My maximum (and for a long time - usual) Pred dose has been 40mg daily and I've had all the wonderful side effects on this dose. Now the hospital have put me up to 60mg Pred AND 50mg Hydrocortisone daily. I did confirm this with them to check they did really mean that. It seems really excessive to me - is this sort of dose normal? Does Pred work 'more' the more you have or is there a limit?
I guess I'm scared that 60mg becomes a new baseline and then if I'm unwell in the future they say up it to 80mg (or whatever) and I wonder where a pattern like that ends.
You sound like you are having fun with your asthma, I too was on 40mg pred for a long time about 6 months, and had all the effects too. What I found was that the hospital only put me on 60mg for a couple of days then I would revert back to 40mg, once speaking to my Gp, who would speak to a resp con and told me that 40mg is a max recommended dose for longer term use. But even then they are concerned and I'm now reducing my preds while monitoring daily my peak flows and every two weeks checking in with the resp nurse to have my feno levels checked just to make sure we are not reducing to quickly only taken 8 weeks to get down to 20mg!
If I were you I would defo speak to your Gp, additionally there is the long term concern from steroids so make sure they look into that, calcium supplements and stomach protection as steroids can be really damaging.
Fingers crossed that you have a good Gp.
Hi Ratty
I have a son with adrenal insufficiency so only know about that really. I have read about addisons on the UK support website a lot, and I have read there that the usual replacement dose for an adult is from 15 - 25 mg a day. This is simply replacement so your dose sounds like it is to treat your asthma too, as opposed to replacing the cortisol that your body can't produce.
My son is on 5mg or sometimes 7.5mg a day of hydrocortisone and when ill this is doubled or trebled to 15mg.He takes asthma meds too. Last year he took a course of pred for 6 days and hydro at the same time due to asthma flare up.
He takes the hydro throughout the day - when do you take yours - spread across the morning-early afternoon?
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