to cls978
Wow. Beginning high dose prednisone and a cold. You are really feeling miserable. At your stage of illness I was so volatile that I sent my son to Germany and started seeing a mental health helper to protect my life and my marriage.
The good news is that the virus will pass and the prednisone might be your magic bullet to combat the CIDP destruction of your myelin. Keep a symptom diary so you can be impressed by your progress. The side effects of prednisone diminish significantly as the dosage is reduced. Hang in there. Your doctor is correct that each patient needs a different combination of treatments and only experimentation will get you there.
Please consider adding more pills to your day. Between the CIDP and the prednisone you need additional nutritional intake: multi vitamin, calcium, antioxidants, etc. Wash them down with a glass of cranberry juice every day to combat the prednisone’s inclination to give you urinary tract problems.
Above all, try to stay away from crowds where you might pick up another virus. Every time I get a cold I lose a years worth of progress. Argh.
I have been diagnosed with CIDP since 2000. I have only been treated with prednisone (and neurontin for pain). When you are first diagnosed one is naturally and correctly disturbed by the possible side effects of long term steroid treatment. Try to remember that not every one will get every side effect. Prednisone is cheap and works for many CIDP patients.
Here are some reference pages to help you weigh the pros and cons with your neurologist.
[url]http://www.gihealth.com/html/education/drugs/prednisone.html[/url]
My favorite page of prednisone information
[url]http://www.classkids.org/library/pred.htm[/url]
A very good explanation of side effects
[url]http://www.aafp.org/afp/980800ap/zoorob.html[/url]
How doctors decide if prednisone is safe
[url]http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/Profs/Datasheet/a/Apoprednisonetab.htm[/url]
A technical page from NZ
[url]http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3558.htm[/url]
An excellent discussion of immunosuppressants in general
[url]http://www.neuro.wustl.edu/neuromuscular/mtime/immunerx.html[/url]
More on immunosuppressants in general
[url]http://www.rxlist.com/[/url]
A nice resource for drugs and interactions
I hope this helped,
Flossie