Prednisone withdrawal? Help please.

I'm not sure if this is prednisone withdrawal.

I started 30 mg. pred. as soon as I found out I was preg. last year. Had my baby in dec. on 10 mg. pred.

In Feb., went down to 7.5 mg., then 2 weeks later, 5 mg., then 2 weeks later, 2.5 mg. for 2 weeks, then stopped.

Since around the middle of Feb., I've been feeling kind of fatigue (but not necessarily tired), weak, and have very mild trouble with concentrating and focusing and short term memory. Could this be pred. withdrawal?

(My b12 is good, iron is probably a little high if anything, I'm also on an Ace inhibitor and beta blocker for mild heart problem which is very likely getting better and I don't think it is that.)

Any opinions on the pred withdrawal or any other suggestions? Anyone else go through this?

Hi Just a thought here but the first thing I thought about was potassium..you could google prednisone withdrawal symnptoms too if you are concerned.. I know it is hard coming off the pred.. lol gail

Thanks Emom.
Actually my baby pretty much sleeps through the night now, except the odd night. (What a blessing!)
I usually get between 6-9 hours of sleep straight.

Ivy, I just had my thyroid tested from my cardiologist so it's probably not that.

I've considered a chemical imbalance, but it's so hard to know. My b12, iron, folate and thyroid are all good. I could ask for potassium but I eat a banana almost daily, and the Questran is helping with the "d", so I'm pretty sure I'm absorbing my vitamins fairly well (at least better than before), plus I'm on a maternity vitamin as well. So you see, I'm not sure if my problem is nutritional or hormonal or pred. withdrawal or what else.

Pred withdrawl gets ugly when you get down to a low dose, but it's ok. Fatigue, feeling crappy, no energy, those are all sorta ok withdrawl symptoms, they are going to happen to some degree. These can last for weeks, even after you are off it completely.

It gets to be dangerous, if you are feeling dizzy, or lightheaded when you stand up suddenly, after sitting or laying down for a while. It also robs your body of potassium, which can produce the same dizzy, lightheadedness, or even fainting spells. They do make pred in a 1mg tablet, which you can use if you have trouble getting off it with the 5mg tablets, don't hesistate to ask your doctor for them, especially if you been on it for several months.

Your comfort should be a top priortity with your doctor, who hopefully listens to and takes your requests seriously.

Researchers have finally recognized that having a chronic illness usually entails having fatigue so it could be the meds, or recently having a baby but even without those 2 factors you could still be prone to fatigue just from having crohn's alone.

:)