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side effects of treatment for temporal arthritis
Date : 24 Jun 2005

Question:
My grandmother (who is 78, and enjoys general good physical health) is currently
suffering from temporal arthritis and her syptoms include loss of vision. She
was prescribed Deltacortisone for this condition. This medication made her
feel ill (nauseous) and she initially drank lots of water to flush it through
her system, and after several days, stopped taking it. On advice from her
doctor, she re-commenced with this medication shortly afterwards. After four
week on this medication, she suddenly became extremely paranoid and obsessive.
She has been admitted to hospital for treatment, and a cat scan has ruled out
rapid onset dymensia. Her doctor has advised that she must be weaned off her
prednisone medication over the course of 6 weeks, as the sudden cessation of
this medication could cause a heart attack. She will be admitted to a
psychiatic care facility for at least 6 weeks, and doctors hope that once the
prednisone leaves her system she will return to normal. She suffered similar
side effects while on steroid medication for another illness. Once this
medication was stopped, she returned to normal. Unfortunately, because of the
time lapse involved, we are not in a position to find out the type of steroid
involved or the illness. Her previous mental health history is post-natal
depression, requiring a three month hospital stay, occurring 45 years ago. My
questions are: Have you heard of this type of side effect from prednisone
treatment? What is the prognosis? What alternative treatment is available for
temporal arthritis? Thank you in advance for your advice in this
matter. regards, Adrien Ni Mhuiri

Answer: (04 Aug 2005)

Dear Adrien, The first reference illuminates the general info and
hypersensitivity of deltasone to some individuals. The second reference is for
more information on this subject.
http://www.druginfonet.com/deltason.htm http://arthritis.about.com/od/gca/
I do not know of an efficacious alternative treatment module. I hope your
grandmother gets well very soon! ArthritisPharmacy.com

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