Advice please

[Rosbud]

Have been prescribed Adcal by my Gp , have read the side effects but no information on best time to take it , I'm on 14 mg pred ( will be tapering to 13 in 2 weeks ) then down 1 mg monthly , fingers crossed, I also take omeprazol for previous ulcer and gastritis, can someone please advise on best time to take various meds , thank you all so much for invaluable advice that I know will be forthcoming x

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi Rosbud,

I took Omeprazole in morning with Pred and BP tablets, Adcal before lunch and again in evening. Just make sure you leave the 2 hours recommended with certain foods (cereals etc listed in paperwork).

Just be aware that tapering in the run up to Xmas may not be the best idea, it does become a bit stressful, if it were me I might wait ...another week or so at 14mg won’t do you any harm.

[Rosbud in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you , I'm very lucky my GP has agreed to my plan of slow tapering and told me to listen to my body xx

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Pred for breakfast, Adcal for lunch and tea/dinner. Calcium supplements and pred interfere with each other and a 2-3 hour gap is advised. A few people get bloating with calcium - I have to say it has never bothered me that way. If I chew my calcium not with/soon after a meal and don't drink enough I sometimes get cystitis - but it is easy enough to avoid.

[Rosbud in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you ,I will follow your advice x

[Slowdown in reply to PMRpro]

Is it the same timings for gastro-resistant pred which I take @ 9a.m and 9p.m.?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Slowdown]

If you take a split dose like that it won't make any differene in the long term - it takes about 5 hours or so for the enteric ciated version to be absorbed - it has to get through the stomach and further down the gut before being absorbed rather than being broken down and absorbed immediately. That means that if you just take it in the morning it may not have a significant effect until later in the day. Some people then take it at night so it is working by the morning when their pain and stiffness is worst.

[Slowdown in reply to PMRpro]

I've been on enteric pred for a while and happy with the split dose, was just curious about the Adcal timing due to the delayed release. Many thanks, PMRpro.