I've been doing really well and today I reduced my daily dose of prednisolone to 8.5 mg. Went to bed last night feeling really good after a pain free day.
Today I drove ten miles to have about 15 x-rays taken, as suggested by my consultant. Now back home and feel wiped out - legs weak and shaky, muscles ache and feel very tired.
Not felt so rough for a long time. What do others do if/when this happens?
It can happen after an unusually effortful episode especially when your Pred dose is around the level when your adrenal glands need to start making up the shortfall with their own cortisol. Your dose, for some people, is at the not quite enough Pred for every eventuality but still enough to have a suppressant effect. So, when you need a bit more extra steroid in your system on a day when you have to put in a fair amount of effort and it doesn’t happen you can feel wiped out. When I say a fair amount of effort , I mean what your body regards as that, not what in your head thinks you ought to deal with. Two different things. Until your adrenal function kicks in again (usually at a lower dose) you may find this an annoying new feature.
Is there any chance you are in the early stages of being ill with a bug? Just a thought
Is there any chance you are in the early stages of being ill with a bug?
It doesn't appear to be anything like that. It just feels like I've done a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson!
It doesn't appear to be anything like that. It just feels like I've done a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson!
As Frank Bruno would say - not a pleasant thought, Harry!🤦🏻♀️
Who Won?
I hope for your sake that’s true. I felt like this last week and, like you was wondering what was going . Then bang! Bedridden with a really nasty chest infection. Rest, drink plenty of fluids and eat well. Hoping for you, it isn’t an infection. Although on the positive side, infections pass, adrenal fatigue will take longer. Always a positive I suppose.! 😆
Rest… that’s quite a lot to cope with… in hindsight might have been better to leave reducing until next week…or at least the end of this week.
Maybe go back to previous dose for next few days… but as SnazzyD has said might not all be PMR related, so just monitor.
… and may have a look at this applicable at any time -
healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...
That link is really informative, thanks DL
Never a good idea to change the dose when you are about to have an exciting day!!
You have a choice - go back to the previous dose for a week or two and try again or see what happens if you stick it out and rest a bit more.
Before we introduced the slowed tapers, we used to advise people to clear the decks entirely for the week after a drop in dose and hibernate a bit to give their body a chance to cope better.
Think about it, it wasn't just a 10 mile drive each way was it? There was traffic to negotiate so concentrating and paying attention, a parking place to find, a walk to the x-ray department (where I worked it was a daytrip just for that), sitting around, taking position for umpteen x-rays, getting back to the car, finding the cash and machine to pay (unless you have an exceptional hospital), more traffic, no doubt with a few eejits.
taking position for umpteen x-rays
It was quite a while since I've been so 'bendy'
The answer to what you should do is rest, rest, rest.
The answer to what you should do is rest, rest, rest.
I'm feeling a bit better now after doing nothing all afternoon. Never felt so bad for quite a few months though.
As I said rest, rest, rest!
Prednisolone packaging change.
What are the expected effects of tapering?
is this what a flare feels like ?
What is a realistic aim?
Feeling a bit brighter!
