Can tapering prednisole cause light headedness

[Shopping3]

Hello all .I am on 4andhalf prednisole tapering from 5and getting the feeling of light headedness.Blood pressure and oxygen levels all seem pretty normal .Is this normal for this stage of tapering.i take riveroxiban ,bisoprolol,digoxin .I am in no pain and feel ok otherwise.thankyou for any help .

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Could be adrenals stuttering a bit....lightheadedness is a symptom of them not working as well as they could.Have a look at this - healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[Shopping3 in reply to DorsetLady]

Thankyou for your informative reply ,makes sense .much appreciated .

[lkcreedon in reply to DorsetLady]

Excellent information

[SnazzyD]

Low adrenal function did this to me until they started work but it seems to take time before they catch up with the drop in dose, so you get a deficiency in cortisol because the Pred dose is now under what you need normally.

[Pixix]

Yes! When I dropped to 2mg too quickly. Went from 5 to 2 in two months. Now I’m on 4 and my body is accepting it OK. Plan to go to 3.5 next week.

[Artnmusiclover in reply to Pixix]

Hi...I thought of tapering with 0.5 pred but unsure if you can get them in this mg, can you cut them?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Artnmusiclover]

You can get 2.5mg tabletsin both plain pred and enteric coated versions. So down to a dose of 2.5mg you can combine 5, 2.5 and 1mg tablets as appropriate, Then you can cut plain white pred - you should not cut enteric coated pred as that negates the whole point of the acid resistant coating to protect the stomach.

[Artnmusiclover in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you for this info...I am tapering from 10mg and just reached 8mg (dropped 1mg per month) but feeling light headed so thought the 0.5mg was a good idea..I've reached 6mg in the past but both times been put back up to 50mg due to GCA! I may ask for some none enteric coated for the ones I cut..though think this may cause chaos with my GP (they dont really 'get it' 🙄

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Artnmusiclover]

You can also use one of the slowed tapers and do 1mg drops - you just take longer to do it than just overnight but it mostly works with 1mg:

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[Artnmusiclover in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you so much for this ... I will share it with my GP. It sounds just the thing for me. Your knowledge of this subject is fantastic! Thanks

[Pixix in reply to Artnmusiclover]

No but we have a pill splitter and it’s Easter halve them! I’ve only ever had the plain pred. Good luck!

[Artnmusiclover in reply to Pixix]

Thank you....best wishes to you too

[Arflane97G]

Used to feel really light headed in the mornings first week or so after a taper or if I tried to do too much first thing so a slow start and retiring back to bed with a glass of water or seeking a cafe for some peppermint tea works for me. I am now 6 months post pred and generally a bit quicker in the mornings, best wishes

[PMRpro Ambassador]

It can be an aspect of poor adrenal function - though it is usually because that also can lead to low BP and that underlies the dizzy part.

[Shopping3]

Thankyou all for your help on light headedness ,it's a horrible feeling ,I hope it goes away soon ,will stick it out a bit longer ,see how it goes .I was fine o n 5mg for 4 months ,just that half gm has not agreed with me .Thanks again .

[pugrescue]

In addition to all the excellent replies, I found that as I got to low pred doses, and for several months after being off pred, I had low blood sugar. Had to really watch that I ate regularly, and definitely had something to munch on while exercising/hiking/ yard work etc. I have a glucometer as I have several diabetic dogs, and every time I felt shaky or light headed, I confirmed it as my blood sugar would be below 5 (90 in US)

[Loopy65]

Hi - when I first went below 5 it was

horrible! I actually went back up for a month and then tapered by just .5. I have loads of 2.5mg and 1mg (and still some 5mg if I need to go back up!)

Down to 3.5mg at the moment and about ready to try 3mg next week.

When I first dropped below 5mg and felt so dizzy, weak, shakey and had palpitations I didn’t think I’d be able to drop but it’s been ok so far.

All the best with it.