Hey piqué or anyone else who might remember....

I am recalling that there was some medicine that people here at WTF said can have side effects that impact hands (tendons??) and maybe it was a steroid of some kind, but maybe not prednisone??

My memory is so fuzzy here!

I ask because I'm getting ready to start a 6-day course of prednisone tomorrow (which is a story in itself but basically i'm changing migraine meds and the prednisone is supposed to help me avoid rebound headaches when I go off the old one)

Anyway, I don't think it was prednisone, but I seem to remember some medicine that was a no-no for pianists, and I wish I could remember what it was called!

TIA!

Piqué should answer this, but I do recall that a certain antibiotic caused tendon problems, maybe in the feet/ankle area. I don’t think prednisone. Was it Cipro?

Oooh, yeah that sounds right actually!

In that case, definitely not prednisone!

Googled it:

What Are The Antibiotics That Can Cause Tendon Damage? The fluoroquinolone (fluoroquinolone toxicity) family of antibiotics consisting of Cipro, Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin, Levofloxacin, Ciprodex, and Avelox can commonly cause tendon ruptures in any age group.

so you should be good to go with your prednisone. Good luck with your migraine meds!

Thanks AdagioM! I'm almost positive I learned about this here at WTF from Pique. Maybe she'll chime and confirm that.

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Good luck with your migraine meds!

Thanks! Trying to change meds is so hard! And a pain in the rear. There's rarely a good time to risk two weeks of headaches. :P

I was at one time prescribed CIPRO for frequent UTIs, and my left ankle developed a mysterious pain which I finally connected to the CIPRO.
(Do NOT take it anymore, needless to say!)

Having just read about it, I learned statins too can not infrequently cause tendon rupture.

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tendon rupture.

I've had multiple ligament and tendon ruptures as a result of being put on a short (and, as it turned out, unnecessary) course of Cipro.

Prednisone is far from a benign drug, however. It will make you feel incredible for about 24 hours, and you'll wonder where this drug was all your life, but it is a very dangerous drug and screws with your (... brain fart moment, I can't remember the word...) system. It can cause Cushings, and it is very difficult to get off of safely. I have taken it, but only in an emergency.

If you really, really are suffering, take it, but then get off it as quickly as possible. A six-day course should be okay, follow the directions exactly. But then try to never take it again. It's not a solution to the underlying problem, anyway.

Pique, I’m sorry! I do remember you writing about that.

Re prednisone, yes, I have a six-day course. We’ll see how it goes.

I’ve been on daily prednisone for 6.5 years no issues.

I'm glad to hear that Jon! Is the goal of prednisone for you immune suppression or something else?

Yes and it’s a low dose. But I’ve also done the more typical 60-50-40-etc. taper a number of times.

More importantly I’m on in groups where transplant patients gripe about things and the tendon issue has never come up. Usual concern is weight gain, but that’s not a problem over a one week dosing.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
…but it is a very dangerous drug and screws with your (... brain fart moment, I can't remember the word...) system.

Endocrine?

IIUC, all steroids screw with endocrines, and anyone who has or is prone to diabetes must tread very carefully and monitor blood glucose when taking steroids.

quote:

the tendon issue has never come up

Jon, yeah, I'm sure I was misremembering cipro when I started this thread.

Anyway, I'm glad you don't have problems with prednisone. I know how important it is for you to have the right medicines!

Yes, beware of prednisone, but don't curse it too heartily as it IS still the miracle drug it was hailed as when first discovered.

A two weeks course of oral prednisone (including injections into my left ear) completely restored my hearing. I'd suddenly gone deaf in that ear - it happened from one minute to the next. Apparently, it's a known but little understood phenomenon in ENT.

The only possible cure (and none too sure) is treatment with prednisone, and immediately or it's too late. "Immediately" means within a week from when the symptom manifests.

ENT doctors say one of their saddest tasks is informing patients so afflicted that it's too late to treat their deafness because they've turned to a specialist too late. (So many, reasonably, delay because of mistaking it for a "cold in the ear" or infection.)
Feels kind of like water in the ear, such as swimmers sometimes get.

It seems prednisone reduces swelling of the auditory nerve as it passes through those tiny tympanic bones, thus preventing its death from the pressure.

Caused by -?? Trauma, a virus, an acoustic neuroma? No one knows. A dedicated animal loving cousin, developed such unilateral deafness (irreversible) while trying to break up a dog fight. In the process, she got her head slammed against a brick wall and it caused her deafness. Quite s disability for a teacher plus actress and playwright!

I nearly went nuts trying to find misplaced cell phones (beeper or not) because of losing the stereo echolalic response we need for locating things. One ear just doesn't suffice.

Only one of many "miracle cures" which prednisone alone can effect!