I can not beleive it has been one year since I decided to start on Steroids for my PMR. ( I was exhauseted and tired of crying from the pain just from trying to get into bed, so I went on steroids) ( Yes I was being stupid and stubborn, not to mentioned concerned)
This entire week I have been feeling down. Not sure why, I am sure I will snap out of it.
I have been really stiff when going up steps, but not comlpaining since I am down to 4 mg a day! I go Monday for my blood work to see how everthing is!
I hope everyone has a blessed day and weekend for that matter!
Lawrie
P.S. I thank the Lord for this site!!
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Lawrie
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Many congratulations on getting down to 4mg. I guess it will be quite a few months before I reach that dose.
Sorry to hear you're rather depressed, but, even if you were completely well, this time of year can be a bit of a bummer - short days, damp, chilly weather, Christmas and New Year over and, let's face it, the news chanels on TV etc are not exactly brimming with joy, are they?
I often wake in the morning and think, what have I got to get up for? But when I do get up I realise how much I have left and that I am so lucky. I will live for this day!
Hope your tests are OK. By the way, I often get stiffness in my muscles and joints after a drop. A good, hot shower often does the trick. Pred will probabley not let you go without a fight - just knowing that can help.
I'm sorry to hear that you are having a few 'low' days but I know that many of us will so empathise with that as steroids can 'play' with our emotions somewhat.
Stay positive and relish in the fact that you have done so very well to reach 4mg after just a year.
It would be very wise to go much more slowly in reducing at this low dose of steroids though as the percentage reductions are much higher, for instance reducing from 4mgs to 3mgs is a whopping 25%, and at this stage our adrenal glands will be desperately trying to increase back to their pre-steroid days of natural cortisol (steroid) production.
As Pat has already alluded to, lifting our spirits at this time of the year with our short and gloomy days can be a bit of a battle. A walk in the fresh air can help us to feel better by releasing those 'feel-good' endorphins. If either pain or the weather doesn't allow that, I find one of the best remedies can be to meet up with a favourite friend for a coffee, a chat and a laugh.
Have you had your Vitamin D levels checked? If not then perhaps you can ask for a blood test, as if your levels are low that can impact on our muscles and lots of other things. Like a lot of the population I have recently been found to be Vit D deficient and I'm just about to take my very first dose of pure Vit D!
Yes today i went down from 9 to 8mg ,so far not to bad ,sorry not good day ,but old adrenal are having to start and work again,,So fingers crossed will be better tomorrow .
looking out side i would love to walk in snow ,but walking i cannot do ,but it all looks so pretty ,and it is all warm here and lots to do so so hope day better for you tomorrow .
Have been tapering prednisolone lmg a month and am now down to 8mgs, finding things very difficult with more musclse and joint pain, have taken prednisolone for 3 years now, has anyone else taken prednisolone for that long and experienced the side effects of reducing steroid therapy?
As you say you have more muscle and joint pain, it might be wise to quickly increase back up to the previous dose at which you felt comfortable. To leave the increase too long might mean that you will have to go even higher.
I took Prednisoloe for 5.5 years and I got used to recognising what was a flare and what were withdrawal symptoms. Generally if the pain starts shortly following any reduction, then it points to withdrawal pain and should improve after a week or so. However, if the pain starts a week or so following a reduction and gradually gets worse then it points to increasing inflammation.
It can be difficult reducing from the 10mg point and likewise from 5mgs. If you do decide to increase back to your previous dose for a week or so, you could then try just a half mg reduction next time.
I do hope that helps and you soon feel more comfortable.
Thank you so very much for your kind response to my question, I appreciate your comments and have wondered whether I had a "flare" or was suffering from withdrawal symptoms.
I had been reducing the steriods gradually but my Rheumatologist had asked me to try and reduce by 5% per month (I have struggled badly and am going to meet with him again soon) - I was reducing by 2% monthly and coping, albeit a hard call.
During the last year I had two outbreaks of shingles and a bad attack of eczema (skin changes, thinning skin, etc) and therefore was asked to try to reduce the steroids more quickly (never had any skin problems before at all) as it is thought the steroids were doing more harm than good. I also had a vitamin D test (borderline for deficiency) and have started vitamin D tablets as deficiency can also apparently cause myalgias.
2010 I was diagnosed with pmr and 2011 with Fibromyalgia, both conditions cause muscle pain, although Fibro causes tendon/ligament pain, so with balancing the steroid withdrawal symptoms with the other conditions, things do become somewhat complicated!!
Once again, many thanks for your kind response and very best wishes ,
"[B]I had been reducing the steriods gradually but my Rheumatologist had asked me to try and reduce by 5% per month (I have struggled badly and am going to meet with him again soon) - I was reducing by 2% monthly and coping, albeit a hard "[/B]
I'm not sure whether you actually mean 5% and 2% or 5mgs and 2mgs?
We are at risk of contracting shingles when taking steroids, and I too succumbed a few years ago. Also the steroids can cause thinning of the skin.
With regard to eczema, I have read of people who have experienced itchy skin problems when taking steroids and this has sometimes been found to be caused by the coating on the outside of the steroid pills, and when they washed it off their problems resolved. If you are taking the enteric coated pills, perhaps you could try this, or resort to the uncoated pills if you aren't already taking them.
Yes, people with a severe Vit D deficiency can be at risk of all sorts of health problems. I was recently found to have a reading of 36 (normal readings should be somewhere between 70/75 to 150/200, depending on which PCT area you come under) and I have started taking high dose pure Vit D3 this weekend, continuing for the next 3 months. Perhaps we'll finally have a good summer this year with lots of sunshine to replenish our Vit D stocks - we deserve it after the winter we're now experiencing!
I do hope you can get an appointment with your GP soon and get some good advice/treatment to relieve your pain.
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Pain while reducing steroids
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