I have a personal story that I need to tell.

[ronatchig]

In 2015 ,the Drs. found a brain tumor. They put me on dexamethasone to control brain swelling and to reduce fluid pressure in my head. This led to a psychotic break on my part. The doctor reduced the dosage by 2/3. This relieved my mental turmoil.
This occurred in the cancer ctr.a t Wake Baptist
and the head of oncology dept. visited me daily with his bevy of ducklings. He told me he had researched the use of this drug in older patients and had found that my reaction was quite common and that the older the patient the greater the risk of psychosis
I was saved by surgery and the tumor turned out benign . I went through 8 mos. of rehab to learn to walk again but the worst of the post surgery was the steroid. I was on it for 3.5 mo.and it was harder to kick than cocaine. Every time I got to zero mg. my Brain would swell and back on it I would go. It was terrible!.

The moral of this story is that any one on this drug is unfit to work imho.
Also I m finally thru that episode and am eternally thankful for the life that the surgeon and his staff along with the rehab workers gave
me the chance to live.
YOU ROCK Dr. Laxton.

[Solly Mack]

1. I'm glad you're OK.

[Karadeniz]

2. Thanks for the personal experience!

[MaryMagdaline]

3. Thank you for this information

The more people who share their medical history, the more we learn what’s going on.

[livetohike]

4. Thanks for sharing your story. Glad you made it! n/t

[octoberlib]

5. Thank you for sharing this with us and so glad it was benign and you're doing well

[BeckyDem]

6. What an ordeal.

Best of everything to you.

[Maraya1969]

7. Congratulations on your recovery!! That's great.

I've been on steroids several times in the last year for asthma. Doctors are very cautious with these drugs. You don't want to be on them but they can also be a life saver.

[Wellstone ruled]

8. Glad you made a recovery.

My SIL had a similiar side effects from dex. And yes she had one hell of a time,mostly Sleep Walking and total delirium. Caught her walking down her country road at 3 am not aware of where she was,this happened twice in three days . Her dosage was changed after the second event.

Unfortunately she past about a month after this happened. The Tumor enlarged with in days causing her body to just collapse all functions.

[OneBlueSky]

9. Important info from someone with first hand experience . . . thank you! . . .

and I'm so glad you came through what must have been a frightful time . . .

[mcar]

10. Wow, what an experience!

Glad you are OK. Thank you for sharing this with us.

[Dem2theMax]

11. I cannot imagine having to go through that.

I am so glad you are okay. And thank you for sharing a very personal experience with us.

[Demovictory9]

12. Thank you for sharing

[58Sunliner]

13. Thank you for your story.

[TruckFump]

14. Glad you made it thru the ordeal.

Thank you for the information.

[Illumination]

15. Sure helps to have a knowledgeable & trusted doctor. You have really been through a lot!

Glad you're here with us @ DU ronatchig!

[mgardener]

16. Congratulations

I am so glad you are doing better.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Steroids are nothing to joke about or take lightly.
Trump went to the WH which has a MD and fully functioning medical unit.
He did not go to NY or Florida.

[RestoreAmerica2020]

17. Thanks for sharing your story! Happy you're doing well.

..paz

[volstork]

18. So glad that you came through that ordeal.

Thank you for sharing.

[ms liberty]

19. You mean Wake Forest Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem?

Great hospital. I have a friend who was there around that time with leukemia, and had to have 2 bone marrow transplants before he was cured, and it took a couple of years, if my memory is correct. My sister was there after a heart attack a few years ago, too. I'm only about an hour west of Winston, so Baptist is the closest large teaching hospital.

[gademocrat7]

20. Congratulations on your recovery!

Take care.

[marlakay]

21. Glad you survived, thanks for info. Nt

[nolabear]

22. Hey, are you in Winston-Salem?

If it’s that Wake Forest Baptist I know docs at that hospital! Surgery though, not oncology.

Edit to say glad you got through what sounds like a dreadful time!

[ronatchig]

30. I'm west of W/S by an hour or so.

And Dr.Laxton is head of neurosurgery who specializes in meningiomas.

[nolabear]

34. So in the mountains? I lived in NC for years and in-laws are all there.

[ronatchig]

42. Outside of Hickory, it makes it

the foothills

[nolabear]

43. Oh I know Hickory. Beautiful area!

[Kind of Blue]

23. Thanks for the story, ronatchig. I'm so glad you're here to tell it.

[Aviation91]

24. Thank you for sharing your story! What a wonderful blessing!

[Kitchari]

25. Thanks for the firsthand report

Glad you're OK now -

[Skittles]

26. YOU ROCK, ronatchig

thank you for your personal story

[Cha]

27. Wow.. that's quite a harrowing journey

you had and you wrote it so interestingly.. Thank you for sharing it with us, ronatchig

[niyad]

28. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. So glad that you are okay now.

[ronatchig]

29. Thanks folks for the good vibes, n/t

[Maxheader]

31. Prednisone?

Took it for a swollen optic nerve...

Got a lot of work done while I was on it....

[calimary]

32. This is useful info. Instructive.

But what I liked best was your description of the head of oncology being followed around by his “bevy of ducklings”.

I love that word picture! I can just see it!

[ohtransplant]

33. Thanks for sharing your story.

Good to meet a fellow brain tumor survivor.

You're absolutely right about these medications. They ain't beanbag and that's not to mention the cocktail he's taking. There's not much known about that.

Reach out any time you like.

YOU ROCK!!! ronatchig.

[lagomorph777]

35. Thank you for sharing. Trump is already psychotic/psychopathic though.

It's not that easy to tell whether he's getting even worse.

I'm glad you pulled though. I hope the rest of us will.

[Texin]

36. The potential for very negative effects is real.

Cheetolini is feeling pretty good right now, and so long as he's on this steroidal treatment he will fee okay, but unless his underlying infection is resolved - and I would be hard-pressed to believe that this early in his infection it is - his condition can deteriorate. I'm not familiar with how they treated Herman Cain, whether he was on dexamethasone or not, but tRump is in real danger of having a very serious relapse of symptoms. And it was very obvious to me last evening with his Megalomaniac on a Balcony moment, that he was having a hard time pulling oxygen into his respiratory system. His mask was sucking back into his nose and mouth quite obviously. He whipped that mask off as much to make him feel like he could breathe easier than it was in defiance of face coverings.

This idiot is NOT out of the woods by a long shot. And, frankly, if I were Joe Biden, I would no more get onstage with this irresponsible idiot for a debate that I'd volunteer for a moon shot through a cannon. I just hope Dr. Jill physically intervenes to prevent Joe from doing it.

[malaise]

37. You rock

ranatchig

[crickets]

38. Thank you for sharing your story, ronatchig.

I am so glad that you recovered, and that you're here at DU. 🌻

[True Blue American]

40. Great to know you came through

And are now good. I can relate to relearning to walk. A week in a coma when I was 15 caused me to do the same.

[Bozvotros]

39. You're so right.

Last year I caught a rare auto immune disorder that required me to take large injections of methylprednisolone. It didn't work on my condition but I hallucinated wildly for several sleepless days and nights. The perceptions I had were terrifying, sinister and bizarre. Thankfully my early substance abuse training kicked in and I was able to navigate my way through them.

I bet the ochre ogre wasn't so prepared and fell right into the Ninth Gate. Which is just as well. He was going there anyways.

[True Blue American]

41. Trump just announced he was cancelling negotiations for the virus relief

Until after his re- election, then he would pass a big bill!

Tell me Trump is not delusional?