DOSE:

2 mg

oral

Pharms - Prednisone

(pill / tablet)

BODY WEIGHT:

235 lb

Background Information: *Physiological/Psychological*: 20 year old cisgender male; obese; diagnosed with depression (severity varies); anxious and angry temperament; MBTI type ISTP *Non-comprehensive past drug use*: acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and aspirin (when needed for pain, ~1-14x/week); alcohol (~10-20 drinks/wk); caffeine (at least daily); diphenhydramine HCl (no longer using, but took avg. 150mg/day for a period of 3 months in mid 2022 for recreational & allergy management purposes); dextromethorphan (4x ever); occasional OTC herbal supplements and vitamins; CBD products (<1x a month, for pain management and relaxation purposes); morphine, hydrocodone/acetaminophen (once, following a surgery)

For the past five months or so, I have been struggling with a running-induced hamstring injury that can cause significant mobility and mental/ emotional state issues, depending on the severity of the injury at any given time. I have been treating it with doctor-led physical therapy, heating pads, Salonpas/Icy Hot pads, hot showers, CBD salve, along with large doses of acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and aspirin, sometimes exceeding recommended dosages.

I had heard that prednisone could be used off-label as a pain medication, so when a flare up of my injury occurred after a hike, I decided to try it out instead of my usual methods of pain management. I pursued prednisone as a drug for its presumed medical utility. I was not seeking any psychoactive effects, but anticipated the possibility of a relaxation effect.

(T-~1h:45m) I wake up, with hamstring pain so strong that I cannot flip over from my back onto my stomach without inducing a sharp, shooting pain up my leg, incapacitating me and preventing me from completing the movement. Pain mostly subsides when I lay still. I am fitfully drifting in and out of sleep, as any significant movement induces awakening pain. This is not entirely abnormal, but I was annoyed and disheartened since I had made much progress in fixing this injury over the past few months, only for it to be back with a vengeance after a relatively low-exertion hike.

(T-~0:25) I struggle to get out of bed, as I had given up on trying to sleep in my current state. Eventually, after careful positioning, and slow, calculated movements, I am able to flip over in bed and lower myself onto the floor. My gait across the carpeted bedroom floor is shuffling, and even standing still causes pain in my hamstring, radiating outward into proximal leg muscles, from holding that position. I have to be careful about my movements, as moving my leg too far away from a straight-down position induces a shooting pain which almost takes me down to the floor with it. Eventually, I make it to the bathroom, thinking that I need to take a hot shower to alleviate some of the pain before I can think of doing something else.

(T-~0:15) I take a steaming hot shower, allowing much of the medium-pressure streams to hit my hamstring as I massage it gently with my hands. The hot water on the muscle feels great, and I can feel some of the pain melting away as the water pounds against my leg. After attending to my leg pain and doing normal shower stuff, I get out of the shower easily enough. Some of the pain still remains, but I'd estimate that ~80% of it has dissipated as a direct result of the hot water. As a side benefit, my mobility is greatly increased and I can stand bending down to grab my towel, along with walking around the bathroom and then downstairs to the laundry room, although not without mild difficulty due to the aforementioned leg pain.

(Tą0:00 [3:43 AM]) I swallow two 1mg prednisone pills, without water and with the hope that they will alleviate the remaining pain and allow me to fall back asleep. My emotional state at this point was annoyed but hopeful. I am quite tired at the point, and my general sense of focus is waning. I had considered using my emergency stash of hydrocodone/ acetaminophen, but I deemed the pain levels far too low to resort to such medication.

(T+0:05) At this point, I am surprised to feel a marginal lightheadedness, on par with my consuming a standard drink or less of alcohol. My thoughts begin to drift, and focusing on a specific train of thought becomes difficult. No change in pain level from the after-shower level.

(T+0:08) Drank 20 fl. oz. of water, saving some for later.

(T+0:10) I move over to the recliner, as I tend to have better sleep quality there when I am suffering from leg pain, as it puts less pressure and tension on the effected muscles. Getting back into a reclining position, I feel less pain than I had while sleeping before, although there was still some, along with some stretch in the hamstring muscle which occurs when my leg is extended. This position is much preferable to my previous sleeping position in my current physiological state, and I'm feeling pretty good, on all counts. I attempt to fall asleep, interspersed with phone usage for recording this.

(T+0:20) My mouth and throat quickly become dry. This doesn't feel like the cottonmouth I have experienced on diphenhydramine, but rather a simple lack of moisture, for lack of a better description. I swig down the remaining water, which helps to mostly alleviate it. I am left with an icky taste in my mouth, beyond the normal morning breath. This had an artificial, cloying tinge to it.

(T+0:24) I move from my reclined position to a standing one. As I go to close the blinds so the rising sun does not disturb my slumber, I find that my pain and mobility have actually worsened from my time in the shower. It's still better than when I was in bed, but I decide to limit further physical activity as to not further aggravate my injury. At this point, I am mostly relying on sleep, time, and the recliner to fix this for the time being, as I do not hold high hopes for the prednisone.

(T+0:27) Similar to my experience 5 minutes in, I am feeling that my thoughts are slightly blurred, and now my eyes are stinging. At some point, I drift off to sleep, with these mental and physical effects still continuing as the pain doesn't assert itself again, sprawled out as I am in the recliner.

(T+4:30) I wake up, not completely rested, but feeling much more refreshed than I was around 2 in the morning. I don't feel any pain or discomfort in my leg, even as I move it around slightly. I am unsure whether to ascribe this improvement to sleep, time, or prednisone. The skin on my fingers also felt less flaky than usual as I suffer from dyshidrotic eczema.

(T+4:40) Bringing myself back up to a standing position, I feel no pain in my hamstring. While walking, I do feel that my hamstring is not entirely healed as moving on it causes very minor discomfort, but this discomfort is easily manageable.

Exp Year: 2022	ExpID: 116878
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 20
Published: Oct 30, 2023	Views: 17
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Pharms - Prednisone (226) : General (1), Medical Use (47), Loss of Magic (34), Alone (16)