2mg is this normal

[Maggie1313]

please can anyone tell me if what I’m suffering is normal in withdrawal ;

I am at week 4 of reducing from 2.5mg to 2mg the fatigue is so debilitating I am no sooner up until I have to go back to bed ,something I never ever had before is cramps in my lower stomach. I also have nausea on and off most of the day . Are there known symptoms of what can happen with withdrawal ?

[piglette]

Sounds like the adrenals are being bad tempered about having to do some work again and you have the killer fatigue. They say if you can hang on at that dose you should, I must admit I could not stand it in the end and increased my dose.

[Maggie1313 in reply to piglette]

thank you piglette for quick reply I hope I can stick it out 🙏

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Not so much withdrawal as adrenal function not keeping up with the reduction of pred dose. There is lots to read about it in the FAQs under Adrenals. Our mantra is "the lower, the slower", 1/2mg over at least 8 weeks, if not more, is better at this level and many have to do just 1/4mg at a time.

[Maggie1313 in reply to PMRpro]

thank you PMRpro for quick reply and reassurance 🙏

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Sounds more like adrenals than withdrawal symptoms. See this -

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

..and as said the slower you can taper the better for nudging them back into functioning

[Maggie1313 in reply to DorsetLady]

thank you DorsetLady for quick reply and reassurance 🙏

[agingfeminist]

I'm with you Maggie...life is a daily struggle. But I do have glimmerings of returning adrenal function. I do sometimes remember fondly how much better I felt at higher doses....I go very slow in tapering. And ended up at 4 to 3,5 for 6 months.

[Maggie1313 in reply to agingfeminist]

thank you 🙏

[Gossiplady]

hi Maggie1313! I too suddenly developed nausea around the 2mg stage. Bought as usual from Mr.. A. Online Queasy tablets which worked very successfully. Keep smiling !

[Maggie1313 in reply to Gossiplady]

thank you will check out the Queasy tablets 🙏

[HalleysComet]

The fatigue is very hard to deal with. I have reduced from 2 to 1.5 and have to go for a lie down every afternoon. It makes sleeping at night more of a problem too. I have slight nausea but frequent diarrhoea and discomfort in the lower abdomen. I am pretty certain that it is adrenals causing all these symptoms. The aches and pains of PMR have pretty much disappeared though.

[Maggie1313 in reply to HalleysComet]

hank you Halleyscomet so much for you reply. I just can’t explain how it feels to have someone experience the same symptoms, especially the abdominal pain and pooing a lot . May I ask how many weeks do you take to reduce before reducing to your new dose as I am doing 6wk and was wondering if I should be taking longer 🙏

[cranberryt in reply to HalleysComet]

Don’t discount the frequent diarrhea. I have developed celiac and colitis since having PMR. Not saying there is a direct relationship or anything… just that new symptoms could be something new and worth getting checked out.

[Maggie1313 in reply to cranberryt]

thank you 🙏

[PMRnewbie2017]

Been there too. Try 2.25mg, a bit of a faff I know but do-able. Incase of brain fog it's half a 2.5mg tablet and one 1mg tablet. Are you using DL's DSNS taper? If not I would say use it and even repeat each week twice before moving on to the next week's schedule. As said already, at this level try and do 0.25mg drops. Please don't rush this stage and if you need a nap, have a nap. With activity, a little and often rather than attacking a chore in one go. This will pass and from my experience this is the hardest stage. I'm now stable at 1.5mg and the need to sleep from 2pm to 4pm is reducing. The nausea and tummy issues aren't nice but think of it as a way of shedding those Pred induced pounds!!

[Maggie1313 in reply to PMRnewbie2017]

thank you PMRnewbie for your reassuring advice 🙏

[PMRnewbie2017 in reply to Maggie1313]

Glad it helped, but I'm not so Newbie now after nearly 6 years!!

[Raewynne]

I'm trying to get from 4.5 to 4 mg and having a lot of nausea .I get up and have a peppermint.Also hot water with lemon juice helps.I find I crash too .After a rest with feet up I can get on with my day.Its no use fighting it.Brain fog is very annoying.

[Maggie1313 in reply to Raewynne]

thank you 🙏

[BarbB]

Yes these are prednisone withdrawal symptoms and I suffered similar every time I decreased my dose even a tiny amount once I got below 5 mg.

Below 5 mg, I started thinking of my dose not in daily amounts, but in weekly totals. I reduced my dose by a total of 1 mg A WEEK - which was 0.5 mg less every 3rd day. I wouldn’t proceed to reduce further until these withdrawal symptoms had cleared up, which took 3-4 weeks.

Fatigue, headaches, stomachaches, constipation, exercise intolerance, and fainting where my main symptoms. It took me 2 years to methodically go from 5mg to zero and it was uncomfortable but I have apparently normal adrenal function now and it was worth it.