I’m still reducing with great success. Down to 12mg by reducing half a mg. every two weeks. But occasionally I feel irritable, angry even, with everyone and everything. The only person to escape is my dog! 😯 I can hide it from family and friends around me but my lovely husband takes the flack. It doesn’t happen often but I struggle with it when it does. I’m convinced it’s the Pred. Does anyone else experience this. Or am I just a horrible person? 😞
Does taking Pred. Cause irritability : I’m still... - PMRGCAuk
Does taking Pred. Cause irritability
Written by
Tonysue
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53 Replies
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DorsetLadyPMRGCAuk volunteer
Hi Tonysue,
No, of course you’re not a horrible person!
I found on high doses I was very intolerant, usually I just let things go and have a whinge to myself, but I admit I did let rip a few times! Felt awful afterwards and apologised.
I also found that the first couple of days after a taper made me a bit ratty as well , bit like PMT!
Plus of course it’s always our spouse that gets it in the neck!
At lower doses my equilibrium returned...well as good as it ever was..as I said to my children after their dad died ....
.....a redhead (him) married to a person with red-headed tendencies (me) marriage was never going to be all sweetness and light❤️🌹but we got through!
Don’t beat yourself up about it, and show him this!
Thank you. Am having a struggle and kind words really help. Don’t feel sorry for myself but need some sympathy sometimes. ❤️
Yes we all do...but sometimes it doesn’t come just at the right time.
Take care.
I understand this entirely. I'm ok with animals but people AAAAAh! Have to be very careful with my responses! I have avoided many people & situations since being on the pred. Also have shed more tears than a lifetime before. Often emotionally moved over the oddest things! You are certainly not alone on this one. Hope that helps.
Tonysue in reply to
Thank you it does. Don’t feel in control of anything at the minute but it’s good to know it isn’t entirely me. 😊
*blushing*
Ummmm... yeah.
I cannot tell a lie.
I am quite often a "bi-atch" for no reason at all.
If you're hiding it... GOOD ON YOU!
Tonysue in reply to
🙂
Pred PMR ..reducing pred...increasing pred..people being stupid, being nice, being understanding, saying I look better, eating 'comfort carbs" in front of me, eating with their mouths open, not closing doors, driving badly, ....need I go on.
Tonysue in reply to
Made me smile. Thank you.❤️
Hollyseden in reply to
Hahaha. You've been spyng on me!
SheffieldJane in reply to
Might I just add, ridiculous packaging to that list?
Soraya_PMR in reply to
I’ve resisted, but can resist no longer. I would like to add certain BBC Winter Olympic commentators to the list of irritants. It’s a good job they’re not within slapping distance is all I can say 
in reply to Soraya_PMR
Mmm. Can i have a guess? Graham bell usually keeps ed Leigh on point on ski sunday...something his current colleague doesn't do and drags edcinto the idiocy. If that's not right I am happy to guess again.😂
There's a guy called Macintosh I think who does Wimbledon and boxing....boy is he irritating.
Soraya_PMR in reply to
Bobsleigh. Verbal diarrhoea.
in reply to Soraya_PMR
Ah yes. "Jacko" and any Williams. Don't watch xtreme sports if sliding lot irritate you. Lol. They have verbal D and gobbledy gook. Forward twisting cab with mctwist and a hand grab...whaat??
Soraya_PMR in reply to
That’s him.
And Amy! Lost her ‘G’s’. (Huntin’ Shootin’ Fishin’) WHY does this irritate me so? I don’t think I can blame pred, I think I’m just intolerant.
I avoid the Xtreme. Just doesn’t excite me.
Am liking Ollie Williams commentary. (Nordic and biathlon)
in reply to Soraya_PMR
That was a very close finish yesterday in the men's 15k biathlon!
Soraya_PMR in reply to
Wasn’t it! Photo finish, fantastic!
Which begs the Q.....is the mass start entirely fair?
in reply to Soraya_PMR
Might not be fair but fun for the watchers!
in reply to
Talking of things like dropping g' s. My pet hate is the current usage of "should of" instead of "should have". What is the matter with them!!
Happens at every World Cup event, about 5 or 6 per winter - they are used to it! It is interesting watching how the various top athletes deal with it - some shoot out at top speed to get ahead, one guy hangs right back until they have sorted themselves out at the first shooting.
in reply to PMRpro
The Swedish woman didn't miss a shot. I might be able to do the probe shoot but the skiing and standing shot might see me off.
Not just verbal
One of the joys of living where I do is that I have the choice of 4 different sets of German-speaking commentators, if I can't abide one, I find another.
The BBC skiing commentators drive me nuts. All of them - it's the breathless b*££ they puke that I hate (and the fact only English-speaking athletes get a mention, not the best ones). The UK tennis commentators aren't a lot better. For me, the Austrian presenters and commentators get the prize for alpine skiing - they also do a camera run with commentary (and most of them have Olympic medals of their own) and at the end do the sort of analysis the coaches will be doing with the skiers. And for tennis: take a bow Swiss TV! Wonderful - totally unbiased. If Federer is making a bollocks (and he does occasionally) they say so. Rugby is done in Italian - don't understand it except the legion shouts of "mama-mia", they do LOVE their rugby. I've also just found a new channel - coverage in Italian of the ATP tournaments as far as I can tell. Saw Federer beating Seppi but forgot to establish the time of the final 
and watched Olympia instead.
in reply to PMRpro
Fortunately when I watch cycling in eurospor t there is a channel provided by UCI that has no commentary. Bliss when my ears have had enough.
Yes - no commentary but the right background noises sounds a good solution...
Are all these wonderful commentators available on the internet? I'd sign up. I was moaning just today to OH how the BBC (bloody boring company) monopolises all our tv and radio grrrrr!
Unfortunately Austria and Switzerland are a bit precious about their channels (bit like the UK sometimes!) and we get them due to a special arrangement for terrestrial TV. But the German coverage and Eurosport 1 in German are all available free to air with a satellite dish and I assume also online though I don't know. Can't check at present - nothing live! And maybe they are blocked...
sportschau.de/olympia/live/...
if you want to have an experiment.
in reply to Soraya_PMR
I am having to turn the sound down now due to Jacko. Someone please tell him to shut his gob for 10 secs!!!
I’m at 12 mg reducing to 11 starting today. I’m irritable, lack concentration but great with my old dog Joey! Had a date yesterday, brunch and NY Historical Society. I could barely last 2 hours! No matter where I am I get a bad case of the “gotta goes!” I feel like Cinderella! Not great at reading books anymore try audio books when I drive. Fine if the plot is simple. Get lost if there are lots of characters. I think these traits were always there but have become exaggerated with Prednisone. Tai Chi/Quigong and exercise help. So glad others commiserate!. I’d be lost without the forum...especially when I’m up at 3:00 am for the day!
in reply to Sandy1947
In the uk I listen to radio 4 extra on DAB in the car or online in the kitchen. O I love it because it has no news whatsoever for me to get angry about. It also has lots of dramas, plays, documentaries and quizzes. None of which last more than 30mins and most that are 15mins. That's about the concentration with understanding lasts for me. Thank goodness for rewind tv and Netflix otherwise I would never see anything. I have taped most of winter Olympics to watch at leisure otherwise I drift off...............
in reply to
Ps oops autocorrect strikes again. I don't actually swear in texts much so no idea it substitutes certain words.
Sandy1947 in reply to
Thanks for your meaningful post. I am glad you gave me new moves to contemplate. My sister tried to teach me Suduko on vacation. I was great with the easy ones then lost interest when it got hard. I have no patience for difficult!
in reply to Sandy1947
I tried a backgammon app but couldn't fully remember. I will try again. My sister and her daughter's are part of an online quiz thing that periodically sends them a number of questions. Normally i would be doing it as I have a vast range of totally useless knowledge for things like trivial pursuit, but my brain just doesn't function that way at the moment. It will again.
Sandy1947 in reply to
I love your optimism. I think I’m on the keep it simple track and not sure if complicated will ever show up!
in reply to Sandy1947
I am undoubtedly better than I was this time last year. O like to enjoy the good and ignore the bad. Future poopadoop can handle the problems lol
Sandy1947 in reply to
Love the positivity! I am way better in my 8th month then at the onset of diagnosis! Yesterday I logged 6 miles, not all at once. I live from strength to strength. My biggest challenge is being patient during the sale of my business. I want it to de done! Closure is always my goal but patience must be the lesson! Going to see the grandchildren when the dog wakes up!
Tonysue in reply to
I listen to radio 4 and 4extra and download Audio books from our Library. They are a wonderful distraction. X
in reply to Tonysue
Distraction is the key. It switches something in the brain. Enjoy!!🌻
MaryA_ in reply to
Right on, cannot stand to watch news anymore. So much sadness.
Yup I too have the pred bark and bite OH has learned to walk away until I calm down. 😱
Yes Tonysue, Pred seems to make you fly off the handle quite out of the blue, Pred and the sheer frustration of feeling so limited in what you can do. My husband also bears the brunt. My outbursts seem to be accompanied by a particularly “ drilling” sort of headache, that oddly responds to Paracetamol, which leads me to suppose that something other than PMR causes it. It gets less as you decrease your dose. I have said to my husband that it’s the disease talking not me ( mind you, sometimes irritable me does have a point). We are not horrible people, these are particularly trying diseases.
I get irritable too,sometimes I want peace and quiet and time to think,I had a busy day yesterday with friends.......so today I'm not going out..
'It's too peopley out there' !!!
PMRproAmbassador
If you are a horrible person - so are most of us on pred!!!!
I've never suffered fools gladly but pred certainly didn't improve things. However - even PMR will cause a decided increase in rattiness, with or without pred!
OMG!!! Pred definately gets the blame!! I have never been quick to anger...but at my early highest levels of prednisone (20 mg ), I wanted to slug people who crossed me!!
Scared my dear ones, and felt powerless to stop the instant flashes of anger.
As pred levels dropped, those flashes of anger stopped. But what a shock to experience those foreign feelings of rage, really unpleasant to recall those days.
I was told that pred could change personality and make me bad tempered. My sister said no one would notice the difference!
Dear Tonysue
Your Question: Does PMR and / or the Preds make you irritable?
My answer: JUST DON'T ASK - OK?!!!! GRRR.. :-{{{
Bur Seriously (unusual for me, I know), as others of Us Lot say, with PMR (and GCA) we have to deal with a sudden onset, serious, confusing and debilitating illness and this would test the patience and tolerance of even the most calm, even-tempered person. I think our friends here have said it all.
But just to add: as my favourite comedy Hero 'Professor' Stanley Unwin might say: 'with PMR you can feel Frazzled, Jangleful, Much madly, Sadlode and even Bad-as-Dog all at the same. Deeply woebegone and Grumbly-grumbly all the while. But Deep Joy and Smiley-all-round will prevaily again in the greatly schemelode of thingameebobs...'
Try to keep smiling on the PMR Journey- it can be a great antidote to the tough bits ;-).
Best wishlodes...
'Uncle' MB
I thought I would take up a new challenge,I thought it would be calming and relaxing.A new craft for me although I'm not that crafty.It looks so easy when my friend is doing it.She said she would teach me.......SO ...I'm far too irritable and end up throwing it in the drawer....Crochet I give up!
Hi Tonysue.you are not alone in being prone to being easily irritated. I started on preds just at the same time as the run up to the EU referendum and believe me l am still easily found ranting on about Brexit as it just seems never ending,l just hope that it will soon be sorted out and everything calms down at last.l am also fed up with a lot of other issues that come up on the news over and over again. It might be better not to listen to it anymore !
Irritable, it's like having PMS ful time! I've even made up some new swear words as the ones I already knew just didn't cut it! It's got so bad I have to take myself somewhere quiet at lunchtime to listen to relaxing music 😁
Mmmm... of course Im not intolerant, grumbly, bossy, growly, outspoken and, of course, I NEVER swear. Victor Meldew's got nothing on me and as for making a sailor blush...and, what's more, I say things out loud ...to myself ! And I can blame it all on pred!
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