morning feelings of depression

[Paulsnow]

what should I do to get over this , i am not feeling in a happy mood .

Any suggestions would be appreciated .

I think its the Prednisone doing this .

Thank you . Paul.

[SnazzyD]

What dose of Pred were you on when this started? How have you been throughout your PMR journey? Not sure how long that has been so far.

[Paulsnow in reply to SnazzyD]

15 mg when started , started good then got worse had to increase dose ,

started on 30 mg down to 9 at present feeling better with pain and mobility .

thanks for asking .

[posthinking01 in reply to Paulsnow]

Hi Paul have you tried taking a B complex they are a good for the adrenals and feeling down - I recommend Natures Best multi B complex - hope this helps - take care !

[Paulsnow in reply to posthinking01]

Thank you for your help its just what i needed , Take care. Paul

[posthinking01 in reply to Paulsnow]

Paul I was once on 200 mg of HC when I came out of hospital after surviving Sepsis - took me 18 months of hell to get down to a 'normal' level. Vitamin B6 is an amazing vitamin for dopamine enhancing I take 50 mg by Natures Best and the energy I have now is amazing - the B complex as I said will also help. Please do ask if you have any queries on this topic - nutritional stuff is my subject due to necessity.

[Paulsnow in reply to posthinking01]

You are a wonderful person , Thank you its helpful to know this ,

please take care . Paul

[SnazzyD in reply to Paulsnow]

Hello again, do you mean the PMR or the morning sadness? Sorry, I don’t think my question was clear either! 🙂

I know supplements are simplifying the issue but as PMRPro says, B vitamins are important but so is vitamin D. My family are affected by low light levels and get the morning Despair Squid (as they call it, long story, a reference) and 5HTP helps with serotonin production. This UK summer hasn’t been the best so a couple of them started it again in July instead of October! Just as an aside, Covid can affect mood for up to a year due to brain effects.

I found that Pred magnified any emotional issues and the higher the dose the worse the effect. Chronic illness and loss of old self that comes with it was a huge feature for me. I’ve noticed that it is usually delayed in people, as they start off meaning business, all systems go, but then hitting a wall later on. At 10mg it got better but then under 10mg when adrenal function need to start but didn’t, it all came back. Mornings and 5pm were the worst. It got better with improving adrenal function as the Pred dropped and the adrenal glands started to make their own cortisol again.

[whitefishbay in reply to SnazzyD]

What about a SAD light - might that help?

[SnazzyD in reply to whitefishbay]

We use those too.

[Paulsnow in reply to SnazzyD]

Excellent thanks for all your help .

[Paulsnow in reply to SnazzyD]

Thank for all your help , its all good .

[123-go]

Hello Paulsnow. I’m sorry to hear you are having a poor start your days. There will be others here who have experienced or are experiencing the same feelings as you but it’s difficult to make suggestions that may help you when we know very little about you and your PMR background. DorsetLady has given advice on filling in your bio here: healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

Members will be keen to support you with relevant replies.

[Angelsmummy]

HiPaulsnow,sorry to hear you are feeling down.Not a nice place to be in is it?I think the pred has a lot to do with it,plus I have found that any problems seem magnified with this drug.Makes emotions go haywire,at least I have found that in my case.Seems that Mr Adrenal might be the culprit,I am down to 6 / 5 and a half taper ing plan from DL,and feel like absolute🤬🤬🤬🤬.Weepy,fed up,feelings of “ how can I carry on like this”.I think you ,me,and plenty of others are going through this ,and all we can do is think that at some stage we WILL feel like our old selves.You are NOT alone in all this.Chin up!PS just a thought,probably not your thing ,but in the mornings I put Asian network on the radio,reminds me of my happy times in India and gives me a real lift,even my parrot dances to it! Xx🤣🌼🦜🦜🦜😜

[Poshdog in reply to Angelsmummy]

What a great idea. My childhood was spent in India. Shall now tune into Asian network - thank you xx

[Angelsmummy in reply to Poshdog]

You are welcome!I love the different types of music they play,takes me back to the wonderful sights,sounds and smells .A heady mix of spices,Jasmine,and oh yes,the petrol fumes of endless mopeds,Tuk Tuk, and the odd elephant weaving in and out of the traffic!Oh to be back there and to have one of their wonderful massages!😪xxx😜🐘🐘🐘🌞🌞🛺🛺

[Poshdog in reply to Angelsmummy]

Not to mention the cows!! 🐂 but perhaps not as well fed as this one! X

[Angelsmummy in reply to Poshdog]

Will tell you a funny story about Indian cows.Sitting on beach,herd of cows appear,proceeded to eat German man’s haul of fruit from beach seller.He comes out of sea,sees what is happening,takes a running kick at one of them.He collapses in a heap,screaming in agony.Found out next day he had fractured his ankle!🤣As my dear old mum used to say,” God pays his debts and it ain’t always in money!x🤣🤣🤣🤣🌞🐘🛺🏝️🏝️🐂

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Angelsmummy]

What an idiot!!! We get tourists up on the alm who thinks cows are fluffy toys. Then wonder why they are attacked ...

[Angelsmummy in reply to PMRpro]

Obviously don’t live in the country!!My sister years ago,lived in concrete city and when visiting my brother in the sticks rambled in a field with calves and their mothers!😱Just made the gate in time!Cant teach stupid can you?🤣🤣🐂😜xxx

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Angelsmummy]

With or without a dawg??? That's the usual here - cows free on the alm, ramblers with their dog not on a lead or with screaming running kids. There was a report on Emergency Helicopter Medics pre-Covid - couple of teachers just retired and up in the Dales for a walk, Cut througha field with cows and calves and the woman was attacked and trampled. Why don't people inform themselves at a Tourist Office before going to do something so new to them? Can't say I have a lot of sympathy ...

[Angelsmummy in reply to PMRpro]

Without a dawg.,!Here in Suffolk,we have a beautiful heath that is full of roaming Exmoor ponies,bought in to graze the shrub land.There are notices everywhere stating DOGS ON LEADS!NO bugger takes a blind bit of notice,plus there are ground nesting birds.My big old German Shepheherd who like me does not take to many people ( only joking!) is permanently on a lead and I have lost count how many stupid people think it is ok to let their out of control dogs race up to him.When he growls,we get filthy looks as if we should not take him out!Sometimes felt that I should let him off but then it ain’t the dogs fault,just inconsiderate,thick owners.As I said in previous post” You can’t teach stupid!” , As for my sister,think she learnt the hard way,!🤣🤣🤣🐴🦮😱😜xx

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Angelsmummy]

No such thing as a bad dog - just bad owners. And I am not a dog person.

[Angelsmummy in reply to PMRpro]

Oh so true !x😜🦮

[Poshdog in reply to Angelsmummy]

Karma! 🐂 1 - 0 to the cow! Xx

[Angelsmummy in reply to Poshdog]

That is what I thought when the nasty bugger was hobbling around for the rest of his holiday.Indians were not too happy with the twat either as cows are sacred over there .,🤣🤣🤣🤣🐂🐂🐘🛺xx

[Potemkin]

are you able to get outside for a walk or just sit outside. Going outside for 10 mins within the first hour of waking (without sunglasses on) is really good for you. I walk to my local coffee shop or Tesco - I like a purpose.

If you listen to music and move it helps too - so a dance in the kitchen or music while you walk.

My mood is very affected by the weather so right now and going into winter I do have to work hard to deal with it.

I hope you feel better soon.

[Paulsnow in reply to Potemkin]

thank you for your care , its a good helpful reply for me .

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

May well be the Pred, but if so would have expected it to hit you on higher doses, so maybe as you are down do 9mg its the balance between the Pred and the adrenals needing to start working again. This link explains a bit more about that -

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

Might also be that you are realising that this is going to take longer than you envisioned at the outset- that very often hits people at different times. Getting a diagnosis of a long term condition is often compared to being much like a bereavement - some see it as loosing their old self - and like bereavement there are stages you have to go trough to get out the other end.. denial, despair, acceptance etc.. perhaps it is as simple as that.

Potemkin has made some good suggestions, but there is help out there, so if necessary please discuss with your GP -and not for medication - or maybe have look this , it was written post Covid, but is applicable at any time -

nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/m...

[Pixix]

I don’t know why, but Ihave the same problem every morning! Anxious, emotional, depressed. By lunchtime, the world looks rosier, & the afternoon is much more optimistic & happy. I’ve never suffered from depression, & my cup is always half full…but I don’t seem able to shrug this off. I find just being aware of it helps a little, & telling my husband, but I can’t find a way to change it. I’m on 2mg…tried to go to 1.5mg, but it didn’t work. Trying again next week when back home from holiday.

[Viveka]

It happens to me at various levels of pred. There are lots of techniques that can help with low level morning blues. You can practice them when you wake up before you get out of bed or whenever is convenient. Gratitude exercises have been shown to work to raise the mood. You simply think about, and feel into, three or more things in your life for which you feel gratitude. They can be big - like friends or small - like coffee. Another exercise is the inner smile. Feel an inner smile deep in the abdomen and let it grow and spread through the body until it reaches your face and let yourself physically smile. Another is to work on the heart energy centre in the centre of the chest. Place a word or image with a feeling there - like 'joy' or 'love' or picture someone or something you love and let the feeling grow and spread.

Most of us will benefit from doing these. I know people who won't get out of bed without their gratitude exercise. Good luck.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

To be honest, I agree with DL that it would have been worse at higher doses if it were the pred - much more likely to be the lack of it now you are below 10mg, not necessarily adrenal insufficiency but simply not the doses that provide the boost for some. No dose I took gave me a boost so it isn't there to miss.

Light and sun is an important factor in the mornings. My daughter gets up at 5am to get to work for morning nursing shifts and discovered her day was immeasureably better when she took her cup of coffee outside and sat watching the morning unfold on the steps to the garden in the new house. She made the effort to get to the garden of her first floor flat when she got home.

This summer in the UK has been a bit rubbish in the 2 months I was there so I can envisage feeling a bit down as autumn unfolds on top of a summer that was more like autumn! It might be worth investigating the lights recommended for SAD (seasonal affective disorder) - I suffered from it badly before I moved here to Italy - I'm sure the snow in the winter makes it feel a lot lighter.

mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...

independent.co.uk/extras/in...

If it works for you then sitting having breakfast or just coffee with a light on may make a great diffference to your day. If you can afford it - worth a try,

[Paulagcl]

Given the amount of responses you've received, it's obviously a very common situation. I am off prednisone now but mornings still wake up feeling low--however, many things can contribute to that. On the mindfulness track, and since you mentioned Asian philosophy, I like Tara Brach. You can check out her website. She is a psychologist and blends philosophy with the practical. Mornings I make myself get up and have a cup of coffee first thing -- I have a little espresso machine and froth some milk -- it's a little ritual and good coffee. That usually breaks the mood enough to get going.