Prednisone is very evil

I am considering what breathing is worth.

Prednisone is a useful drug, but the side effects are now dipping into the ridiculous and I'm not sure what they are worth. I like breathing. Frankly, it is rather important to me! However, the heart thing is getting scary.

Last week I scared myself and a room full of people when my heart suddenly started racing so fast that I turned beat red, couldn't breathe and began shaking uncontrollably. It wasn't fun. Until this happened, I never really got how bad a racy pulse can make you feel. It lasts for hours!

The next day at my cardiologist appointment she said what has happened is the Prednisone has triggered something called Supraventricular Tachychardia (SVT). Basically, the electrical wiring in my heart is haywire and can set off the racing and pulse when I get upset or, really, at anytime. Until now, I only had the racing heart at night, and it would stop after a little while. The SVT lasts a very long time and makes you feel kind of sick after.

The doctor says we just wait and see if it starts happening more often. It is not dangerous, unless it does happen all the time or won't stop. And of course, there is a medication for it, yippee. The alternative in some cases is a small operation where they remove a tiny piece of the heart muscle where the tachychardia is starting. NOT happening.

For most people, triggers can be caffeine or alcohol and cutting those out really helps. In my case, it's Prednisone and stopping that is not an option yet. Though we did drop my dose a little, so I'm headed in the right direction! I still have months to go, though, so this is just one more side effect to deal with.

I'm determined to get the Sarcoid into remission and get on with my life. But there are weeks like this when I wonder if it is really worth it.