Prednisone times

[Glyngin]

Can anyone advise me on best time to take prednisolone i have tried from 6am.7am.8am. & regardless of what exercise I do in morning I always feel pain & weakness between 2pm & 5 pm. Early mornings & evenings am at my best . This forum is amazing so much better than any doctors who have really misdiagnosed & wrongly dosed me.Many thanks.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

hi,

Some people take them in the very early hours - around 2am - setting alarm - never appealed to me, so can't comment.

Others try splitting their doses - two-thirds in morning, one-third before bed, and reckon this helps with early mornings.

You don't say whether you have PMR or GCA - dose splitting is not really recommend for GCA especially in the early days.

Plus what exercise do you do? You need to aim for something gentle - like Tai Chi, Yoga or Pilates, not too strenuous or repetitive - both the illnesses and the Pred weaken your muscles so you need to be gentle with them!

Whenever you take them, you need to take with food, so even in middle of night, you need some yogurt or small snack.

sometimes it's just try and error, finding what's best for you.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I suspect it may not be the time you are taking the pred that is the problem - you are possibly simply overdoing it during the morning. Pred just manages the inflammation - the rest of the problems need to be managed by pacing and appropriate resting. Since you say you recover in the evening I don't think splitting your dose will make a lot of difference, although it might.

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

Despite pred your muscles remain intolerant of acute exercise - and you have to manage that by lifestyle adaptations. For many people that means as much as planning a rest BEFORE they hit the wall of fatigue - which may feel like tiredness or it may be pain and feeling unwell. It isn't something I have ever done - but if I have to do a lot I notice a difference.

What dose are you on at present?

[SheffieldJane]

I am similar to you in that I feel bad starting at about 3 pm. If possible I take myself off for a nap ( it's a discipline I found hard at first) after about an hours kip I find that I can have a reasonable evening with the family. Boring but it works.

[Brensy in reply to SheffieldJane]

Hi SheffieldJane I'm exactly the same as you 3pm is def the time my energy goes through the floor which isn't really that good as I'm still at work at that time so I have to plough through it then when I get home I'm nothing short of exhausted and that's me till bed time. This illness certainly does make you look at your life differently! And pacing yourself is the way to go. I can't tolerate exercise at all but just keep trying to walk a bit more when I can. I wish you all a very happy Christmas and hope 2017 brings some kind of respite from pmr and gca to you all xxxx

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Brensy]

PMR and GCA are subject to disability legislation - so it is worth speaking to Occupational Health/HR/Union rep or whoever if there is any way they can help, which is required by law. Even having somewhere with a comfortable chair (even a folding one) that you can have a rest at lunchtime may be enough to push that wall of fatigue to after work. When you do hit it, it is far better to have an opportunity to rest before you get there because brain fog doesn't help the performance either!

[vsapey]

Hi, I agree with you this site gives the best advice. I have been taking my pred around 3am, I seem to wake up around that time! I am on a high dose 39mg. I was taking around 7am., but went through a few really bad emotional days. I was very shaky, couldn't think properly or kick start the day.

Now I find I can sleep through until around 7 am and feel much more stable and calm.

Works for me, I did this following advice from fellow sufferers on this site, so thank you all.

[Hidden]

Hi

When I was working I found that l used to 'hit the wall' about 3pm every afternoon & was at times actually unable to get out of my chair!

I went down the Occupational Health Route & eventually worked 9am to 2.30pm instead of 5pm when I say 'worked' l was doing my whole job in the reduced hours but there was a lot of hostility from my colleague.

We went away on a long planned trip to Australia & New Zealand, luckily on a Cruise otherwise I'd never have coped. When I was struggling to walk up the Main Street in Auckland I thought 'That's it, I'm Retiring when I get back'

And l did, I worked just one more day between Christmas & New Year, as I had a Chest Infection & never returned to work!

So, now I can take my time in a morning & if I feel tired I can rest in the afternoon.

I always think of my steroids as an amount that's available to me for the day & when it's gone, it's gone!

It has its 'job to do' on the PMR but also sustain you for everything else so l try to have an 'even' a day as possible.

I was/am a very bright, bubbly person by nature but it's hard to be 'Me' all the time!

Other people just don't understand that you can just suddenly feel exhausted 😩 and look the same as you did earlier in the day!

I often wondered about splitting the dose so I'd be better in the afternoon but after some research l realised it was more sensible to take the full dose in a morning before 9am. We set the alarm to 7.30am so I can take my Meds at the same time each day.

Best Wishes to Everyone 💐