2 1/2mg feeling so sick

[Maggie1313]

Hello again, can anyone answer if what I’m suffering is normal I am now down to 2&1/2mg for 4wks  the fatigue and nausea is terrible 😢 With the fatigue I don’t feel I want to sleep, but if I walk from the bedroom to the kitchen I need to sit down and feel I’m to tired to get up, is this normal ? The nausea is also another big issue as with the nausea feeling I just don’t want to eat. Is it normal while reducing to feel so sick . Any advice please if this is normal 🙏

[PMRpro Ambassador]

It is common - but not normal if you see the difference. It is typical of adrenal insufficiency which happens as your adrenal function is struggling to get going again and it isn't producing enough top-up cortisol for the reducing dose of pred. Lots of details about it under Adrenals in the FAQs

[Maggie1313 in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you PMRpro fingers crossed 🤞 it will ease up soon 🙏

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Could be adrenals stuttering -have a look at this link -

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[Maggie1313 in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you DL fingers crossed 🤞 it will ease up soon 🙏

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Maggie1313]

Really no rush to taper at such low levels -in fact for adrenals the slower the better…

[Maggie1313 in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you DL 🙏

[Pixix]

Yes! Nausea so bad I got some tablets from doctor. Had to go up a little with pred as has no QOL, & already cancelled two holidays!!

[Maggie1313 in reply to Pixix]

hi Pixix what were you down to when you had the bad nausea 🤔

[Pixix in reply to Maggie1313]

it started at 3mg, got worse at 2mg, f unbearable at 1mg because then I had other symptoms of adrenal inefficiency…see PMR forum info on adrenals, or search for adrenal insufficiency…lots of info there! Good luck!

[Maggie1313 in reply to Pixix]

hi Pixix how much pred are you on now ?

[Pixix in reply to Maggie1313]

I had one week back up to 5mg, then 2 days ago I dropped back to 2mg.

[Maggie1313 in reply to Pixix]

😘

[BabyRuby1]

I’m in the same situation! My adrenals are trying to wake up! I’m on 3 mg. Tired, exhausted, nausea, feel like I have the flu, diarrhea too

I guess this is our body’s coming off prednisone

It’s been two years for me. I just feel crappy the past week. So exhausted. Hopefully this will pass soon! Hang in!

[Maggie1313 in reply to BabyRuby1]

hi BR, I thought I was reading my own story when I read yours, I feel the exact same. I call it feeling ill 😢 how many weeks are you on 3mg ?

[Amkoffee]

I have adrenal insufficiency because of my prednisone use. I know I'm headed into a crisis if I'm nauseous, have a headache and neck pain. If I take more steroid and it stops I know I'm on the right track. My normal daily dose is 20 mg hydrocortisone which is equivalent to 5 mg of prednisone per day. The difference between the two is that hydrocortisone gets into the system much quicker than prednisone but prednisone lasts longer. I think at your dose your adrenals are really struggling. You might want to see an endocrinologist about possibly getting on hydrocortisone so that you can more easily spread the dose out throughout the day. I found that worked better than one dose of prednisone a day.

[Maggie1313 in reply to Amkoffee]

👍