Adrenals

[Noni71]

Morning everyone. This is my first post on here. I was diagnosed with GCA in August 2022 and have been tapering down the Prednisolone to 5mg. I also take Tocilizumab and Methotrexate as I’ve had a difficult time with the Prednisolone so many side effects. How do I know if my adrenal glands are working correctly? What are the symptoms if they’re not working properly? Although I’ve had this illness for over a year, I still feel like a novice!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

If your adrenals weren’t working at all you’d know it -so they probably are to a certain degree, but you won’t know how well for a good while. Even after finishing Pred they can take up to 12 months to be back to 100%.

See this link re all things adrenal -

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[PMRpro Ambassador]

They won't be yet - but you just have to reduce the dose slowly to let them wake up. After only a year they should do. Them not working usually increases fatigue - and you may react more than you would expect to stressful situations.

[Noni71 in reply to PMRpro]

That rings true!

[SnazzyD]

If they are working you get on with your day without a second thought about in whatever situation you find yourself in. It can be a bit tricksy in that you can feel ok on a normal day but a sudden demand in cortisol that is no longer provided by Pred May be a step too far for the adrenal glands. My Endo said that 5mg is still enough to suppress the adrenal axis in many people while at the same time the 5mg Pred isn’t always enough for your body to deal with everything easily. Some people’s cortisol making process seamlessly comes on line to make up the shortfall of every Pred drop. You just have to be vigilant and always carry Pred when out and about as a sudden crash can come from nowhere.

If you are a bit cortisol deficient you can feel deeply tired for no good reason, weak, shakey, dizzy, emotional/anxious nauseated with upset gut. If it is quite a bad crash you feel like there is deeply something very wrong, faint, out of breath without being out of breath, unable to stand and diarrhoea. It can feel like low blood sugar but you won’t feel better after a packet of biscuits. Saying that low adrenal function can dispose you to low blood sugar.

[Noni71 in reply to SnazzyD]

Thank you for that info. This explains why during a very stressful holiday in Majorca where I ended up in hospital, all of the above symptoms presented themselves. I truly thought I was about to expire! It was a really awful experience and not one which I would care to repeat. If I’d have known it was my adrenal glands not functioning correctly then I wouldn’t have found it so frightening.

[SnazzyD in reply to Noni71]

I don’t know about that! When I had a bad one with Covid and I knew exactly what was happening. That ambulance couldn’t come fast enough as far as I was concerned. You really do really feel like you’re dying don’t you?

[Noni71 in reply to SnazzyD]

You do. You actually feel as if you’re going to explode! A horrid feeling.