“ dexamethasone “ the good the bad and the ugly.

FormerMember
FormerMember
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I decided to put this post in general cancer discussions as it seems to be an issue that is effecting people across the board due to the use of dexamethasone in many different cancer settings.

lets start with the good ! Reduction in pain, increase in appetite and mental energy 

the bad !  Insomnia, constipation and generally shortened fuse.

and the ugly ! Coming down crash bang wallop after the course is over. 

if I’ve missed anything please feel free to free to add your own experiences.

i think it’s a good idea to highlight these issues, especially for the newly diagnosed so that they can monitor their symptoms and separate the symptoms from dex from that of their general cancer treatment. 

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Good morning everyone, having gone to bed at 8.30 pm in the vain hope hope of sleeping through the night, here I am wide awake, with enough mental energy to set the world to rights, which isn’t much use in the early hours of Monday morning L.O.L 

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    Had my last ones today.   So very much this...

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    Know the feeling and can guarantee I'll  be wide awake until time to get up!!!!

    Debs

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

     It’s good to know I’m not alone, 40mg for 4 days in a row, three weeks out of four. It’s a pity I’m not cramming for my a levels as it might be of some use to me L.O.L  I am becoming quite good a playing lemmings on my iPad though.

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    I think I'll have to learn to post some fab visuals like yours 

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    Calling all my fellow dexi midnight runners, I have managed to sleep through till 1am after going to bed at 8:pm, that’s 5 hours which is a result for me. I’ve had a nice hot cup of tea and a couple of biscuits. I am getting the results of a ct scan today so it’s probably unrealistic to expect be floating on a cloud of relaxation ! I hope any one reading this is ok, and it helps to know you are not alone.

  • Hi ,I take my Dexamethasone in the mornings.

    It's only 0. 5mg/ day tho.

    Sue

    Fear of the unknown is the worst thing. Once we know what we're facing, we find the strength to deal with it.
  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to buttercup01

    morning sue, I do 40mg per day, 4 days in a row and three weeks out of 4. I’m so high, all I need is a magic feather and I could fly across the Atlantic Ocean L.O.L  I’ve got chipmunk cheeks and in the right light look about 5 years old, despite being 56. I’ve often thought about conducting a drug trial with consultants as the participants and sit back and watch them manage with no sleep L.O.L

    how are things with you at the moment ? Are you a stable mabel or a worried Wendy !

  • Hi

    Currently I'm a stable Mabel, thanks to excellent scan results on 7 Jan, where everything had shrunk - after being back on my meds 3 months.

    So sorry to hear about your steroid experience - n I think I do badly on them - I can't get off them, coz I don't produce enough of my own ( only having one kidney)

    Sue x 

    Fear of the unknown is the worst thing. Once we know what we're facing, we find the strength to deal with it.
  • I've only had one cycle so far but start the dexamethasone later today ready for second chemo tomorrow.  To be honest, I was quite entertained by the buzz that I got - I was jabbering away at everyone at 100 miles per hour - I expect the family were quite worn out by it but I found it very funny!  I've not been sleeping that well for a while now so that wasn't too bad, but the crash wasn't pretty - went about grumbling and snapping at my poor husband for a couple of days.

    On the plus side, I had no nausea whatsoever last time.  

    Best wishes, Nell x