Full adrenal function at 3 mg?

[soreoldbiker]

I am pretty sure that I am getting some adrenal function at 3 mg prednisone. I am more energetic than I was at 7 mg when my adrenals were presumably largely suppressed. This leads me to hypothesize that the "energy effect" of the 3 mg prednisone plus my natural cortisol is greater than 7 mg prednisone. However, I am curious if anyone has ever stumbled upon any information or research regarding the level of adrenal function while on a low dose of prednisone? I do realize that many folks have a very slow recovery in adrenal function. But there is a yin and a yang to most things, and perhaps other folks (possibly me?) are lucky enough to have a faster recovery?

Lastly, thanks to the special people who do such a great job in maintaining this wonderful forum - 👍!

[piglette]

I think it probably makes a difference as to how long you have been on steroids in the first place.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Mine seem to get their act together at around 3mg - after stuttering for 7-8 months from 6mg down …..

But think it’s very individual… much like life…

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I think Prof Mackie and Leeds endos did some work but it wasn't published. However they did establish there is a lot of variation and it often takes longer than they thought

[SnazzyD]

I found 7mg was the worst and the Endo confirmed (with opinion) my hunch that 7mg wasn’t enough for me daily in terms of cortisol replacement. However, it was still enough to suppress my adrenal glands, it was the worst of both worlds. Because of this I kept reducing and around 5mg it was low enough for my body to realise it had a job to do and my energy started to improve. 3mg was the sweet spot for me. Reductions below that were a tad more tiring. Of course it depends on so many things as to whether you feel a deficit or not, not least what is happening in your life, physical state, physical exertion, weather etc.

[Gimme]

My GP seemed to think that I might start to feel better in terms of energy by the time I got to about 2-3 mg. I had been on 5mg for months and I had gone to see her because I felt absolutely dead beat the whole time. She thought that around 5mg was the hardest time for a lot of people. I've reached a stage that I have a glimmer of my old energy levels most days until mid afternoon and then I feel like I have run out of steam.

[Exflex]

we’re all different… I ran into a brick wall at 3.5mg, metaphorically speaking. Stayed at 3.5mg for 3 months, somewhat annoying my GP. Even today at doses less than 1 mg (currently 0.25mg) extreme stress can cause the symptoms of adrenal insufficiency- such as my current heavy cold.

[PMRnewbie2017]

I had a basal cortisol test done at 1.25mg. I had been on doses of 3mg and below for well over a year prior to this. I was shocked that my result came back as 640nmol/L. To be honest I never got the deathly fatigue that others describe, though I did have episodes which I described as secondary AI ( sudden onset abdominal pain, tiredness, nausea, bowel frequency and cold sweats) on three occasions at 2.5mg which were not food poisoning related!!. After the first time, I recognised it and immediately increased my dose. For me the hardest reduction period was around 7mg and it affected my mood more than anything else. I started Pred in November 2017 and am still on it but currently at 3.5mg again. I'm definitely a long termer unfortunately.