Prednisone - Page 1

I have been given a 20mg prescription for my male GSD.  He had some hot spots and the dr. gave him the steroid and general antibiotics.  After one pill (steriod) he seemed hyper and intense.  I am taking him off the drug until I can speak to the vet.  Any thoughts on this drug? 

I recall discussing this drug with my vet a few years ago and declined taking it because I had a dog with a little edge to him.

Prednisone is a corticosteroid.  It is basically a synthetic version of a mamal hormone (cortisol) which the body uses to suppress inflamation.

For certain infectious process the inflamation closes off the inflamed area to some degree while the body heals itself however if the inflamation is too great the inflamation that the body is using to heal itself can prevent an antibiotic from reaching the infected area (one reason why the drug might be given) or the inflamtion comes from an allergy which the prednisone would do an excellent job of resolving in a short period of time.

Prednisone can cause some excitability, in humans it can also cause some fluid retention as well as elevated blood glucose.  A person can experience increased hunger and thist while taking as well as more frequent urination

Given short term these side effects are  completly reversible

Jeff

Was the dose not split into 2 doses daily ie 10mg am 10mg pm?
I have a dog that started off on 25mg daily split into 12.5mg am and same pm, now he has been mainted for other 6mths on 5mg daily. I have a friend  whos dog has been on this since the age of 2 1/2yrs he is now nearly 12yrs

Hi GSD Justice,
     What does your dog weigh? Glucocorticoids have been used in attempt to treat practically every malady that afflicts mammals. Most adverse effects are generally associated with the long term use of this drug. The therapy goal is to use a required dose ( as little as possible) for a short term as possible. Now an CNS issue is glucocorticoids can lower seizure threshold, alter mood and behavior, lessen the response to pyrogens, stimulates appetite. Most warnings are with long term use and the dose always needs to tapered off.  How many doses of  the antibiotic did he have? I hope this helps.
Always,
Cee

Prednisone has multiple side effects. Its action in humans and animals is pretty much the same. It causes fluid retention. increased appetite, excitability and sleeplessness. In large doses, it can cause severe mood swings and even psychosis.  Long-term use in transplant patients results in a moon face, and thinning of the bones. My best friend, who was a kidney transplant patient, and on a daily dose of prednisone to prevent rejection, fractured her foot just stepping off a curb.

It also elevates blood glucose, and suppresses the immune system. I once had a vet tell me to give it to my GSD who had ankylosing spondylitis of the spine, along with an infection in the spine, due to the decreased blood flow caused by the arthritis. I refused to give it to her, and found another vet, who put her on anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics that would not suppress the immune system. We kept her going for over a year before she could no longer walk, and had to be euthanized.

Predinsone is often given in a tapering dose. It should NOT be discontinued abruptly, as the animal/human will go into an adrenal crisis, which could be fatal.  The drug supresses the natural function of the adrenal glands. However, this shouldn't be an issue, as he's only been on it for one day.

Here's a webpage that gives more details on the drug: www.buzzle.com/articles/prednisone-side-effects.html  It is indeed a two-edged sword!

I once had to do a 'sitter shift' with a patient who'd been on a massive dose of prednisone. He went totally bonkers. He jumped out of his wheelchair, fought off several people who were trying to restrain him, and ran down several flights of stairs to the hospital lobby, where he was finally wrestled to the ground by a couple of security guards. Fortunately, by the time I came on the scene, he was sedated and in four-point restraints!

This patient was terminally ill with acute respiratory problems, and normally couldn't even walk to the washroom without stopping to rest!

Sunny/ aka J. Fuller, R.N.

I am PERSONALLY on a pretty big dose of Prednisone right now for a severe inflamitory process.  I took 1000mg/day via IV for 3 days to jump start the process and am currently on 80mg/day right now orally for months to come.  

In humans, from personal experience, it can cause MASSIVE weight gain/fluid retention (I gained 25 pounds in a couple weeks alone), sleeplessness (I'm up at 4am, can't stay asleep more than 2 hours or so), and it definately causes mood swings.  It also causes increased cranial pressure, head aches, peptic ulcers makes you want to eat everything that doesn't eat you first!  Another thing it has done is really lowered my heart rate and made the heart rhythym very irregular.  This is NOT a pill that I would suddenly stop or else it could/would put me back in the hospital and I would risk death.

I would not be taking it if I felt that I had any other option, I do not like pills, and am not one that normally takes even Tylenol or Advil unless I feel like I"m dying!

However, as with the dogs, it is getting easier to maintain.  Watching sodium intake, drinking lots of water and getting exercise is helping.

My advice for the dogs while on Perdnisone would be to increase water intake, correct diet to a very healthy, raw intake only (nothing processed), and exercise the dog mentally and physically.  I'm SURE if he's on the pills long enough, he'll get grouchy...he's got a head ache, his chest hurts from reflux and he thinks he's starving!  LOL...at least I do!

Susan Griffin

Prednisone has  numerous possible side effects, but every dog is different in the way they react. I had a GSD who was on it for 12 years for allergies. He lived to be 14 years old. He took 5 mg. every other day. Originally started out with 20mg. daily for 2 days, then 10mg, then 5mg.(tapered down over a 2 week period), then 5mg. every other day.  He never had any side effects except slight increase in thirst and hunger (he was a poor eater, so that was a good thing).  I hated the idea of giving prednisone long term, but tried everything else under the sun before going this route. It is the only thing that helped him. I now have a female who has allergies (how did I get so lucky?) and when she was put on prednisone (20mg. a day for the first few days and tapered down) her behavior changed- she became very withdrawn, so I weaned her off of it as quickly as possible. She now gets Temaril-P every other day when she has flare ups. It is a combination of an antihistamine and a very low dose of prednisone and she does fine on it.   It is important to note that if you do need to put a dog on prednisone long term it must be given every other day. If given every day it will cause the adreanals to shut down.

My dog weighs 95 to 100 pounds and is very active most days.  There are days when he is less active than others.  He was give a 20 mg dose for the first three days and 10mg the last 5 days or 8 days total.

Hi GSD, the dose shoulds in line with your dogs weight. Really at that dose he should not be really showing any hyper or behavior problems. Is he getting enough to drink ?  If he is drinking alot, he will be having to urinate more frequently. This is a good thing. I hope the hot spots and his paws are doing better. Did you talk to your vet?
Always,
Cee

Yes I spoke to my Vet.  My dog, or 18 month old puppy, showed signs of hyper activity and some aggression.  He greated a visitor with more than warnings while on the meds.  We took him off of the meds and he has since went back to normal.

Note, that all of my dogs are either Schh 3 or protection trained.  I started training him at 3 months with bite rags.

GSD