Tapering and mood changes

[christi48]

I'm tapering from 5mg the ds method. I'm now toggling between 4 - 4 1/2 and have noticed lately that I am having anxiety attacks. I have had this problem in the past before PRM, but have been doing really well as I am familiar with, and have practiced, all the coping mechanisms. But now, as I have been tapering, the anxiety is coming back. Could there be any connection?

[Elispeth]

Hi christi48. Sorry to hear that you are experiencing your anxiety coming back. Yes unfortunately anxiety is one of the symptoms that can be experienced when we are trying to taper onto a lower dose of steroids.

It sounds as if you have learned lots of strategies for coping with your anxiety in the past. It might be a good idea to put these into practice once again whilst holding in mind that the anxiety is likely to be caused by your adrenal glands struggling a little bit to keep up. If you do find that your anxiety is feeling a bit overwhelming then do reach out to your doctor (or mental health practitioner if you worked with one in the past) for support.

Experiencing this anxiety once again must be so disappointing for you, even maybe a bit frightening? Try not to let it overwhelm you. This too will pass! Just like it has done for you in previous times.

Take good care of yourself until it does..

[christi48 in reply to Elispeth]

Thank you!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Adrenals struggling for sure - have a look at this -

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[christi48 in reply to DorsetLady]

This was so helpful - thank you!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Low corticosteroid levels in adrenal insufficiency are associated with mood changes and anxiety,