To those of us who take steroids, and also our families and friends, the mental effects are striking, especially on alternate day treatment when we can appreciate the contrast between steroid and non-steroid days. Elation, feeling like superman, talkativeness - these and similar feelings will be readily recognised by may of you. Families and friends of MG Patients on steroids will often recognise uncharacteristic irritability on steroid days. Occasionally, more profound and worrying psychological symptoms may occur, and serious depression can result - but usually only if this tendency was present before the start of treatment. This is a common accompaniment of steroid therapy, and can be sufficient of a nuisance to require treatment with mild sedatives or tranquillisers taken at night.
Steroids irritate the lining of the stomach and gullet and often cause quite severe indigestion.
Tablets should never be taken on an empty stomach. Less frequently they cause stomach or duodenal ulcers. This automatic regulation is lost when we take steroid treatment, and so it is vital, in order to cover unforeseen emergencies, to carry a card or wear a bracelet stating that the bearer is on steroid treatment and giving the current dose and the phone number of a reliable hospital or general practice contact. There is an increased chance of developing cataracts in the lenses of the eyes when taking sterods and unfortunately there seems to be no way of avoiding this. This is a pretty frightening list and there are other, rarer, complications of steroid therapy which I have not described.