dealing with side effects of cortisone ... ugh

[BFwillie_g]

Hey there,

an orthopedist convinced me last Monday to go on cortisone for week, to relieve a pinched nerve in my neck. Well, the nerve got relieved but, holy cow, this stuff is horrible. I feel like crap in every way. Can't exercise because I get winded, can't sleep cause I'm somehow wired, digestive distress and bloating (in five days I put on close to 8lbs - tomorrow is my daugter's Confirmation and I don't think I fit into my suit atm)... feel "weird" in other ways... sort of floating and no sense of time... the stuff seems to have re-wired me.

It's only for another two days, and then that's it for this experiment.

I'm wondering if anyone else has ever reacted to cortisone like this. And, any tips on de-toxing this crap out of my body when I'm done with it?

Been going to the sauna regularly, which is probably all I need, combined with a nice salt rub, but I'm wondering about dietary methods as well.

Here's the mri pic from my neck:

 

[Haselsmasher]

Willie:

I don't have any experiences nor advice from a cortisone experience, but I'm interested to hear how things have gone over the last week. Have things improved in both in terms of how your neck specifically feels as well as your whole body - i.e. the side effects?

I think we've all ready about the more-localized issues with cortisone when it comes to running: weakening of things like the Plantar Fascia if used for Plantar Fasciitis, etc. I'd be interested to hear about side effect experiences.

Hopefully things are improving and it hasn't kept you from hitting the roads/trails.

Jim

 

[BFwillie_g]

hey Jim,

well, it took quite a while for the side-effects to wear down to the pont where I actually felt normal. That was kind of weird, too, because it came on all of sudden - Friday afternooon it was like hitting a switch and - whoops - there I was, back to my old self. Taking the cortisone made me feel like I was being remote-controlled somehow... I also had knee pain for the first time.

But the episode is over, and, no, no lasting effect or improvement in my condition. The orthopedist said it was also a bit of an experiment to see if there would be a real change. There wasn't.

But I have been doing a lot of exercises for it, and going to shiatsu and Dorn therapy. My Dorn therapist showed me how to find the correct vertebra (C6) and move it into place on my own... took a while to figure it out but it works. The trick now is to get it to stay in place all the time.

other things I've done in the meantime: Got a new mattress, changed the way I sit on the sofa, got out my ugly back-up eyeglasses with the big lenses (and am shopping around for a Lasik clinic now as well...)... drinking more than usual (and using Chia) ... Lot's of very soft Qigong movements for the neck and shoulders... Oh, I'm doing a special exercise to loosen up the collar bones, my Shiatsu guy thinks they may be theh best place to start as I broke them both about 20 years ago and probably when I started with my shoulder issues; they're too tense.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Oral cortinsone? I have done the cortisone shots and they hurt like @!#$!%&*@!#$ but I haven't had those kind of reactions.