I found this through Ballastexistenz's blog. You can read what she has to say about it here:
http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=388
Basically, Prednisone is a powerful and dangerous drug used mainly to treat asthma crises and adrenal failure and inability to make cortisol (those are the things Amanda Baggs mentions, anyway). It is useful for those because they're life threatening, so in most cases it's worth the horible side effects and risks. Prednisone is NEVER supposed to be used for lengthy amounts of time.
However, some people are trying to treat autism with it. Not comorbids, autism itself. And they're promoting keeping your kids on it for months at a time. On an extremely dangerous drug with horrible side effects, which isn't even supposed to be used for more than a few weeks, and only to treat life threatening issues.
People can be so STUPID.
Frankly it is astonishing what some parents will administer unquestioningly to their children at the advice of doctors.
And, there are alternatives now to Prednisone for asthmatics. It is not used anymore as much as it once was.
Actually, it can be used for lengthy amounts of time, but only in extreme situations. Extreme meaning life-threatening. And when you're on it for lengthy amounts of time you have to be monitored and stuff because it's really dangerous.
Other uses include various situations where immune suppression is useful (autoimmune diseases and organ transplants come to mind).
Other uses include various situations where immune suppression is useful (autoimmune diseases and organ transplants come to mind).
I've been on prescribed doses of Prednisone, since I have an autoimmune condition which improves with immune suppression. It helped with my autoimmune symptoms for a while, but I eventually had to switch to another drug. This is because my immune system begins to "recognise" drugs after awhile and I develop a tolerance and need to swap to something else.
The Prednisone I took had no perceivable effect on my Asperger's though, and I would have been surprised if it had. Being Aspie is who I am, I can't imagine any drug or treatment suddenly "changing" me into a neurotypical. It'd be rather like waking up one day to find that you've become a different gender overnight!
So speaking from personal experience at least, Prednisone had no effect of my Aspergers/Autism. I feel it's probably another of those "Chelation/mercury/thimiserol" type things which neurotypical parents inflict on their Autistic children to feel they're "doing something". What a pity there's no cure for the neurotypicals! The world would be a much nicer place if everybody was Aspie!
Alison
I know someone who nearly died from an infection because of using Prednisone for severe rhumetoid arthritis.
I'm on Prednisone and it makes me disoriented, over-emotional, ravenous, and occasionally even manic or something close (the last of which could create the appearance of "doing better" in anyone, autistic or not, until it spirals out of control, because of the surge of energy and "doing stuff" that can start it off). But it does not make me in the slightest bit non-autistic.
Is Prednisone like Cortisone? I was of the understanding that Prednisone had some bad side effects such as causing stomach irritation and nausea in some patients.
Prednisone doesn't have "some bad side-effects," it completely screws with the entire body.
Yes, I had read something to that effect and don't think it is a medication I would like to take.
Any parent who is using this drug solely to "cure" an ASD in their child should have that child taken off them immediately for child abuse.
Any parent who is using this drug solely to "cure" an ASD in their child should have that child taken off them immediately for child abuse.
I'd have to agree. This is not a drug to be used lightly and is clearly not going to help their ASD children at all.
We'll have to hope that the doctors in charge of writing out the prescriptions will be constrained by fears of harming an AS child.
Alison
Alison, if some doctors will prescribe the use of chelation as a cure who knows what those quacks would do? There are a lot of cases where parents fear AS more than doctors fear harming them - which is downright dangerous.
I was on prednisone (along with lots of other strong steroids) for a lot of my childhood because of severe asthma. I was usually only on it for a couple of months, two or three times a year though. No doctor in their right mind would keep a kid on it for longer than that unless the child was in a life threatening condition. Last time I checked, autism isn't life threatening.
It definitely never reduced my AS traits. Worked wonders on my asthma though!
Also left me with stunted growth and minor organ damage...
How on earth do people think steroids are going to help autism? Or are they just randomly working their way through a encyclopedia of medicines until they find something that might work?
Yeah it's great for asthma, but nasty on just about all of the rest of my body. :-/
(I'm currently stuck on it for longer than expected for asthma and can't wait to be off it.)