DECADRON Reviews (DEXAMETHASONE)Average Rating: 2.2 (197 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare DECADRON with similar:
Type: Brand name discontinued; available as generic
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Results are sorted by Age oldest to youngest. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
More on DECADRON: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR DECADRON | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 1 | Brain Tumor | Extreme weight gain 5 -10 lbs/ week. Raging paranoia and temper flares beginning after 1-2 days. Extreme swelling of neck and face. Dehabilitaiting loss of calf muscle leading to inability to walk 2-3 months). Extreme arm skin discoloration. Uncontrolable appetite. Dangerous increased uncontrollable blood sugar (non diabetic) beware of this! | The cascade of side affects of this drug drove the adminstering of a cocktail of drugs to counter all the effects of the decadron. This drug lead caused my mother to become to uncontrollable and debilitated that she could not be cared for at home. As a result of the effects of the Decadron, she was then overdosed with other drugs to counter her uncontrollable anger and force her to be bedridden. After she could no longer walk more drugs were administered. Her blood sugar climbed so high that it would not register on the meters. The doctors were so intent on escalating the dosage all of these drugs they totally lost site of the basic requirements to support life. After being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor, my wonderfully healthy Mother deteriorated every minute after she was given Decadron. There was no medical treatment that provided any benefit to her. There is not enough room here to explain, but I warn you that I am 100% certain that Decadron destroyed my Mothers | F | 85 | 180 days | 6/17/2008 | 1 | Covid | Confused, hallucinations, combative with hospital staff, suicidal thoughts, | Never take this drug. | F | 84 | 9 days 6mg 1X day | 1/22/2022 | 1 | brain tumour - radiation | facial swelling, insatiable appetite, paranoia, delusions, manic behavior, hallucinations, rages | This is my mother. The drug has put her in the hospital and may kill her. The dr says she can't just stop it but must withdraw over a couple of months | F | 76 | 45 days | 8/28/2009 | 5 | canker sores | Decadron along with Kenalog has been a wonder "drug" for the relief of canker sores. (inside my mouth)I have at times had 15 to 20 lesions and with the shot of 30mgs of kenalog and1/2 to a full cc of decadron the pain and lesions begin to dissapear within a couple of days. | M | 73 | 10 years | 3/27/2009 | 4 | severe pain/osteoartritis/spinal | (see 2 earlier posts) OFF the Decadron for about 6 months per orders from spine surgeon prior to fusion of L4/L5--now tpaerd on from 2 mg./day (too little) down to .5 mg per day. Great help with neuropathy and joint pain. Not 100% as I take Lyrica and occasional Vicodin at night. Most serious effects are extereme thinning/bruising of skin. | Other early side efffects reported (somnolence/mood) are behind me. | M | 73 | 2 years | 3/12/2008 | 4 | spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis | skin is very thin, subject to cuts and brusies. Most/all early side effects now gone (somnolence, mood changes, etc.) Side effects an acceptable trade-off for pain relief. | (see earlier post of 4/06) Have been on maintenance dose of .5 mg/day for almost 1 year. In 2 attempts to withdraw, pain came back with a vengeance about 2-3 days after cessation. | M | 72 | 1 years | 5/4/2007 | 1 | swelling post gamma knife surgery | My father has had about every side effect listed for drug, the worst being it has robbed him of all muscle in his legs and he can't walk now. So weak, in rehab trying to build up muscle again. | Do not take this drug unless there is no other option! | M | 72 | 2.5 months | 10/28/2009 | 1 | Nausea before chemo | Loss of muscle in legs, shortness of breath, low blood pressure, took away my quality of life in one day. | Do not take this drug for nausea. Nausea is nothing next to this horrible drug. | F | 72 | 1 days 20 mg. 3xd | 3/3/2020 | 1 | brain tumor | Experienced them all: severe swelling- head, neck legs. Muscle weakness. pneumonia, kidney failure, diabetes, paranoia, loss of appetite. | this drug and its wild cascade of symptoms killed my mother. | F | 71 | 6 weeks | 7/3/2007 | 1 | lower back pain/swelling | moon face,bloated stomach,personality/mood change,hungry all the time, badly swollen from hips down, tremors in hands, nightmares, night sweats, etc. | It is a drug that should be taken off the market. I got off the medicine a month ago and the side affects are still there. Why would any doctor prescribe this to anyone? | M | 71 | 1 months | 7/12/2006 | 1 | brain lesion | shakes,weak, hungry all time, joint pain to the point can,t walk,trouble breathing, chest pain,angry all the time. Bad stuff be sure of side effects before taking. | I told Doctors I couldn't take they insisted I had to have it.I'm coming off it don't know how long before it gets out off system maybe never.Two days before I was put on this drug I walked six blocks at a fast pace after 20 days on it the only way I can get around is on a walker not very well at that.This is a bad drug needs to be off market. | F | 71 | 30 days 8mg 1X day | 2/27/2012 | 4 | advanced lower spinal pian | insomnia, obsessive/compulsive behaviour, unusual high-energy Insomnia bad, but acceptable as I work as a Consultant, so getting up at 3AM is not so bad, as compared to the pain. | 70 year old fit male with severe lower spine degradation-- --worked great--NO PAIN almost immediately. Started with 2 x 1mg daily--then after 3-4 days--tapered to 2 x 1/2 mg daily--then (now) off completely 14 days later. Pain returning now--will seek a maintenance dose of .5mg daily or as needed --down to as low as .5 mg every other day. BF | M | 70 | 14 days | 4/1/2006 | 1 | post brain surgery glioblastoma | severe swelling of face and neck, leg muscles weakened so much he could not walk, extreme restlessness up every minute to five minutes to 30 minutes throughout the night, incontinence, blood sugar became uncontrollable--- went so high it was out of range. This beloved man could not tell us what he was experiencing after major brain surgery but as care giver this is what I observed. I believe the drug just weakened his legs so severely that he could not walk. And that it just wore him out completeley, as well as those who were privileged to care for him. I would never recommend this drug, I believe it contributed greatly to killing him. The doctors say it is now in my blood also. Be sure to wear gloves if you have to handle the bed clothes and undergarments of a person taking this drug. I also feel very strongly that oral Temodar for chemotherapy is a cruel, painful, dangerous, ineffective way to treat brain cancer. They don't even know if it passes through the brain/blood barrier. | The doctors and hospice people tried to convince me this is a good drug, but from my experience with it 24/7 for 4 months I just can't believe it. I think it is very destructive and dangerous. I would not take it. Neither would I take Temodar. Thank you for the opportunity to express my views. It helps the heartache if I can help someone else. | F | 67 | 3 months 4mg 3X day | 9/23/2010 | 1 | chronic pain from spine problems | Third day swelling of limbs, terrible muscle weakness and vertigo, crying and feeling very anxious. I am stopping this drug immediately | F | 66 | 4 days | 12/23/2009 | 1 | Brain tumor | I was starving and HAD to eat every hour on the hour and I ate anything I could get my hands on. Had terrible night sweats, changing 2-4 times a night. My faced Deformed so that it looked like it was turned inside out, had 3 chins, gained 40 lbs. | I lost 25 of the 40 lbs, but am stuck and can't lose anymore. Anyone have any ideas about losing the rest of the weight? My face is back to normal, though! | F | 65 | 3 months 2 mg 1X day | 7/6/2012 | 1 | glioblastoma ( Brain tumor ) | Depression, Irritable, cruel, loss of interest in everything, weight gain, Moon face, Over time lost of balance and strength in legs. Blood pressure issues, Very low hearth rate ( under 50 while sitting). Fog minded | This is my DAD. My mom is the main caretaker. The main issue was the jekyll and hyde like switch of the person. When the steroid hit his system he became Mr Hyde. A completely different person. when the dose was reduced to 1MG a day be was then become like a very old 90 year nice man that just sites and watches TV only of others turn it on first. Also the lost of balance stopped and he whent from a whell chair to slow walking with no help. Now with a new treatment they have infected him with more steroid with the other chemo and again Mr Hyde is back and mean as ever. Now that we know what is causing the issue we will be looking into stopping the steroid use. My dad is completely incompatible with the hellish drug. Better to live a shorter life as you really are then live longer has a different person and a stranger to the family | M | 65 | 7 months 2MG 2X day | 10/27/2012 | 1 | brain tumor that spread from lung | Mother in-law took it.it did its job of keeping the swelling in brain down after radiation treatments.she was however never able to get off of it because her body was so used it to it and couldnt adjust to being off of it.when she tried getting off of it all she did was throw up and lost alot of weight. When on it she had major muscle weakness,couldnt get up on her own and could no longer walk.and as it was upped she had halucinations and began to have some dementia.decadron is evil and it kills. I firmly beleive its what killed her because her cancer was responding to treatment.She ended up having no quality of life and died 9 months after starting it. There are other steroids out there, so only use decadron as a very last resort.i wish it was never made and hope one day it is no longer used because all it does is kill you. | F | 64 | 9 months 2mg-6mg | 4/20/2014 | 1 | thrombocytopenia | anxiety, horrendous acid/heartburn, dizziness,headachey,blurred vision,racing heart beat, pain in throat, shortness of breath. Been off for three days and feel terrible. (4mg X 10 per day for 4 days) | Its disgusting how I feel - I think I will probably end up in the er before this is over because I feel like I'm having a heart attack. | F | 64 | 4 days | 12/7/2008 | 1 | glioblastoma multiforme stage 4 | swollen face, neck, ankles and feet. Weight gain, increased appetite. Total loss of muscles in arms and legs. My dad can no longer walk and is bedridden in a nursing home! Thinning skin on arms...purple marks all over arms...easily bruised. | This drug is pure evil....I can't believe that my dad has been on this drug since March and every time they try to wean him off of it they end up having to put him back on. He is so far gone and even the doctors admit it is the decadron. They say his MRI for his tumor remains unchanged and that he is okay in that respect. It's not the brain cancer killing him...its this god awful drug! Hopefully we can get him back with the help of an endocrinologist. My dad was a strong man with no health issues before this. | M | 63 | 6 months 4mg 1X day | 8/25/2011 | 2 | pre-chemo treatment | Persistent hiccups for 3 days | 61 | 1 days 12mg | 6/23/2015 |
DECADRON (DEXAMETHASONE): Dexamethasone is used to treat conditions such as arthritis, blood/hormone/immune system disorders, allergic reactions, certain skin and eye conditions, breathing problems, certain bowel disorders, and certain cancers. It is also used as a test for an adrenal gland disorder (Cushing's syndrome). This medication is a corticosteroid hormone (glucocorticoid). It decreases your body's natural defensive response and reduces symptoms such as swelling and allergic-type reactions. FDA Approval Date: 1982-07-30 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)