Eww, I don't know about that one. I don't like anything to do with the words steroids.

You do what they tell you to do...... you do the steroids because WITHOUT them, you are going to suffer permanent damage. Steroids are no treat but they will help your MS symptoms immensly. Hang in there, I'm praying for you.

You'll do fine. I've had several courses of IVs. They are nothing... just a pin prick. The tapering is what always bothered me ( I don't do well on the oral med). I always get some Xanex for the tapering process. You may want to ask your doc for a Rx.

Seriously, don't sweat it. It sounds a lot worse than it actually is.

Stay strong.

They made a HUGE difference for me. I hate to think where I would be today without the round of IVs I had in April.

I just did one myself about two weeks ago I did fine >I had not felt that good in years but like Oakenwood said the coming down is what bother me as well.

The neuro's goal in prescribing corticosteroids is to help you get back on track more quickly - especially if your relapse is interfering with your daily activities. In other words, the roids jump-start your recovery from the attack. But they don't have any impact on your ultimate level of recovery from the attack.

It is difficult to predict exactly what your response will be. You may feel dramatically better within a couple of day, so good and energized in fact that you wish you could stay on roids forever. Or, you may experience little relief from your symptoms, in which case you and your neuro will focus on managing your symptoms and wait for the relapse to resolve itself.

You may find roids easy to tolerate and you may enjoy the energy boost, or you may find yourself stuggling with some pretty intense irritability or mood swings ranging from high and energized during the treatment or down and depressed as you come off the medication.

The immediate side effects can include stomach irritation, elevation of blood sugar (are you diabetic?), water retention/weight gain, restlessness, difficulty sleeping and mood swings. Chances are you won't run into any problems, but your doctor can prescribe medication to help you sleep or to minimize stomach irritation if necessary. Good luck, the needle is the least you have to worry about!

Have the steroids, note down any reactions & if they are not too bad don't stress. i have had them several times & different effects.
I do put on weight as I eat anything not nailed down. Takes a few days to kick in that way for me but by 2nd day I am starting to feel better.
As one of the others said it kick starts the system & helps recuperate.

Also another consideration is if you dont do what your neurologist wants without discussing it with them they can get very annoyed as they are trying to help you.

One thing I am always told to do & make sure I do is drink plenty of water! It helps to flush the cortisone through & also the other drugs & food ect.

Let us know how you are please too.

Don't let it get your blood pressure up!

I am on Gilenya but still not "controlled" so I'm also doing monthly IV steroids to try to get things back to some semblence of normal. I've done this before many times since I have never found a med that really works for me.

Steroids make me feel the crap for a few days when taking them and for a few days after taking them, but then I'm better for a few weeks overall then I was without them. It's a trade off. Everyone reacts differently. For me, I get severe fatigue, heartburn, insomnia and back aches that go away within a week or so and then I feel pretty good until they wear off.

Keep in mind they have some serious side effects though such as possible bone loss, etc, so just do your research and (like with everyone we go through) weight the cost and benefit to you.

I don't do steroids -- never have and never will. You'll end up the same after the effects of the steroids wear off.
I've seen what they can do. They cause cataracts, diabetes, etc.
Do a bit of research and you see that lchoppel is absolutely right.