Zoloft and Prednisone

[nocode]

Folks,

I'm going through a nightmare. I am in the hospital for 3 weeks for a sort of a tune up, to see if there's any chance of improving my lung function (my lung function has been stable at around 35% for years and I don't currently have an 'active infection'). When this morning my doctor informed me that he recommends that I start my transplant evaluation upon finishing this treatment. I knew I wasn't too far from that point, since my FEV1 is 33%, but I definitely don't feel like I'm at a point where I need a transplant yet. He agrees that I wouldn't be a good candidate now because I'm not sick enough, but it's better for me to be evaluated and go on the list just in case.

I was already depressed because I had to stop working in May and at the same time I started using O2 at night. So you can imagine how delighted I am right now, after receiving all these news and being in the hospital!

I started taking anti-depressants today - Zoloft - and the doctor also started me on Prednisone today. This resulted in one of the worst days of my life. I got all those nasty side effects from the Prednisone, the bad ones. I know you can also feel euphoria but because I'm depressed, every negative feeling was basically amplified 10 times, and I suspect that going through the side effects of both meds at the same time will kill any sanity I have left (drama).

So I was wondering if any of you has gone through this, or even just Prednisone (I'm sure there's lots of you out there since this is a popular one among us) and if the side effects wear off after a few days or if they continue for the duration of the treatment.

Also, I am aware that patients have to take Prednisone post-transplant. This scares the sh*t out of me, I can't imagine living in a bad trip for the rest of my life. Your 2 cents will be much appreciated!

Thanks, stay strong.

 

[Vaultboy]

Hi nocode,

Im kinda in a similar situation. My fev is around 35% an im on prednisone since 2 months. First the positive part: my fev was allready worse (26%) for no really good reason. (mainly it must have been inflammation from alergies etc. Because i have no "problem bacteria" like pa or so.) the prednisone brought it back up to 35% an still slowly going up.
it literly brought me out of transplant list.
Now to the depression part. I refused to take anti-depressants, because i didnt feel the need to. There were times in my life when i felt worse so i thought i could take it. However i went through some manic and some sad moods but after some time it is managable. Im sure you will come out stronger of this.

P.s. The prednisone after transplant thing: you get a really small dose after transplant, like 5mg or so. That shouldnt screw to much with your body.

Take care, fabian

 

[Cherylwithone]

I wonder why the doctor started two new meds at the same time. Both having side affects. My daughter takes Zoloft and has for a very long time. She also takes Prednisone from time to time.
But these two drugs were not introduced at the same time. She has never had a problem but I wonder if she started them at the same time if the affect would have been the same as yours.

Just a thought. Did he start you at a high dose on both??

 

[nocode]

Thank you both for your answers.

Fabian - Great to hear that your lung function has improved so much with Prednisone. I am actually going to be on it for only 2 weeks, so I probably won't notice anything, not sure! The lung function test on Friday will tell. How long did it take you to notice an improvement?

Cherylwithone - There is a valid reason for starting me on these 2 meds at the same time I think. Because of the upcoming lung evaluation, he wants to explore every resource to see how well I can get, and i'm currently in the hospital for that. And the anti-depressants were unfortunately a dire need because my depression has escalated and I was begging for something while in the hospital, so it just happened to be the same day as the Prednisone.

The doses are:
Zoloft - 50
Prednisone - 30

But I have to say that yesterday I didn't have the nasty side effects anymore, not with the same intensity anyway! I still felt a little bit 'high', but nothing compared to before, so I feel slightly better about that now.

 

[Vaultboy]

Hi vera, im glad to hear youre allready feeling better on the emotional side. I guess these two weeks will be enough to push you a little bit up. I started to feel a difference pretty much right away. After the first week i went up from 23% to 26% and a week after that to 33% fev. Now im at about 36%. (but with 8 kg more on my hips than before, so if you would calculate it with my weight before, it would be over 40% i guess.) in my opinion its really worth it, even if it makes you feel a bit "groovy" inside sometimes. ;-)

 

[CrisDopher]

I don't think you stay on the "bad trip" post-transplant. You're initially on crazy-high doses of pred, but that tapers down and becomes a steady dosage per day. You eventually adjust and get your emotions back under control, my friends tell me. I've asked because I've also been concerned about this. I'm currently on my fourth or fifth prednisone taper. Knowing what to expect actually seems to lessen the emotional effects.