This Little Piggy Went To Market
Posted: Friday, April 16, 2010
by Susan Bourdeau
Have you ever had to go on steroids? Not the crazy 'I have to build more muscles and impress you with my back acne' kind, but the kind the actual doctor prescribes for conditions like psoriasis or whatever. I have, and this is my story.
My week started relatively normal, albeit the dread that was building from the impending doctors appointment. I have a fear of doctors, not so much because they are scary to look at (most of the time), but because they often relay bad news that up until they told me, would have left me in the bliss that some call ignorance.
After picking up my prescription for the steroids and tearing them out of the package, something caught my eye on the little side effects paper...may cause increase in hunger. Well, I have seen enough drug commercials to know that every drug has enough side effects to kill a bear, but I don't really care, so down the hatch they went.
The first day was perfectly normal, great even. It was the second day when I noticed that everything seemed to make me mad, but I was certain that it was just an off day, so I consoled myself with ice cream. The third day I noticed that even the friendly mailman was running away from me and the fridge was empty. Wait a minute, empty? Huh? That's not humanly possible, but it was! Had I eaten that much? Yep, and then some - even the pantry was down to the bare minimum! What the heck was going on here? (Picture in your head a lady in her mid thirties with her hair all askew in dirty clothes with food falling out of her mouth because she can't chew and swallow fast enough before shoveling more food in...that was me - eek!)
The fourth day rolled around and I woke up with cracker crumbs in my sheets. Yuck! I guess somehow I decided that enough was enough, so I got out of bed and made a bee line for the garbage. It had to be the pills, I decided. Somewhere in the garbage was that silly warning paper, and lo and behold, there it was right underneath 4 empty boxes of mac-n-cheese and some ketchup packs. I held it up in victory, then started reading. In tiny little letters it stated 'may cause increase in hunger' and 'may cause moodiness'.
Imagine poking a tiger with a hot iron, then trying to pet it. The reaction would be similar to what I felt when I read these tiny letters...someone should have warned me! Someone should have said out loud that this drug would send you over the edge into crazy-land! The letters should have at least been large in bold print - skywriting would have been appropriate. This revelation sent me right to the fridge, I was so hungry from all that reading. But nothing in the fridge, remember? This was completely out of control, so I tried Plan B. Nope, Chinese delivery doesn't start this early in the morning! Damn
Right as the panic was reaching it's pinnacle, the doctor's office called to check up. Through hysterical tears, I told them what was going on and how I couldn't find any food. No sympathy at all from these people, they refused to bring me anything to eat. So I hung up the phone, took a badly needed shower, and started on my way. The market was just opening, and I was their dream come true!
For the next week and a half, I ate and scowled. Until the stupid steroids wore off, then slowly I came out of the food coma and returned to normal (and returned to the gym). It wasn't until a month later that I realized that no matter what goes wrong at the doctor's, steroids were not going to be the answer. They might be great for the grocery industry, but not for me.
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More commentsthanks for this well written article, i never really knew that steroids had so many side effects, thanks for this article.dale
What a lovely article! What solution finally worked for you?Actually, I drink alkaline water now and everything is back to normal. Thanks
Enjoyable life experience story!
Hilarious! At last, the dastardly conspiracy between the food industry and steroid manufacturers is exposed. Mind you, maybe it's not such a far-fetched idea.The side-effects of drugs that are so easily prescribed become more terrifying by the day. Thanks for this very funny and thought-provoking article!Thanks for the comment. I'm not sure about the conspiracy, but you never know.
Great article- This is a good demonstration of how we've become an almost automated pill-swallowing society- and doctors are our pushers. In their quest for the almighty dollar most of them have totally forgotten the first line of the oath they swore to uphold- "First do no harm." We have a need to take over more of our own care- to research the meds we are prescribed, and make a decision about whether or not to take them- in effect- almost be our own doctors. This entails more work and responsibility on our part, but then we're the ones who care the most about our health. Thanks Susan- for reminding us again.- Always- EllaHow true! I learned my lesson the hard way, now I try homeopathic remedies first. thanks for reading and responding.
I have always thought that you have to be really badly ill before steroids are prescribed. Maybo you ought to chasnge your GP.Actually, steroids are a pretty common thing for docs to prescibe for autoimmune diseases because they quickly suppress symptoms and discomfort for the patient.
Susan,I am sorry for your experiences, You need to do your home work about anything you may think to take. I hope by now you are back to normal and I hope you learn your lesson nothing replaces the Gym and eating right.Thank you for sharing, Great articleYou are right, nothing replaces the gym and eating right. Unfortunately, autoimmune diseases have nothing to do with working out or eating correctly. But I do need to do more homework when taking pills.Susan,I will recommend you to try some natural medicines and herbs. Take care
Steroids are one of the most over prescribed medications in medicine. Just think, there are millions of people going through exactly what you did.Thanks for reading and understanding
I had to do steroids for a short period of time. It wasn't as bad as your experience, but certainly not something I would like to repeat!
They can leave you emotionally crashed too and have many, many more side effects - thanks for a piece that was informative and humorous!You are right, I just touched the tip of the iceberg. anything that suppresses your immune system can potentially be harmfulThanks for reading - Susanyep, not to mention mask pain and cause you to injure yourself further (retired RN here and have seen too much)
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