Customer Reviews

Coping with Prednisone, Revised and Updated: (*and Other Cortisone-Related Medicines)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Considering my own love/hate relationship with Prednisone, I was very interested in this book, which was a delight to read. I still can't believe the huge lack of information available on steroids, considering its widespread use, and the personal nature of this story is very engaging. The two authors are sisters, Julie a doctor and Eugenia a professional flutist who develops a rare lung disease that requires steroid treatment. There is an excellent question and answer formatted chapter between the two sisters and an excellent chapter on the psychological effects of the medication, with Eugenia describing how she felt on the medication and Julie describing physically why she felt that way. Since Eugenia works in television as a cultural commentator she was especially concerned about changes the medicine might affect in her appearance, and her sister gave her excellent nutritional and exercise advice that is repeated in the book. I do need to point out, however, that Eugenia could 1) afford the more expensive food items, 2) had the time/energy to prepare them, and 3) could physically exercise. For others, including myself, who take Prednisone during a massive physical crisis, bedrest and debilitating pain/lack of energy necessitates us eating what is on hand or someone else buys (usually prepared foods) and exercise can be an impossibility, hence the typical Prednisone weight gain. This book is still a must-have for anyone personally dealing with this medication or with a loved one taking steroids.

A heartfelt thank you to Eugenia Zukerman and Dr. Julie R. Ingelfinger. I read a review of your book "Coping with Prednisone" in the Sunday Parade magazine. Immediately ordered same from Amazon.Com. Ms. Zukerman is the FIRST person I have discovered who suffers from the same disease that I do: Eosinophilic pneumonia, (aka Pulmonary Infiltration with Eosinophilia, or P.I.E.) I was diagnosed in 1987 and in reading Ms. Zukermans account, it could have been me writing the story, almost line for line. I also suffered with the battle of understanding what the Prednisone was doing to me, physically and emotionally, while it was doing it's wonder job of making me better. I thought at times I was crazy, until I begged one of my doctors to get me some help.... "information about side effects of Prednisone". He copied several pages of information from the hospital library, (for doctors only), but at least I had something to compare to, even though it was written in medical terms. I have felt for years that if a patient is on long term Prednisone therapy, detailed explanations should be furnished to the patient, as the side effects of the drug are so varied and at times most devistating. I have been on Prednisone for 12 years. I have learned to live with the side effects, but at times it is extremely difficult. For me, it has become a "trade-off". The prednisone is keeping me alive, so I must accept what else it is doing to me as payment. I have been an M.S. patient for 28 years and in 1991 was diagnosed with S.L.E. (Lupus). However, the Eosinophilic pneumonia has been the most difficult and devistating disease of the three. Unfortunately in my case, the eosinophilic infiltrates only stay at bay when the dose is 5mg. or higher. 60mg. needed to control a major flair of the eosinophilia. I would appreciate very much if Amazon.Com would forward this letter to Ms. Zukerman's publishers and request that they send it along to her. It is very comforting to know that one other person has this rare malady and has experienced many of the same things that I have. I wish I had had this book to read in 1987. It would have made coping with prednisone so much easier!

Seeing as I've been on prednisone for almost a year now, I thought it'd be a blessing to find this book. Well it was and it wasn't.

I certainly enjoyed the chatty tone this book takes when describing the changes Eugenia was going through, especially since they echoed my own claims of the changes the prednisone was giving me. I knew that these 15 extra lbs. weren't just slips in a healthful eating regime nor were natural the farewell I bid to a once delicate waist or an angulated face or the spacey feeling that assaults me each afternoon. Just the fact that someone acknowledged these symptoms made me feel less alone in my suffering. It made me understand a great deal.

However, the book is severely lacking long(er)-term solutions. The authors claim that "while on prednisone therapy, you should/shouldn't...", "avoid (whatever) while on prednisone". All this when making observations to avoid sugars, salt, and some other stuff. Well, I'm quite glad for the author that she ONLY had to take this medicine for a measly 10 months (even if she was sort of whiny about it at times), but there's so many of us looking at a lifetime treatment here and well, I, for example, teach several baking courses so avoding all sorts of sugar for the rest of my life is definitely not an option. The author says she got through by thinking "this is only temporary", well guess what? Sometimes it's not. There is no "while I'm on prednisone" for so many of us and that's a big mistake to make as well as a separate point the book lacks to address. An important one too, if you ask me.

I've been blessed enough to have my disease under control for a while now and my hopes for a really small dose of prednisone remain high as do a reduction of symptoms. This book helped me make sense of the things that are happening to me, knowing what to blame on the meds and what not to. However, there is no way I can use this book as a guide, not even to "cope with prednisone", as the title suggests. I enjoyed the book (read it cover to cover the day I received it) but I think the authors lacked a little more sensibility to think about people who are cursed with this remedy for more than mere months at a time and address these more serious concerns.

I started a megadose 12 year adventure with prednisone in August, 1985; I am still suffering the after effects. The adventure continued for an average of 10 months out of each of the 12 years. My doctor provided some information about the side effects but nothing like what was detailed in this book. I only wish I had this book. This book provides invaluable help in knowing what to expect and, most importantly, how to handle the devestating side effects. Perhaps I would not have had an enormous weight gain and loss of a relationship if I had the book. I will highly recommend this book to anyone I meet who must take prednisone and, I am sending a copy to my doctor. Three cheers and one million thanks to the authors.

Having been prescribed 60 mg's of prednisone a day for IBD, and experiencing a lot of the nastier pschological side effects, I found this book a great source of comfort. Both co-authors take turns writing in the first person; the patient describes her personal experience and the doctor discusses the medical aspects of those experiences. This is an effective strategy that is simultaneously reassuring and informative.

From what I've read, there is in fact little that can be done to mitigate the side effects of long term, high dosage prednisone use. This book's value lies not in providing a miracle remedy for alleviating prednisone side effects. Rather, the book provides a source of reassurance for those having to suffer through the effects of steriod therapy.

This book should be titled: Eugenia Zukerman's Coping with Prednisone.

Ms. Zukerman was on prednisone for 10 months; her sister is a MD with Mass General; they co-authored the book. The book chronicles Ms. Zukerman's experiences while on prednisone, while her sister provides the medical authority. The book does a decent job of documenting the conditions prednisone is prescribed for, as well as a list of side effects. However, I don't that many people are really going to care or understand the discussions regarding the different types of prednisone, chemical composition, etc.

For the most part, an individual on long-term treatment of prednisone is not going to find this book useful. Maintaining a fat-free, salt-free, no foods with yeast, fresh fish, low carb diet for years on end is, in my opinion, unrealistic.

Her experiences with side effects, are very accurate. But my concern is, she does not provide any good coping strategies for the average person who is holding down a 9-5 job and does not have her financial resources. Many people cannot afford fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, and shiatsu massages.

I strongly disagree with advice recommending not to wax the face because prednisone makes the skin fragile. High doses of pred will cause hirsutism, or growing of hair, particularly on the face. As a woman, I cannot think of anything more horrifying than having a beard. If you follow Ms. Zukerman's advice of shaving, you will have a beard. I've waxed my face for the past 16 years while on prednisone, with no ill effects.

Lastly, the tone of the book is to white-knuckle, grit-your-teeth and stick it out until you are off pred. Unfortunately, for many of us, there is no such end in sight. As someone who assists individuals with auto-immune disorders to cope with their disease and treatment, getting people to understand and be willing to take prednisone is one of the greatest challenges I face. Prednisone IS difficult to cope with with. However, there ARE many realistic strategies for minimizing each of the side effects; none of which are discussed in this book because Ms. Zukerman didn't face long-term treatment with the drug.

My recommendation is, go to webmd and look up the medical side effects, and stay away from this book.

I was looking for a book to help explain the side effects from the prednisone, that I've been on for the last 14 year's due to asthma that I have had my entire life. None of the doctor's were willing to give up the answer for some unknow reason. When I started read this wonderful book I said to myself, Oh My God, someone actually wrote a book on everything I was wondering about. The more I kept reading the more I understood how to deal with this awful but life saving drug. I wish I could say thank you to Eugenia and Julie in person. I belong to two asthma chat groups online through the internet. I have recommended this book to everyone. And mostly everyone has baught the book. Although I may never be able to get off steroids, as I've been told by my doctor's at least I have a better understanding about Prednisone. I recommend this book to everyone with asthma and other illnesses that require prednisone. It's the best book.

I have hesitated all day about writing this because I have such mixed feelings about this book. Ms. Zukerman had an illness of rather short duration and she has been told not to expect a reoccurance.For those of us who have no choice but to live with this medicine year in and year out, a great deal of her advice seems limited.I have Crohn's disease and over twenty years I have gained 45 pounds. I certainly can't live on the diet that is suggested in this book. Just the beans alone would put me in intensive care!Ms. Zukerman is from the "you can never be too thin" school of self centeredness and if I were to embrace her value system I would be one unhappy camper. There are trade offs in life that Ms. Zukerman has obviously not had to make.So the information is there but a good endocrinologist could give you more. And if perchance you can't be rich and famous with a sister who is a doctor no less, don't despair. There are more of us than there are of them!

I was recently diagnosed with systemic lupus and I found alot of useful information about the side effects of prednisone from this book. Fortunately I have a mild case of lupus and my rheumatologist has me on a 3 month alternating schedule of prednisone 'til she can wean me off of it. There were some parts of the book that I found irrelevant to my illness and thus skipped those sections. I would recommend this book to anyone who has just been prescribed predisone therapy whether it be for a short period of time, or for life. It will explain alot of things that your doctor might have forgotten to mention.

I bought this book when I was frustrated with the effects of prednisone. I have cystic fibrosis and asthma, and have been on steriods off and on, but most recently 8months straight- with no end in sight. I happen to be a registered nurse, so many of the medical information was not new to me, but was straight forward and easily understood for the average person. I enjoyed reading though that I am NOT alone in the side effects - and more importantly tips to cope with them. The author was not on prednisone year on end, and her condition stablized to where she no longer needed it, HOWEVER- her insight was valuable. The only way I could see this book being more helpful would be if the patient was a long term steriod user - with a chronic illness.