The Anomalous Press

Author: Cryptic Anomaly

Note: The experiences that are mentioned within this writing are considered to be normal and are expected by doctors when on Prednisone.

Recovery Progress Part 1: My Personal Experience of 2 Months on Prednisone

The past three months of recovery have been challenging especially during the two-month period I was on the steroid Prednisone. This medication entered my life as a critical supportive medication for the Luxturna gene therapy. To protect the retina and suppress inflammation following the vitrectomy in my right eye. This meant that a strict steroid routine was essential. My specialists instructed me to begin this course three days prior to the surgery that took place on 1st December, 2025, thus, marking the start of a profound biological takeover. 

Before we begin the account of my experience, I would like to make it clear that this writing is not against taking Prednisone or doing the Luxturna treatment. Both are essential in their own unique ways, however, the clinical necessity does not diminish the intensity of the subjective experience of its side effects.

The Bittersweet Routine

Prednisone is a synthetic form of cortisol that serves multiple purposes including shutting down the natural production of cortisol in the body while simultaneously suppressing the immune system. On 28th November 2025, I started the first course at 40 mg per day. The routine was incredibly specific and demanding. For weeks one and two, I took 40 mg daily, which meant swallowing eight tablets every single morning. Subsequently, the dose dropped to 30 mg in week three, followed by 20 mg in week four. During weeks five and six, I maintained 10 mg daily then eventually moving to a final taper of 5 mg every other day for the remaining two weeks.

Taking eight tablets all at once every morning during weeks 1 and 2 was a daunting task. Needless to say, the taste was horrible. However, I quickly learnt to keep a block of chocolate nearby to mask the bitterness that seemed to linger long after the tablets were gone. What I did not anticipate was how quickly this “supporting” medication would move my baseline and begin to regulate my entire internal world. The ritual of the morning dose became a moment of psychological preparation for the day’s upcoming shifts in energy and mood than a simple clinical requirement.

Mechanical Hunger & Metabolic Shifts

One of the earliest shifts was a mechanical, impulsive change in appetite. I found myself frequently hungry even immediately after eating while craving sugar and salt with an intensity that felt entirely disconnected from my actual needs. This was not emotional eating or stress-driven hunger. Instead, it felt like a biological command. Even when my sense of taste was diminished, the urge to consume remained. I was unsure how I managed to navigate this gap between a body screaming for fuel and a palate unable to enjoy it, yet the impulsive drive stayed consistent. It seemed as though the medication had assumed control of my metabolic thermostat, and I was simply along for the ride.

Later on, I learnt that Prednisone increases blood glucose availability and alters insulin response, effectively telling the body to keep fuel readily accessible at all times. When my blood sugar dipped, especially in the evening, I felt shaky, jittery and internally restless. Quick hits of sugar offered brief relief, followed by a sharper drop that mirrored a roller coaster. Paradoxically, what might easily be labelled as “anxiety” was often purely metabolic instability. Maintaining a steady intake of food became a chore of management than an act of enjoyment which challenged my stability from one day to the next.

The Internal Furnace

This loss of control extended to my physical regulation, particularly regarding heat. For several weeks during the height of winter, I found myself lying in bed with the window wide open while using only a light blanket to sleep at night as the internal “furnace” of the Prednisone roared. I felt like a passenger in a body that had been temporarily hijacked. The biting cold air outside served less as a grounding force and more as a necessary countermeasure to a system I no longer recognised as my own. Cortisol plays a role in metabolism, vascular tone, and temperature regulation; therefore, when that system is altered, the body’s internal thermostat becomes unreliable.

Despite feeling overheated, I also felt a strange, sedated drowsiness during the day. It was not the fatigue of poor rest, however, it was the shift in neurological balance that made me feel heavy and distant. Oddly, my sleep itself remained relatively intact even if the quality felt altered by the medication. The sensation of overheating was strongest at night which occurred when the body normally relies on stable hormonal rhythms. Navigating these physical contradictions required a level of patience that I often felt I lacked which added yet another layer to the internal negotiation.

The Mental Static & the ADHD-like Experience

The mental landscape was perhaps the most unsettling territory to navigate. My brain felt overcrowded as if I were living with what is described as ADHD. It felt like I had far too many internet browser tabs opened at once. Thoughts arrived with an urgency and volume that created an intrusive noise, making it nearly impossible to focus on a single task. Even when I tried listening to audiobooks or exploring new academic ideas little by little, the mental static was deafening. I noticed a surge in the need for intellectual stimulation; a restless energy searching for a logic-based anchor amidst the emotional chaos.

This state was a bizarre duality. I was intellectually hungry but mentally exhausted while driven by a chemical engine I could not switch off. At times, the overcrowding of thoughts felt like a surge of potential, yet it was mostly an intrusive interference. Concentrating was difficult as thoughts arrived with an intensity that did not always align with my personal values. This experience made it clear that mood, impulse and emotional stability are deeply dependent on neurochemical context.

Authoring Emotions & Seeking Solitude

My emotional state became similarly unpredictable. I experienced swings from elevated optimism to sudden irritability that felt real in the moment, yet entirely unauthored by my actual self. I could recognise that a reaction was atypical for me, however, I still felt the full force of its momentum. When these waves of irritability or emotional flatness hit, I preferred to retreat into solitude  than attempting to explain the unexplainable to those around me. Attempting to vocalize this internal chaos felt like an impossible task.

In those moments, I relied on a very dry sense of humour. It served as both an anchor to my identity, that is,,a way of signalling that “I am still in here” and a reflexive shield to keep the intensity of the experience at a distance. The sensory overload furthermore became significant. Sounds felt louder and lights appeared brighter, thus, reducing my tolerance for any form of external stimulation. Solitude became a form of nervous-system first aid. It allowed me to exist in my own space without the pressure of performance, which preserved a small pocket of stability even when everything else felt unstable.

The Taper & Recalibration Spike

As the tapering process began, the symptoms often intensified than faded. Moving from 20 mg down to 10 mg triggered a significant spike in muscle fatigue, headaches and temperature swings. Scientifically, Prednisone replaces the body’s natural cortisol; the brain responds by reducing its own production. Tapering is the process of allowing the adrenal glands to slowly restart, but this recalibration felt like volatility. The muscle aches were specifically frustrating as no amount of stretching seemed to provide relief. It was a metabolic discomfort that could only be waited out.

During the final stages, specifically at 5 mg every other day, my C-PTSD symptoms felt severely heightened. Hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts and a sense of shutdown converged into a cloud of distress where the physical and mental pain became indistinguishable. These fluctuations were not setbacks. They were signs of re-regulation in progress. Nevertheless, the instability during this phase was disorienting, therefore, making it hard to maintain the idea that the mind and body operate independently than as one interwoven system.

Returning to a New Baseline

My last 5 mg dose was on 21st January, 2026. Although the formal routine has ended, I am still experiencing withdrawal symptoms six weeks later. My body is evidently still re-adjusting to its regular baseline and struggling to resume its own cortisol production. This journey has taught me that the human being is a delicate psycho-physical system where the mental shapes the body and the body, in turn, shapes the mental. I have had to learn to treat rest, food and gentleness not as indulgences but as fundamental parts of the healing process.

As I reflect on this experience now, I do not see recovery as a simple return to who I was before December 2025. It feels more like the emergence of a new layer of identity. The process of surviving this chemical takeover has allowed parts of myself that I had previously abandoned to return. I have a newfound respect for the delicate balance that sustains the self and the observing awareness that remained constant throughout the storm. Luxturna is a remarkable, life-changing therapy, and Prednisone was its necessary protector. However, the power of such medication deserves to be understood through lived experience because the body often teaches us lessons that medical theory alone cannot understand.