cortisone injections

I too am experiencing dark brown spotting. This has been going on for two weeks now. I have always been regular and was wondering what was going on. At first I thought I was starting my period early and then it never really got started. The it stopped for a day then started again. Now it's everyday, light dark brown spotting. This is a bummer. This started of course after my cortisone injection. I also have a feeling like I have a piece of glass stuck in my hand. It is driving me insane.

Hey Ladies I am too experiencing the same thing. I had knee pain and inflammation due to right meniscal tear.Before surgery I tried cortisone shot and when I started periods it lasted nine days and it was not heavy and the next one came 12 days later and I am running four days with normal bleeding. After reading your posts I assume it is the work of cortisone shot.Also I am 47 and may be peri-menopsausal,but have had very very regular periods till the irregularity started. Any other reason for this Ladies!

2 cortisone pills caused mid-month menstrual bleeding

oh my sisters, i too have had a kenalog shot and my cycle is completely screwed up... been on it a few months and have only had one normal period since, bleeding for about 3 months- no more shots! shame, it seemed to help the psoriasis and arthritis...although i'm 34 and still want a shot at having a family. this is too long to bleed and be bloated and tired and cranky. i hope my body will normalize, i'm scared.

Am really glad to find these posts.  Been post menopausal for 15 years and have been taking bio-identical hormones.  Had a cortisone shot 2 weeks ago and started bleeding fairly heavily 6 days ago.  Because I'd had occasional spotting of late (tests show there is nothing wrong with me except a touchy uterus), my doc gave me a new prescription that upped the dose of the progesterone to 200 mg a day.  Prescribed Progesterone is also supposed to stop periods if taken by itself for most of the month. 

Am hoping this will end this mess soon.  What I have read about abnormal bleeding is that you should see a doctor right away if you experience faintness, pounding heart, paleness.  Anemia is a big concern with too much bleeding.  I hope this helps someone as much as the rest of you have given me information that cortisone can play havoc with our hormones.  If I ever need another injection, I'll certainly and firmly relay my concerns to the doctor giving it.  Thank you.

Hi, plz plz some one help me

I was on treatment of K-Kort injections for more than four months for a skin-related issue, from July to November.
does this injection contain cortisone?? because the symptoms are alike.
At the end of September, I felt my face was swelling. In August, I also took a pack of birth control pills to regulate my periods, since in august, they became irregular.

Now I have left the treatment as well as the injections, but the face swelling is still present, not as much as before but it is still there, just a moon-like face. Is the face swelling a side effect of the K- Kort injection or of the pills? When will my face become normal? I'm worried! also m geeting my periods twice in a month? and this tym more than 10 days, its not going to stop..... plzz plzz guide me

I have took the thyroid test too and it has found OK.

please kindly tell me , any help will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Relieved and upset to find this.

While it helps knowing I'm not the only one with this problem, I'm so disappointed that my local doctor that I trusted has let me down in not knowing that this was a side effect. When I started bleeding 3 weeks before I was due to, after having the shot (which failed by the way, some miracle drug) I called her and she told me there was no way it was related, and that it was a fluke and probably related to stress. I understand stress could prolong the effects but I'm not necessarily sure how to not stress when there's the looming threat of potentially bleeding myself into anemia for the next 60 days. I've been going for 13 now.

I just wish there was a fix besides "wait it out" because waiting it out is really stressful when, like the rest of you, I have a medical problem I'm already struggling to fix that cortisone was supposed to make better. It made my shoulder tendinitis worse, with added side effects. Perhaps a petition should be started to fund more research on the effects cortisone has on hormones. I'm in disbelief that so many doctors are unaware of the problem. What I wouldn't give for my local doctor to have said to me "this may cause menstrual irregularity" so I could have factored it into my decision to take the shot or not. I could have been prepared for the possibility, but I've been left shocked and confused as to why I'm in more pain and now stuck with a period that may not end for several months.

If anyone in the past couple years of this thread running has found a fix, I'd certainly appreciate feedback.

-stressing college student

Hi,

I am having the same experience.  I had 5 shots of steroid injection in both shoulders.  My period stopped for two months.  I took the pregnancy test it was negative and then two weeks later I had my period.  I was so glad but now it doesn't stop.  It stops for 2 days and then it starts again.  It is not heavy and I don't have pain or anything.  It is just so weird to have it again and again.  I went to see my GP, she said  that steroid injection can impact on menstrual cycle.  However, she advised me to do blood test, ultrasound, and pap tests.  I am really worried.  By the way, I am so thankful to everyone to share their experience on this site.  It kind of gave me relief knowing that there are others who had a similar experience. 

 

Sofie

Hi there! Like others, I was so happy to find this discussion! I turned 44 in late Sept - had ob/gyn/ mammo late october....all good, never ever have had a bad check up. I have had the most regular periods ALL my life.... the kind where your friends are all envious! Just start ON the money...heavy first day....trickles off by day 4..and done. I have a period tracker app on my iphone, so i can glance and know how many days til i'm due to start, etc.
So November 1, 2012 I went in for a corticortaid (steroid) injection in my lower lumbar area. And that was it...was on my way. the shot relieved a good 75% of my pain...but about 3 weeks into November I thought ....sheez....i think i should have started period by now. Looked at app on phone and it said "14 days late".....I swear I came close to a panic attack. All I could think of was pregnancy....since the ONLY time i have ever been more than 2-3 days late was my pregnancy at 30.
I took pg tests....TWO... and both negative. So SIX WEEKS went by of ZERO signs of period. I was completely lost...and concerned! Then around Dec 1st, it started - a week or so of brownish just discharge kindof (no tampon needed) - but then BAM.....came what was a very UNUSUAL type peroid for me. First of all....no real "cramps"....or bloating, which i generally get 1-2 days before. AND, just as you said below.....CLUMPS.....LARGE ones.....of what i guess is considered clots....were like falling out of me!! THIS scared me even more. I thought miscarriage...or...or...or??? I have never had such large stuff fall out....or be wiped out....etc...so it was alarming to me! Then a few days of just regular bleeding....sometimes brighter red in color....then I would think i had stopped.....then would have to jump up in middle of night and RUN to toilet...where PLOP....a clump would come out!! So the month of December (yes, just this past one 2012) I had not only that going on.....but started to have horrible hot flashes, and my face got puffy....I could feel it when i smiled....because my cheeks would push up on my eyes way more than normal!! NOT quite "moon face" as they call it....but puffy. I was hot.....then cold.....then hot.....my face would flush.....i got a migraine - first ever in my life.....then on Dec 25, thank you LORD, it all came to a screeching halt. So fast forward 3 weeks, and I started AGAIN on Jan 24, 2013.......and am STILL bleeding at a pretty steady rate......sometimes decent flow.....kindof a brighter red.....and then often enough, clumps that fall out into toilet. And again....it doesn't really feel like "much"....like i don't feel like it's a "regular feeling" period.....so THAT of course feels alarming as well!!
Ladies you are not alone! (also - i registered....and cannot find out how to write/begin a post?? What am i missing?)

I'm thrilled to see all of these responses! I thought I was losing my mind, because every time I got a cortisone injection, my period would get messed up! My problem was my periods would be skipped. Sometimes one month, once it was three! I went for all kinds of testing and they did find elevated prolactin levels, but further testing revealed things were normal.

I was scheduled for a shot last Tuesday, and hesitated, because my periods have been fine. I asked the PA prior to getting the shot if it can affect your hormones and she said absolutely! So I figured ok, it does happen, so I'll get the shot because it helps with my ankle pain. I got it on the second day of my period, and now I'm STILL bleeding!!!! This is insane! However, after reading all of these comments, I do feel somewhat better. Still, this is nuts! UGH....

I got a kenalog shot in September ,the next period was normal after that i was all screwed. After four months,I am still having spotting inbetween periods.It is not excessive but it is constant and that drives me crazy.I could rather have gone for arthroscopy.How long this is going to continue,God alone knows. I am going to be 48 and nearing menopause,but the kenolag shot has messed up my very normal gynaecological history.I am waiting for it to normalize.

38 yrs old here. Went to doctor for pain and limited range of motion in both shoulders and was given a big old shot in both shoulders of cortisone. First time I've had this-well I had a little a few years back in my hand but don't remember any problems. Now, I have NOT gotten my period and this is the first time I have ever not had my period on time. Like some others I took 2 pregnancy tests both were negative. I have noticed a little dark spotting. Not only the missed period but also the little red dots on face and chest. Not only the missed period and the dots but the first week after the shots i could not stop binge eating, which is getting better but is still affecting me. headaches too. Basically what others have said, amped up PMS that just goes on and on. Finally, my ortho neglected to mention that when one is a diabetic, which I am, your blood sugar will freak the funk out after cortisone, and you'll have like 400s and 450s for days and your insulin shots have little impact. None of these lovely sides were mentioned. I am truly thankful for this thread as i too felt like I was going mental. My shoulders feel a lot better I should say but I'm not sure it was worth it.

Hi, just a quick update. My test result came back all normal. But I am still bleeding. It is not spotting it is like normal period but not too heavy. My doctor prescribed Tranexamic Acid tablet 500g for four days. Also I started taking Swiss Multivitamin and Iron tablets because I was feeling run down. I need to get another steroid shot in my left shoulder on 12 Feb I am thinking to cancel the appointment. I think it is not worth it. My right shoulder is frozen and left shoulder has inflammation. I can't sleep at night. I can't believe one health issue causes so many other problems. Sofie

Wow.  So thankful to have found this thread as I too wondered if I was suddenly having a medical issue or just losing my mind.  I had a cortisone shot in the shoulder March 7th as I was just finishing up a period.  I'm usually regular with a missed month once or twice a year.  On March 14th I woke up with a heck of a headache and coffee-like discharge.  I was actually out of town on business and didn't have any supplies with me since I had my period the week before!  I've had a period ever since with just a day here and there without flow.  My doctor did not mention this side effect either!  After reading this though, I feel confident that it is a side effect and I just need to wait it out.  Thank you to everyone that has posted - it is very helpful!

Same thing happened to me. I have back trouble tried the injections to get me off the pain pills to conceive and not understanding the injections could effect my period! Or me getting pregnant I have not ovulated this month so now I am out how many months this me last!