more than three months. One was using it for about 16 months with occasional breaks, his moon face probably took longer to disappear because of overall weight gain but it did go. My DD lost her moon face faster but she was only in it for a few weeks and had got really skinny before starting so her weight gain was more her getting back to her original weight.

• You are more likely to have a serious side effect if you take a higher dose of prednisolone or if you have been taking it for more than a few weeks.
• You could be having a serious allergic reaction and may need immediate treatment in hospital.
• You may need further vaccines or booster jabs to make sure you have enough protection.
• The higher the dose of prednisolone that you take and the longer you take it for, the greater the chance of side effects.

Steroids are started when people with DMD enter the “plateau phase” of the illness. This generally occurs between the ages of 4-6 years, when they stop gaining new skills, but before they start to slow down or lose skills. It is possible to start later, but once children have entered the “decline phase” of the illness, there may be fewer benefits from the steroids. Older medicines may have been used effectively for many years in children without problems but the manufacturer has not been required to collect data and amend the licence.

Benefits of steroids

You may need a one off, short course to help you treat an asthma attack. This is important for your recovery, and unlikely to cause harmful side effects. I’ve been on 6 tablets daily for a week, but I’ve had three courses of that now, with about a weeks break in between.

• Cancer drugs can interact with medicines, herbal products, and some food and drinks.
• There are a number of reasons you might have steroids as part of your cancer treatment.
• Despite that clobetasol cream had been stopped, he was hypertensive (blood pressure140/90), and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) was started.
• However, treatment usually needs to continue for up to two years, or occasionally longer, to stop the symptoms returning.
• Talk to your GP about other conditions you have and medicines you take, like high blood pressure, stomach ulcer or diabetes.

Thankfully the surgery went well (I had a fantastic surgeon) and I had to learn to adapt to life with a stoma. The stoma nurses were lovely and really helpful giving tips on how to cope with my new way of life and gave me tips on which foods to eat and which to avoid to avoid blocking my stoma. The staff at the treatment centre were always lovely and welcoming despite the fact that my veins were difficult to canulate!

Raised sugar levels and diabetes

Experts hope metformin has the potential to help many more patients like Mr Hough, who rely on steroids to manage their health. It is possible to reduce the side effect by reducing the steroid dose, or having one day off the pill, followed by one day on. So-called moon-face is not harmful, physically, and patients usually return to normal once they’ve finished their course of tablets. But almost all patients who have to take high doses to manage their illness will get side effects.

I would say that I should have taken time off work and that I had to learn to expect less of myself and to tell others I had a debilitating illness, so they should expect less of me. Simple measures such as a hot injectable steroids buy bath or shower can help to ease pain and stiffness, either first thing in the morning or after exercise. Sitting for any length of time may cause stiffness, making activities such as driving more difficult.

Stopping steroid tablets safely

This will then flag up unusually high levels of hormones, typically seen in a patient taking steroids for a number of months. The effects are most noticeable around the chin and the cheeks, making the face look particularly rounded. Experts are able to identify if the swelling is a direct result of the steroid treatment by using a series of blood and urine tests.

This is where levels of cortisol in your body drop dramatically. If you’ve been taking steroid tablets for more than a few days, you usually need to reduce your dose gradually. Stopping suddenly can cause your adrenal gland, which makes important hormones for the body, to stop working.

Stopping steroid treatment

This usually takes several months, but be patient – it will happen. This occurs because the normal control mechanisms are ‘switched off’ after being exposed to too much cortisol for so long. Hydrocortisone is taken in the form of tablets, usually two or three times a day. If prescribed and you don’t take the tablets (or when they are deliberately not given immediately after the operation or during reassessment tests) you will probably feel generally weak, tired and ‘ill’.