I've always taken my Pred with breakfast at around 7.30 to 8. I'm having a flare at the moment after a serious car accident in April and now having to take Oramorph to cope with back pain. The back pain often wakes me in the night between 3 and 4 a.m. And then I am awake for a while until the pain relief starts to work. I'm also very stiff again first thing in the morning ( something I haven't really experienced since I was first diagnosed in October 2014.
As I'm now awake during the night I thought I would try taking the Pred then, to try and reduce the stiffness, but I need to have food ready to eat with them. Can those of you who regularly do this offer some suggestions for easy foods to eat at this time. Preferably something which doesn't need refrigeration.
Many thanks
Linda
Written by
linda49
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I have been taking my pred at 3 am for about 3 weeks now and it has changed my life . I can get up ,dressed and out to work almost like normal and I stay feeling good until about 5 30 when the stiffness returns (but it is much better in the evening and a glass of red wine certainly helps ) . Back to your question just like Bob doc I have a nutri bullet and make a smoothy . A mix of fruit and veg (there are loads of great recipes on line ) is great and a thermos would be good but as I have it in the fridge until bedtime I just have it in a sealed cup next to my bed . Hope your back feels better soon and you can have fun making lots of different smoothies .
Thank you Hilmae for your response. I was more mobile this morning having taken the Pred so much earlier. It will be interesting now to see how long the steroids are effective for when I am taking them 4-5 hours earlier. Your experience of adjusting the timings is very interesting to hear. With so much fruit around at the moment, smoothies will be a great way to use them and overcome one of the major side effects of Oramorph which is constipation!!
Linda. Best remedy and natural for constipation is 800 mg of magnesium oxide. It puts water in your bowel. I take two 400 mg capsules at night with 8 oz of water and it works upon waking.
I haven't heard of this natural remedy before but will read up about it. I mostly rely on increased fruit and vegetable intake. Prunes seem to work too.
Thank you Suetum. I do normally have the probiotic yogurt at breakfast as have had problems with those pesky PPI's in the past..... But as you say could eat it with the Pred and could keep it chilled with Rose54's suggestion of insulated bag.
If you just take it out of the fridge on your way to bed it'll probably be fine for the next few hours - bet you don't take an insulated bag to bring them home from the shops! After all, yoghurt needs to be at about 37C to make in the first place and natural bio-yogs still have their cultures present.
Pharmacists have said that a glass of milk is enough to take a pred dose with. Can you face a sandwich with a relatively non-perishable filling?
We didn't die as children when our picnics were just packed in a bag to go out for the day, did we?
You're right PMRpro. Always had jam sandwiches and a bottle of tap water for going off on my bike with friends as a kid. ( little trip down memory lane there.....) I live in a 3 storey townhouse where the fridge is on the ground floor and the bedrooms on the upper floors. Getting up and down 2 flights of stairs is challenging at the moment!! Thanks for your suggestions. All very welcome😀
I take mine with creamy porridge sweetened with honey, and really look forward to it. I expect you could keep it warm in a thermos. It seems to do the trick of coating my digestive system and it's a treat because I don't really want to eat at all first thing. Failing that I have Oatabix ( the oat version of Weetabix). With full cream milk ( coating properties again).
I know what you mean about not wanting to eat at strange hours of the morning- it always reminds me of when we are going on holiday with flights at stupid o'clock and you feel you just have to eat something before you go......
If I am still doing this regime when the weather turns cooler then porridge in a flask will be a warming treat. Thanks for your suggestions.
I wake every day at 5am to take my first dose and sometimes I have a few crackers with jam, a piece of toast, and sometimes a small bowl of cereal with milk, nothing to heavy or big. Even a piece of fruit with a cracker just enough to line my stomach with something. It can even be a muffin or granola bar and then I take my other dose at 5pm so there is no lapse.
It's a pain at time but I'm able to go back in bed and just relax a while and by the time I'm ready to get up I'm feeling fine.
Thank you Sharon. I'm amazed just how many people do take their Pred so early in the morning. I'm hoping it will reduce stiffness first thing as it appears to have done for you.
Actually though - to some extent it depends on you. For some considerable time I took my ordinary tablets with just a large glass of water. I was fine. If you are on ranitidine or omeprazole it shouldn't matter anyway (I know not everyone is).
After pills Including prednisolone I usually have a handful of soft fruits eg blueberries , rasps, or this morning an apple or pear plus a cup of tea plus all my other meds then go back to sleep or listen to Night service or radio four then have granola plus full cream young hurt etc at eight. Or have some yoghurt or a small breakfast then &. Oatcakes ( or toast & coffee at breakfast Time!) If I don't take them early I get pain when I wake up! Good luck!
Thanks Cemmein. What time do you take your pills? And how long do they take to work for you? I was taking 16mg, having reduced 1mg per month from 20 earlier this year. I had to go back up to 20 this week and am seeing some improvement but it's not spectacular - yet!! Fingers crossed it will keep improving. It took me 6 days before I had a response when I first started on Pred in October 2014.
when I wake about 4-5 am I take with a shot glass full of kefir (liquid probiotic yogurt) the plain is a bit tart so try strawberry, then go back to sleep for a couple hours. Usually have my best sleep of the night afterwards. My rheumy tells me that morning is a better time as then is more in tune with adrenal glands but I find I am much more functional in mind and body when I take preds early.
What a good question Linda49. Greeting to you all.
I'm a big fan of PMRpro and she explained that the closer to the inflammation switch on (at about 4AM) the better the affect of the Pred on the early morning pain and discomfort.
Thankfully my pain isn't to bad in the morning and I'm on 10mg Pred, and I have been trying to take it at about 6: 15AM. Sometimes the zzzzzz's win and I'm not taking it till about 8am I do take my 15mg dose of Lansoprosil 30 mins before eating anything . When I have managed to take it earlier, I have found these quite small packets of instant porridge at the supermarket , to which you just add water to a mug, and actually their not bad.
Birdwatcher - thanks for your reply. The instant porridge sounds easy and worth trying! Although I've only been taking the Pred earlier for a few days I can notice a reduction in the amount of stiffness I experience first thing in the morning. It's very interesting. Thanks again for your suggestion.
Nice full fat yoghurt. Not low fat or no fat as it will not line the stomach. Fat does not make fat, indeed quite the opposite. i have lost 2 stone on the 8 week blood sugar diet, reversed my steroid induced diabetes and am refucing the pref slowly but far easier. On 8.5 mg now.
I take my pred in a split dose of 10mg @ 10PM and (whatever my tapering dose is that week) at 6AM.
At night, I have it with yogurt and fruit as a dessert. In the morning, I have it with a slice of black bread or cinnamon raisin with cream cheese. No refrigeration needed for either (unless it is wicked hot).
Seems to be working on the acid-stomach issues, and leaves me with little or no stiffness or any real aches (unless there's a storm on its way. I seem to be particularly sensitive to approaching storms.)
We're having a pass by with the remnants of Irma, and Jose seems to be looking our way for the middle of next week - but hopefully will barely brush us with some wind and waves.
If you take your pred with food, ideally in the middle of a meal, you can often get away without taking any "stomach protection" - which come with their own adverse effects.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Why have Pred in the early hours of the morning?
Pred: Hunger/appetite change. Early days, do things get better
Pred morning or night?
Splitting Pred Dose Morning/Night
Trying to taper very slowly again , advice on changing pred time from night to morning. 
