Scaring me with irreversible hearing loss vs taking Prednisone?

This morning after my Gentle Chair Yoga class, I was sitting in my car getting ready to leave and noticed a buzzing noise. I thought it was maybe electrical wires and it would go away as soon as I drove off. Nope. I plugged one ear and then the other ear, and noticed tinnitus in my left ear. Got home and made an appt but the only person available was a P.A. so that's fine. My temp was 100.6 with no other symptoms, no pain, no dizziness, etc and no exposure to loud noises etc.

It seems that my hearing in my left ear is a tiny bit off, but I don't know if I have a conductive loss or a sensory-neural hearing loss, but I have tinnitus in my left ear only.

The P.A. checked with the doctor in the module and they prescribed a low dose Prednisone for 7 days and said that Prednisone was a mild steroidal anti-inflammatory.  I told her that I was cautioned against anti-inflammatories with a-fib and she said it's a small dose & she checked with the pharmacist about my other meds and it was ok, and if/when I filled the Rx, I could talk more with the pharmacist.

I asked her what might happen if I do NOT take the Prednisone and she said I could have an irreversible hearing loss.  (From tinnitus????) I asked about the etiology of the tinnitus and she said it may be related to an inner ear inflammation and the Pred would take down the swelling and the Rx was 20 mg for 7 days...and if --after the audiogram scheduled for Thursday -- I'm seen by an otolaryngologist, they may recommend Prednisone too, or put me on a higher dose of Pred. 

I'd appreciate your collective thoughts!!!

What you've been cautioned against are NSAIDS, which stands for Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs. That would be things like ibuprofen. Prednisone is steroidal, so it's perfectly fine. Take it without worry.

Thank you Carey!!!
Sue

You should always taper down the dosage when discontinuing Prednisone.
Abrupt withdrawal can cause suppression of Adrenal function, causing acute hypo-cortisolism, thereby increasing the risk of Arrhythmias, including AFIB. There are Doctors who Rx Prednisone without telling patients to Taper Down upon withdrawal, but they they are not realizing the cause and effect of when patients are getting Arrhythmias Post Steriod Therapy.

Ask your Pharmacist about this.

Plus abruptly quitting prednisone make you very crabby.

Thanks, The Anti-Fib and ggheld....I didn't know that about tapering off and I will for sure ask the pharmacist when I pick up my Rx.

The Nurse Practitioner I saw yesterday said it was a minimal dose of 20 mg/daily, and only for 7 days. Again, I'll be picking the pharmacist's brain about tapering off, especially since the NP said it was a really low dose but said nothing about anything else.
Sue



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2020 11:57AM by SueChef.

Sue:

I was prescribed Prednisone when I got Poison Ivy, it was only 5 mg., My Holistic doc once prescribed Prednisone for me at the 5 mg., he had no problem about taking Prednisone, our bodies produce some Prednisone. I spoke with Shannon about Prednisone and he too had no problem, I never was told about tapering off the drug, I don't think you need to.

This is what Dr. Google says:

(Prednisone is a natural steroid that is very similar to cortisone. The adrenal glands in the human body produce prednisone, but some times the body does not produced enough due to adrenal gland exhaustion. When adrenal glands burn out and problems arise, a synthetic hormone can be used.)

Liz



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2020 03:17PM by Elizabeth.

The need for tapering depends on dosage and how long you were taking it. Short prescriptions don't usually need to be tapered down.

Thank you, Liz and Carey! I sure do appreciate the collective wisdom on this site!!!

Oddly enough, later yesterday the tinnitus went away & has not come back, and my temperature later yesterday and today was back to normal.

Nowadays many short term Prednisone scripts come on cards with daily dosage already determined for you.

Here's a link to current thinking on tapering:

[www.verywellhealth.com]

Thanks for the info & link, ggheld. When I talked with the pharmacist yesterday, she said it wouldn't be necessary to taper off since it was such a low dose and for such a few days (7 days). She also said I should take it first thing in the morning, with food...I asked if I could take it with my other morning meds and showed her the (laminated) list of meds info that I carry with me, and she said no problem.

Thank you all for ringing in here!
Sue