Pred I need a quick reply anyone

[minka]

Saw rumi put on pred 15 mg a day for 2 weeks then taper off it. Should I be taking the 3 tablets 5mg at one in morning one a dinner one at tea time. I took 15 mg in one go and was climbing the wall in sweat and irritable. And I'm sick of sweating in bed waking me up.Many thanks

[Spanielmadlady]

Hi.have you been on pred before ? Im steroid dependant and pred is best taken in one dose with breakfast. Even when I've been on 40mgs I've still taken all 8 tablets at the same time. If you want to try any other way I think you need to ask your gp. Best wishes for Christmas xxx

[minka in reply to Spanielmadlady]

Thanks espania

[PMRpro]

Normally pred is taken all at once as early in the day as possible - the idea is to combat inflammation and it usually needs the total dose to be enough to do that. By taking it as early in the morning as you can, the level in the body is as low as possible before bed and the night time effects are minimised. Even taking 5mg shortly before bed makes night time effects greater. The unpleasant effects should improve over time too.

Technically, you could take the 15mg for two weeks and just stop, don't need to taper - up to 10 to 14 days is not long enough to cause adrenal suppression and it is fine to stop without tapering.

[minka in reply to PMRpro]

I found that 5mg I can function.but heck at 15 mg I could not function what so ever I'm going to try 10 tomorrow. Thanks

[PMRpro in reply to minka]

Seems fair enough.

[minka in reply to PMRpro]

Found 5mg morning 5mg dinner 5 mg yes times working that seem ok to you. Gives me a dry throat though

[Suvi8901]

Prednisolone is a synthetic, replacement corticosteroid hormone which is vital for normal metabolism and to damp down inflammatory processes during stress and lupus flairs. BTW your “rheumy” should have advised you on optimal Pred admistration for optimal treatment. My nephrologist did!👏👆

One is not supposed to be on Pred eternally otherwise our adrenal glands start to shrink.

It’s supposed to be tapered by experts, according to the degree of inflammation managing our lupus and other AI diseases, the idea being to get one’s own adrenals working normally.

My GP is not an expert and leaves dosage adjustments to my dermatologist, nephrologist or endocrinologist. I respect her honesty.

I’m officially on zero Prednisolone after having a short Synacthen test which showed that my pituitary gland was working ok to get my adrenal glands working ie my ACTH levels were normal. Our endocrine glands are complicated and these feedback loops between pituitary, adrenals, thyroid etc and their secretions are best left to the relevant organ experts collaboratively.

As with most lupus and other AI sufferers I’m under the care of a dermatologist, nephrologist (lupus nephritis) and endocrinologist/diabetologist (for primary hypothyroidism and type1 diabetes). Surprisingly I do not have a “rheumy”🧐 but who knows when?

Have a read for background:

endocrine-abstracts.org/ea/...

“…Adrenal insufficiency during prednisolone treatment: need for cortisol replacement strategies in patients on long-term low-dose glucocorticoid treatment?…”

[Lizard28]

I was told to take all mine at breakfast time, I was on 55mgs, I was jingling with them but as much as I hate being on them they do work, I was lucky they gave me them in 20mg tablets at the beginning, that was the only time, after that it was the tiny 5mg ones.

[minka in reply to Lizard28]

Waw 55 all at once

[Lizard28 in reply to minka]

That was my thinking when they said that amount, I’m only 5’0” and was under 8 stone at the time. You can imagine what I was like, got the housework done in record time lol

[CecilyParsley]

Hi Minka, sweating and restlessness are very common side effects of prednisalone. My worst side effect is severe indigestion.The initial side effects should wear off but if not call your GP or NHS 111 and ask for advice. Good luck.

[minka in reply to CecilyParsley]

I've stopped sweating but had a bit of tummy twinges at night so far. If I could just get rid of this ache above my hip I could do a bit of walking oh and the knee on the same side.

[CecilyParsley]

Steroids can cause constipation too so drink p,entry of water and increase fibre in your diet if you can.

[Bake34]

I took the tablets in the morning with my other meds