Corticosteroids, anxiety and depression

Effect of Prednisolone

Today I took corticosteroid prednisolone 5 mg in the morning (only prednisolone, no other supplements). I just wanted to compare the effects of prednisolone to that of geriforte. As I expected, prednisolone produced similar effect like geriforte.

Positive effects:

1. Improved sense of general well being
2. No unsteadiness while walking and no vertigo
3. Decreased perception of heat and hot spicy food (chillies) -  due to anti-inflammatory effects

Negative effects:

1. No improvement on stuttering
2. My voice is not louder with lack of deep bass notes. My voice sounds like a voice of a person who gave lecture for many hours continuously.

So, from these observation of the symptoms, I could make out that geriforte may contain a chemical which could act on the corticosteroid receptors in the CNS. It could be an low dose synthetic corticosteroid or could be a natural steroid resembling compound glycyrrhizin from Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice, liquorice, yastimadhu, athimathuram) or could be phytosterols.

In the evening, I got mild headache, resembling low serotonin-induced headache. So, I could feel that after taking geriforte for about 10 days and prednisolone for 1 day, the cumulative effects of steroids (increased steroid levels) would have suppressed my serotonin levels and due to that I might have got headache.

So, this observation indicates that increased cortisol level during stress would decrease the serotonin levels. It may

• decrease the serotonin release or 
• decrease the serotonin receptor 5-HT1A or 
• decrease the serotonin transporter or 
• increase the metabolism of serotonin

Update on 06 October 2015

Effect of Betamethasone valerate:

Composition of Betnovate-N cream:

The main active ingredient - betamethasone (as valerate) 0.1%
an antibacterial agent - neomycin sulphate 3%
a preservative - chlorocresol
in a base containing cetomacrogol 1000, white soft paraffin, and liquid paraffin.
The cream does not contain any lanolin, parabens or colouring agents. 


I applied betnovate-N cream on my face and neck for some red eruptions in the night around 1.30 am before going to sleep. The next morning, I could get up around 8 am without any lethargy and I could do more work with sustained focus and concentration. This focus and concentration was enhanced by taking vitamin C 500 mg in the morning after breakfast. This enhanced focus and concentration sustained even until late night.

When I applied the cream in the morning after I get up around 8 am, it produced unpleasant effects. I could not have sustained focus and concentration. It increased stuttering with reduced volume while speaking.

When I applied the cream at 9 pm in night, I could sleep without much disturbance. But while getting up next morning, I felt lethargic and tired. But after arriving at office, I could sustain focus and concentration in my work until evening.

While I applied this cream during night, I experienced vivid dreams. Some are frightening. In some dreams, I used to get angry. Even though the sleep appeared to be full of dreams, I used to get the well-slept feeling after waking up.

I am planning to try this strategy for next 3 weeks to regulate my cortisol levels. It appears that I have either low cortisol level or hypoactive HPA axis.