Re: Pred withdrawl

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My main problem quitting pred was the extreme fatigue. I mean waves

and waves of it at unexpected times. I did have persistent

infections, but I attributed it to my immune system being suppressed

from the pred, rather than the pred itself. Am now having hot

flashes and some other strange symptoms which I wondered if they

could be related. My doc said I haven't had enough pred in the last

six months to account for these symptoms but all the other tests

came out negative. (Got results in mail today.) she didn't test

for adrenal insufficiency b/c it was unlikely and the test is a

nuisance. I don't know if she'll change her mind now that the other

tests are negative.

Sorry you are having a rough time. It's a terrible drug - we can't

live with it; we can't live without it. Hang in there!

Addy

>

> Any one else have problems getting off the Prednisone? My doctor

> said I have " adrenal insufficency " . I have severe swelling in my

> feet and legs. I also have extreme fatigue, persistent

infections,

> and a flare up of asthma and rashes. He said my DHEA levels are

> extremely low, and gave me some supplements I got down to 7mg of

> Pred, but had to bump it back up to 20mg. Any one else go through

> this? Suggestions? Thanks!

>

> Annette

[Guest guest]

i get many of the symptoms you described, and i am on ly on pred

for short bursts. for me, a burst as short as ten days will be hard

for me to get off. last winter i spent two months on pred, i think

trying to get off it was harder than dealing with the flare.

my dr suggested that rather start the tiny taper at 20 mg (once i

did below 20 i have a problem) i start doing the taper at 30. i go

down by 2.5 mg every three days or so. if i do a 5 mg taper, i get

that insane tiredness, which comes in sudden waves, light headed,

blurry vision. the smaller slower taper i do not get such drastic

reactions. when tapering, i always carry extra pred with me, so in

case my body wasn't ready for 2 mg less, i can pop an extra 1/4 pill

if need be. my dr suspects the adrenal insuf. but we've never done

any testing (i said no thanks). with xolair, i've been pred free

since the end of april!

are you a new to prednisone? there's a book " coping with

prednisone " i belive is the title. everyone suggested i read it, so

i borrowed it from my library and read it. i've been using pred on

and off since i'm 4 (i'm 29 now) so it didn't teach me very much

that i hadn't known. it might be helpful to you though.

hope you feel better!

heather