FORGOT TO TAKE PRED. 😱

[Rocketronzy]

Wow think I got a taste about coming off pred too quick. This morning Fogot to tack my pred 15 mg.

By 10. Realise 😱Got bus back home not too good rest of day. Must get the habit 6am every morning.

Also keep emergency pred in bum bag. 👍

[SheffieldJane]

I use an old fashioned pill box with days of the week , often need to use it for ensuring I remember to take everything.

[Rocketronzy in reply to SheffieldJane]

Good idea. Do you keep to time.

[SheffieldJane in reply to Rocketronzy]

Yes, I have to have a strict routine so that I don't forget to take anything and I don't combine tablets that I shouldn't. If I get a sudden panic that I have forgotten something I just look in the pill box for that day and if the pill is still there I take it. The job of putting counted pills in their daily boxes can take me an hour for the week ahead - being very careful and including my taper. Then I feel confident that I am sorted for the week ahead.

[9lives in reply to SheffieldJane]

Yes I have a day of the week pill box, it's invaluable particularly when decreasing, wouldn't be without it. As you say if the pills are still in there then you know to take them.

I also jot on a calendar the weekly dose, just as a back up.

[Amkoffee in reply to SheffieldJane]

That's exactly how I manage. I take a lot of medicines including narcotic pain medicine for a bad back. I can't take the pain pills to often and I don't want to count on my memory so a pill planner is the only way to roll. The only thing is that lately my hands are not working very well because I've developed OA in my thumbs. So my husband has taken over filling my planner every Sunday.

[Hidden in reply to Amkoffee]

I have got a pill popping device. Still a pain but slightly less awkward

[1Purplecrow]

Hi, you will be fine.....😁.

. if I forget, I just take it when I remember. Not really a big deal

Life goes on, even with the human errors we all make❤️

Kind regards, .....

a fellow traveler.

[Rose54]

Hi

We have all done it at least you realized the same day I forgot and never knew to the following day never made that mistake aging or so I thought at the time .

[Tj2017]

Oh, when I forgot, the pain returned within hours and was unbearable. I keep an extra dose in my purse just in case I miss for some reason. It took me two days to get back to somewhat pain free after I forgot.

[Gaijin]

I decided to try splitting the dose as was crashing in the pm... Then noticed from my pill box with the days of the week, that I had forgotten to take the pm dose for three days straight, had no symptoms, though. So, I've decided to keep things simple and take whole dose in the am.😵

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Like SJ I have a pill box which lives in a zipped bag in my bag. Which sits by the bed overnight. I don't even go into the village without the day's pills - and any further afield there is a 24-hour set in it. That is actually less because of the pred than the other stuff which REALLY matters it is taken on time.

But when it really matters - I have an alarm set on my phone for the time!

[FSP25 in reply to PMRpro]

I read your post with interest as recently I've developed some new problems and am on a cocktail of medication. I don't know whether any shouldn't be taken at the same time. I was in hospital recently and they gave me the whole lot together. I have a pill box so I don't forget any. This is what I am taking:

Omeprazole, Amlopidine, Atorvastatin, Thyroxine, Prednisolone, Naproxen, Codeine Phosphate, Paracetamol, Caliciferol, Alendronic Acid.

Are there any that you would avoid taking at the same time?

As well as the PMR which is thought to be inactive so I'm reducing slowly, I have a trapped nerve in my knee and high blood pressure. My stay in hospital was for Gastroenteritis which I'm getting over but it's taken a month. I'd be very grateful for your advice.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to FSP25]

You shouldn't take calcium/vit D supplements at the same time as pred. Pred for breakfast (if you are a morning taker) and calcium for lunch and dinner/supper.

Why are you taking codeine phosphate, Naproxen and paracetamol - that really seems a bit OTT and really you shouldn't take Naproxen with pred at all. None of them will help with PMR/GCA pain so if they are for that a tiny bit more pred is probably more effective.

You must be waiting half the morning to take pred if you are on thyroxine - you know it is also possible to take that at night, research showed it was as good as and sometimes better than morning dosing. Alendronic acid is, at least, only once a week. Did you have a dexascan to show you need it? And how long have you been on it?

[FSP25 in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you for all that information. I have had PMR for 5 years. Never referred to Rheumatologist until recent when I asked to be referred to Dr Mackie who is an expert in this condition and has been recommended on this forum. All painkillers are for lower back and now the knee which was caused by the Physio who was working on my back! I was trying to help myself but ended up in a worse position. I've had 2 Dexa scans. I took the AA for 4 years and then had a rest for a few months at my own doing. I saw Dr Mackie at the end of June and she said I should restart it. I am about to do that having had a delay with the gastroenteritis. I am having an MRI on knee and spine in ilate September. OA has been suggested but hopefully we'll have some answers then. Didn't know about Naproxen and Pred. My GP is aware of what I'm taking! I usually take the calcium at night but have always taken both Thyroxine and Pred in the mornings. Perhaps I should delay the Pred until late morning or evening. It's very confusing as there are so many differing opinions. Thank you again for your reply.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to FSP25]

The earlier in the morning you take the pred the better effect it has - the inflammation is caused by inflammatory substances shed in the body about 4.30am so the sooner you take the pred the better job it makes of controlling the symptoms. That's why I wondered about the thyroxine - usually patients are told to take it on an empty stomach in the morning and then wait for a while before taking anything else so if taking pred earlier helped I was just saying you COULD take the thyroxine before bed.

Has Dr Mackie made any comment about what she thinks it may be? Or is she very sensibly waiting to see the results?

[FSP25 in reply to PMRpro]

Sorry for delay. Sorting Sunday Lunch for family! Dr Mackie took blood tests and asked lots of questions. Her feedback was that she believed the PMR was inactive and the problem was mechanical so to continue to reduce Pred. Currently on 8mg. She said when I get to 7 use the dead slow regime. She retested MRI of spine as did the knee specialist so they are being done at the same time in Saptember. I was doing fine until last September when increasing Pred right up to 30mg had no effect. That's when we started to think something else was going on. A few people have been involved in trying to solve the problem but it's all very piecemeal. Nobody seems to be joining the dots. I'm having BP tested, blood tests and ECG at surgery next Friday so when I get results I'll discuss the meds in particular the Naproxen which I have been taking since November. Thank you for your time. I've coped well in the past but it's all got on top of me this time. Best wishes. Hope you're doing well.

[JosieScrut in reply to PMRpro]

Interested in your comments on thyroxene and pred. Did not know there could be a problem taking them together. I take both. Thyroxene when I get up in the morning and pred after breakfast. I am slowly reducing from 20mg of pred in April to 5mg now with no problems, feel well and painfree. So if I continue to have no problems I presume it is ok to carryon as I have been. Very useful information to have though. Thankyou.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to JosieScrut]

There probably isn't - but the instructions are always to take thyroxine on an empty stomach. It is preferable to take pred with something - albeit just a glass of milk or a yoghurt is enough. so taking them together at the same time isn't going to be ideal is it?

[JosieScrut in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks

[knit1purl2]

I also take thyroxine and omeprazole when I first get up in morning. By the time I eat breakfast, it is at least an hour or so. Then take my prednisone and other supplements after eating.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to knit1purl2]

But not calcium supplements I hope?

[knit1purl2 in reply to PMRpro]

Take calcium at lunch and bedtime

[Amkoffee]

I had that experience once. Only it wasn't because I forgot. I was a little nauseous one morning and thought I'd wait until lunch time to take my pills. By 10am I was hurting so bad. I learned my lesson that way.