I am now into my 6 month of my journey. For the last 5 weeks tapering from 8mg to 71/2.
My sleep has improved,I often manage 5-6 hours.I don’t suffer any significant pain either in bed or on rising.Some stiffness for a while after getting up which eases getting breakfast.
My head feels fairly normal but my legs feel heavy and I still suffer with numbness in my feet (Stenosis )
What is really getting to me is after taking my Pred dosage after my yogurt,fruit and granola, my “fuzzy” head seems worse and “jelly”legs likewise.
It’s been like this for weeks now,on top of the fat red face, loss of hair etc.I’m able to undertake a limited number of tasks in and around the house, which we moved to 6 weeks ago to downsize. Perhaps that was a big ask at 84!
Was hoping my head would clear on a lower dose ? No luck so far, is there a magic number?
Musn’t grumble
Written by
Suttonsea
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So long as you are sure it’s not PMR related [as you mention recent house move] , the only thing that will nudge adrenals is very slow taper, small steps down, time and patience.
I’d be inclined to stick a current dose for a couple of months, and give adrenals a chance to catch up… winter is never very good for reducing anyway. As you are only 6 months in, there really is no rush….
Quite a few people have found they have developed strange effects an hour or so after taking their pred - it may be muzzy heads or it may be feeling downright dizzy or just unwell. I found that if I went out to do something like the shopping at that time it happened to me so I changed my timetable. Several tried taking their pred before bed so they slept through the worst and that worked for them.
I certainly knew when the Pred was at its peak in my bloodstream as it made me feel woozy and uncoordinated. On higher doses it was so bad I took my Pred before bedtime to avoid having to stay upright until it wore off. With uncoated Pred it was around 1-2 hours after taking and lasted 1-2 hours.
The other guess it that now you are on a dose below 10mg is that your dose no longer exceeds the cortisol level you need to feel ok on a good day. The adrenal glands may still be a bit dozy at this early stage and not making up the shortfall so it might be that you are suffering from a deficiency of steroid until the new dose kicks in. I’d put my money on that if the weak wobblies are occurring around the time you take it rather than 1-2 hours later when the dose is in the bloodstream.
Try taking it at 2 am as suggested on forum.Yoghourt on bedside cabinet,,alarm goes off,swallow pred with water,big gulp of yoghourt then straight back to sleep.No need to get out of bed even.,!Works for me and countless others.Good luck,xxx🎄😜
An alternative ( and I have used most options ! ) is to put your pred in empty enteric capsules and take when you go to bed. This accomplishes 4 things: you don't have to wake at 2am, your stomach is protected , no need for food and the pred is absorbed in the gut when it is needed, which is around 4 am. Often mentioned on this forum . Worth a try. ?
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