Corticosteroids in pregnancy to reduce complications from being born prematurely patient information leaflet

Steroids can increase the number of white blood cells in your blood. Take your tablets after a meal or with milk as they can irritate your stomach. It can help to change a few things about when and where you sleep.

• Outside of licensed medical uses, people tend to use anabolic steroids in bodybuilding, because they can quickly build muscle mass, decrease body fat, and improve athletic performance.
• But eventually all that sort of calmed down and just, so this is where I am.
• These should avoid or minimise long-term glucocorticoid treatment and have less effect on the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
• They can also cause problems with fluid retention and high blood pressure.
• The Macmillan Support Line offers confidential support to people living with cancer and their loved ones.
• Some people find they become fatigued when they’re withdrawn from steroids.

If you have indigestion or pain in your tummy, let your nurse or doctor know. If you feel unwell or need advice, you can call them at any time of the day or night. You may get some of the side effects we mention, but you are unlikely to get all of them.

How does it make you feel?

In our survey, 40% said they found it difficult to sleep well when taking steroids, often due to racing thoughts. Find out more about your preventer inhaler and possible side effects here. Your GP will work out how much you need to take, and for how long, depending on your symptoms and how you’re recovering. Many studies have shown that steroids are effective at speeding up recovery from relapses.

• A number of
  the drugs are general to many of the vasculitides whilst others are
  specific to individual vasculitic diseases.
• We need your help to improve our information to better support people with Crohn’s and Colitis.
• Steroids that are injected into a blood vessel (intravenous steroids) may cause more widespread side effects.
• If you’re worried about your behaviour, or that of a relative, talk to your health team.
• Patients
  may also be advised to drink a lot of water to flush out the bladder but
  this should be discussed with the medical team.

You’re most likely to be prescribed oral steroids if you have a flare up of your symptoms or an asthma attack. This should be a short course to deal with symptoms, and once you’ve finished the course your doctor will advise you how to safely stop taking them. If you’re struggling to control your symptoms, or you’ve had an asthma attack, it’s important to treat the inflammation in your airways with steroids.

Side-effects and risks

The information here aims to help you better understand your health and your options for treatment and care. Your healthcare team is there to support you in making decisions that are right for you. They can help by discussing your situation with you and answering your questions.

Corticosteroids

When used correctly, topical corticosteroids are a safe and effective treatment for conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. However, a withdrawal reaction following long term use of these products can lead to skin redness and a burning sensation worse than the original skin condition. These reactions can be hard to distinguish from the original skin condition.

If you need someone to talk to or advice on where to get help, our Support and Information team is available by phone, email or live-chat. Steroids can make you more likely to catch viral infections, such as chickenpox, shingles and measles. This is because they restrict the way your immune system reacts to viruses and bacteria.

Your immune system produces extra fluid to fight infections or bacteria, which causes swelling, redness and heat in the affected area. You might have noticed this if you have had a cut or wound on your skin. Taking prednisolone at higher doses for a long time can slow down the normal growth of children and teenagers. Corticosteroids can weaken your immune system and make you more vulnerable to infection.

There’s no evidence to suggest that these methods will lessen the harmful side effects of taking anabolic steroids. There can also be psychological effects, including mood swings, paranoia, and aggressive or manic behaviour. Outside of medical settings, people tend to get hold of anabolic steroid through unregulated websites.

This is because after taking steroids for a long time, your body may not produce enough natural corticosteroids, which can lead to a condition known as adrenal suppression, also known as adrenal insufficiency. For some conditions, low-dose steroids may be needed for many months or years. One might expect that glucocorticoids would also reduce inflammation in the heart and blood vessels. Theoretically this would reduce heart attack and stroke (by reducing atherosclerosis, in which blood vessels become clogged up) and heart failure and rhythm disturbances (by reducing inflammation in the heart).

Greater chance of infection

Your dose may need to be reduced slowly over a few weeks or months. If you’ve been taking corticosteroids for a while, you may also need tests before you stop taking them. These will make sure that your adrenal coach4nutrition glands are still working properly. There’s some evidence that steroid inhalers used by people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can increase the risk of chest infections like pneumonia.