| Details | | Publication Date: | 1997-08-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 208 pages | | Height: | 8.5 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 13.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
When the world-renowned flutist Eugenia Zukerman developed a rare lung disease, she discovered prednisone's risks and benefits. Yes, it could save her life, but the side effects, which can include bloating, intense mood swings, changes in hair and skin, gastrointestinal problems, and increased susceptibility to infection, could also threaten her livelihood and sense of well-being. Fortunately, Eugenia had a doctor in the family. Her sister, Julie R. Ingelfinger, a well-known specialist in pediatric nephrology and hypertension at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, quickly volunteered to help Eugenia in minimizing the potential side effects. In her search for appropriate and detailed materials to help her sister cope with her course of prednisone, Julie was startled to find out how little help was available for patients undergoing this difficult treatment. Together the two sisters decided to remedy this situation with a detailed, practical guide to making treatment with glucocorticoids as effective and as trouble-free as possible. Packed with everything your doctor didn't have time to tell you, including recipes, exercises, and tips based on personal experience, Coping with Prednisone is an invaluable handbook for health-care workers and caregivers, and especially for patients themselves.
Industry Reviews
Prednisone has been dubbed a "wonder drug" because of its effectiveness in treating everything from asthma and rheumatoid arthritis to kidney disease and organ transplants; however, long-term use may cause side effects such as bloating, weight gain, and depression. Zukerman, a renowned flutist and arts correspondent for CBS's Sunday Morning, discovered prednisone's down sides when she took it to treat a rare lung disease. With her sister, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, Zukerman has written an empathetic, easy-to-understand, and factually accurate guide that offers suggestions, recipes, and exercises for relieving the drug's unpleasantness. She includes additional information about the chemistry, preparations, dosage, and a bibliography about the medication. Despite a few generalizations (rheumatoid arthritis is serious but not life-threatening), this work is recommended for consumer health collections, although readers taking the drug will want to buy their own copies. A more thorough source for libraries is the annual Complete Drug Reference 1997 (St. Martin's, 1996), which covers 10,000 drugs. Margaret Norden, Marymount Univ. Lib., Arlington, Va.
Stefanatos
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