Prednisone Side Effects: Effects of Steroid Treatments vs. NSAIDs

Working as a call center technician in the prescription benefits field, I had the opportunity to hear a lot of people complain about a lot of different medicines.

A large volume of the complaints and concerns were related to a category of drugs known as NSAIDs (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs.) Common inflammation/pain treatments like ibuprofen and naproxen fall into the NSAID category. Many calls were about Celebrex, a brand-name NSAID whose potentially-deadly side effects have become very high profile as of late.

NSAIDs have been linked with everything from heartburn and ulcers to fatal heart problems. It seems like a large risk to take for the treatment of minor to moderate inflammation issues.

But the term "NSAID" itself implies that there must also be "SAID"s: steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. Of steroid-based drugs used to combat inflammation, prednisone is probably the most common.

But are steroid treatments such as prednisone really safer than NSAIDs like Celebrex and high-dose ibuprofen? What are the side effects and dangers of prednisone use, and how do they stack up against the risks of other inflammation treatment?

In reality, prednisone and NSAIDs are often prescribed for very different reasons. And yet, because they're both used as anti-inflammatory treatments, there is some potential for crossover in their applications.

Having been prescribed to both prednisone and NSAID treatments myself in the last few months - and not responding well to either of them - I find myself in a unique position to comment on the pros and cons of both types of anti-inflammatory treatments.

In my personal experience, prednisone made me jittery and irritated. It got to the point where I didn't want to take my treatment because I knew it would cause me to be needlessly snappy and angry towards those around me.

In short, prednisone made me act like kind of an a-hole.

On the other hand, it fixed my problem permanently after a 5-day course and I didn't have to take it anymore.