Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 6441 msfocusmagazine.org Of course, when my family took me home upon my discharge, there was no party. Life for me at home was just the way it was before I became ill - with no expensive gifts, no showers of money, no trips, no parties, no visits from famous people. I could no longer work because of my illness. Accepting this reality was a great blow to me, and it took quite some time for me to abandon my delusional thoughts. Throughout this period of adjustment, my husband and children were very supportive of me, and they reassured me that my behavior during my illness was just that, behavior caused by an illness over which I had no control. Although I heard their words of support, encouragement, and understanding, the shame and embarrassment I felt about the way I acted while I was ill were overwhelming to me. Knowing how I affected my family by purchasing the items I did, crying as hard as I cried when things didn’t happen as I expected, and even having my family need to look for me when I ventured out looking for the famous people I expected to come to our home, was almost too much for me to bear at times. It was my family’s – even extended family’s – loving support and encouragement that eventually allowed me to forgive myself for my behavior and my actions. If anyone has experienced any type of delusional behavior that may have been related to treatment with steroids or any other medication, my hope is that we may be able to assure them that they are not alone in their experience, as fearful and distressing as it may be or may have been. I realize that, in many cases, medications such as steroids are needed to treat MS symptoms. However, I want to stress the importance of patients and practitioners discussing all the possible side effects of medications such as steroids. These discussions are incredibly important when mental health diagnoses are involved, and especially if unusual behavioral symptoms occur once a medication has been started, or even after its course has been completed. Fortunately, I have now returned to “my- self” and have resumed my role as mother of our household. I cannot thank my family enough for their roles as “mother” to me, and for the love, strength, determination, resilience, and persistence they showed to me when they needed to be the “moms” in my life. My family and I can agree with the phrase, “undergoing adversity can make one stronger.” We believe this is true for us! EDITOR’S NOTE: Mood and cognitive changes with corticosteroids are common, but generally mild and reversible. These changes typically include elevated mood, irritability, mood swings, or impaired verbal memory. Severe psychiatric illness such as the author experienced is a rare side effect, particularly associated with high doses of steroids. Those with pre-existing psychiatric conditions do not appear to be at a higher risk. When high dose steroids are recommended for relapse management, discuss possible side effects with your doctor.