Hydrocortisone

[Guest guest]

Hi all

Is there anyone on the forum who takes hydrocortisone and has experienced

swelling of the hands, feet and legs and what can be done about this?

Many thanks for any input on this.

Kind regards

Vickyanne

[Guest guest]

> Is there anyone on the forum who takes hydrocortisone and has experienced swelling of the hands, feet and legs and what can be done about this?

Hello Vickyanne,

One of the side effects of glucocorticoids (HC) is flluid retention. How much HC are you taking?

best wishes,

[Guest guest]

At present my Daughter is taking 5mg am and 5mg Noon. She used to be on 20mg daily spread out over the day but she discontinued it as she had purple striations on her tummy and thighs plus she said it made her feel slightly angry. She has only just started up taking it again but at a smaller dose. She has started up again at this dose under the advice of her Endocrinologist.

Hi Vickyanne,

Purple striations on the body can be a sign for at least two things that I know of -Lupus or too much glucocorticoid (steroids) in the body... has your daughter's endo ever checked for and ruled out Lupus? To test for Lupus she would need a full rheumatology panel - an ANA test alone is much too unreliable.

Too much glucorticoid in the body could also be a sign for Cushing's - either induced by overdosing with HC (highly unlikely on 20 mg HC) or by too much natural cortisol production - which could have several reasons - Cushing's or malfunctioning pituitary for example. Does your daughter present any of the Cushing's features? Has her pituitary function been evaluated?

Has your daughter ever had a short synacthen test and her serum ACTH measured? - or at least a 24 hour urinary cortisol test (on NHS) or a private salivary cortisol stress profile?

You mention that a dose of 20 mg HC made your daughter 'angry'.... this can happen, but usually when there is too much cortisol in the body - 20 mg HC is a relatively small dose... unless, of course, it were taken on top of already high cortisol circulating in the body for other reasons.

Is your daughter's endo sufficiently clued up on Lupus/adrenal function/Cushing's/hypothalamic-pituitary malfunctioning ? Do you have confidence in him? If not, it would be worth finding one who will do all those tests and get to the bottom of what is going on. She might need a referral to a rheumatologist to test for Lupus. Purple striation without any signs of steroid overmedication might be a pointer for Lupus and this needs to be investigated properly. A negative ANA test (if this had already been done) will not rule out Lupus - you get up to 50% false negatives.... it needs the full shooting match to get a reliable diagnosis.

with best wishes,

[Guest guest]

Hi Vickyanne,On the purple striations, you might want to look up bartonella stretch marks or cat scratch fever.How old is your daughter? By any chance has she had the Gardasil vaccine? Many girls have thyroid and bartonella issues (among others) after having the vaccine.Good luck,JeannieOn Mar 19, 2012, at 9:30 AM, wrote:

At present my Daughter is taking 5mg am and 5mg Noon. She used to be on 20mg daily spread out over the day but she discontinued it as she had purple striations on her tummy and thighs plus she said it made her feel slightly angry. She has only just started up taking it again but at a smaller dose. She has started up again at this dose under the advice of her Endocrinologist.