She was using a topical steroid cream, cortisone for about one and a half years, as recommended by her doctor. After some time of steroid use, the patient was disappointed with the progress of the her skin condition, And in fact, when the patient googled the fact that steroid creams were actually bad for the skin, she was even more alarmed. So, the patient decided to suddenly stop using the cream without consulting Doc.
For the next two months, the patient had difficulties controlling her temperature when it was either cold or hot, persistent dizziness, nausea, loss of appetite, and her entire skin was swelling and oozing. She did not, however, visit the doctor because her parents told her that her reactions were the result of her own mental and psychological problems, not because of any other issues.
Finally, the patient decided to go see the doctor and explained everything, including how she found out that steroid creams were not good for her and why she stopped it suddenly and the additional conditions after she stopped using the steroid creams.
The doctor explained that when you administer exogenous (originating from outside the patient) corticosteroids, it disturbs the negative feedback loop. The body stops producing its own corticosteroids, because the it is constantly receiving it from outside sources. So, when the patient stopped using the steroids, it has severe adverse effects on the body and can push the body into an adrenal crisis. The Doctor mentioned that in some cases the death rates for adrenal crisis like the one that the patient suffered from by stopping the steroid cream is extremely high, as much as 50%.
When you are regularly consuming a medicine you should stop it only with the consultation of the Doctor.Or else you can stop slowly if you are depending some other natural alternative for the disease provided you should be able to analyze the reactions, also the reduction dosage.But it would be usually difficult for a common folk.
ReplyDeleteThis is enlightening and so true for any medication that you take especially prescription ones. It is the same when you take sleeping pill. If you want to reduce dependency, you might want to do it gradually till you quit it altogether.
ReplyDeleteVery educative, most of us suffer from substance abuse by either stopping prescription or overdosing at times. The girl should have consulted more before stopping her medication and when she started having side effects she should have visited her doctor.
ReplyDeleteTaking a second opinion is always the best thing. Google articles are fine to an extent. But its wise to meet a doctor and allow him to decide when to stop the medication.
ReplyDeleteUsing steroid creams can be dangerous. I have had some family members have bad experiences with steroid creams. I also have read that it is very hard to recover your adrenals once they have "burned out" by caffeine etc, or in this case the steroid cream.
ReplyDeleteThis information will help the readers be more aware of not using products properly.It teaches us that It's always best to ask doctors when to stop and when to do medication.
ReplyDeletewe tend to depend on steroid creams for every kind of break out. The better idea is to check with your doctor when you try it for some new reaction.
ReplyDeletewe tend to depend on steroid creams for every kind of break out. The better idea is to check with your doctor when you try it for some new reaction.
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ReplyDeleteNo matter what we found out about the medicine we're taking, we should always follow the prescription of the doctor and consult everything we wanna know first before self-medicating. We might just worsen the current condition of our disease if we keep on disobeying our doctors just because we thought it's bad.
ReplyDeleteHaving so much information available at your fingertips can also be detrimental, especially where health is concerned. But just to be on the safe side, if you've been prescribed medication that has to be taken without a set period, it is still best to see the doctor before stopping its use. This is especially true for synthetic medication. Don't compound your problems with another problem.
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