Two different neurologist

[char]

Hello everyone this is Char again. I was waiting to figure out whether I had devics disease or something else. I have been to two different neurologist lately and they both concure, it is devics disease. Although I still have a negative antibody. I did have a relapse and was started on IV solu medral which made me very very sick. I was very hot, sweaty, red and began to have nausea which culmulated into emesis. Did anyone else ever have that kind of a reaction to the solumedral. I feel a lot better now. Thanks for any advice.

[MoonlightD]

Hi Char!

Unfortunately, what you experienced is very typical of high-dose Solu-Medrol. Everybody gets at least a little bit sick from it, but some people get very sick.

I'm also sero-negative with a diagnosis of NMO. My spinal cord has been quiet for several years, but I have a flare-up of optic neuritis about every four months. Every time, I do a Solu-Medrol 3-day. In fact, I've had Solu-Medrol more times than anybody I've heard of -- about 45 times over 15 years -- so I have a LOT of experience with the side effects.

Many people find it helpful to take one of the acid reducers (Tagamet, Zantac, etc.) during the treatment, and for several days afterward, especially with an oral prednisone taper. Prednisone is very irritating to the stomach, but so is Solu-Medrol, even though it never actually touches the stomach. (And all of the other side effects can make you nauseous, too!) I don't do tapers anymore; they just prolong the misery of the side effects. Whether you need to do an oral taper is very individual. The taper is only to ease someone down from the high dose. There is no medical necessity for it, and it doesn't affect the final outcome of recovery.

One of the things I'm prepared for during a Solu-Medrol series is that I'm going to spend several days overheated and sweaty. For two or three nights, I just lie in bed and sweat. This is a common side effect, along with hyperactivity and increased appetite.

And I just accept the fact that I'm barely going to get any sleep during the first week. It's just a given. If the inability to sleep bothers you, your doctor can prescribe a medication to help you sleep.

Your experience was pretty typical. (You can do an Internet search to learn about more of the side effects.) Sometimes doctors will prepare a patient for the side effects before treatment starts, but usually they don't.

I hope you don't have to do another Solu-Medrol series! They're awful! But if you do, you'll be more prepared.