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Pred taper pain and depression

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted Today 10:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I've done searches and read lots of previous posts about a return of body pain and worse depression as you go down in pred dose I'm on my 3rd day at 10 mg, and just sooo fatigued. There are things need doing but I can't move and all my thoughts are dark. I'm trained not to take my thoughts seriously, especially not on a drug but it's so bleak!

Also all my joint pain has come back with a vengeance, which I gather is also common. That was the one side effect of the Pred that was so amazing to me, to be pain free for the first time in years. I guess my inflammation was elsewhere in my body besides colon.

Anyway my bowels are a little bulky in the a.m., but no other UC symptoms at 10 mg. For that I am grateful. I just wonder how long it takes for the depression to scoot.
Posted 11/30/2014 12:25 AM (GMT 0)
Prednisone suppresses steroid release from your adrenal glands and when you taper external steroids(prednisone) it takes many weeks before your glands are in full production. As for your inflammatory symptoms ,please read this forum for natural anti inflammatory foods and herbs such as turmeric, aloe Vera, garlic,ginger etc. they can possibly help at least partially. Coming to depression, if symptoms are impairing your functioning you might consider meeting with a psychiatrist and discuss treatment options including meds like Prozac. Wish you the best.
Posted 11/30/2014 12:59 AM (GMT 0)
Not an option. You should book up on Pred withdrawal and depression dear.
Posted 11/30/2014 9:10 PM (GMT 0)
I'm down to 10 mg of prednisone, and I am sooo fatigued also. I hope it's the prednisone, because I have been working off the assumption it's because my body is just in such a weakend state from a severe flare, lack of food, exercise and just generally being sick.

I was in pretty great shape, biking a couple hours 4-5 days a week over the summer and now, I can barely walk up three flights of stairs without getting winded. It's so frustrating!

I've been pretty depressed too the last little while. But I've been cooped up in my apartment for the last four months, I'm fatigued, I'm bored, and I'm still not feeling 100%. So I'm not sure if it's that or the prednisone. But now that I think about it, it has been especially bad the last couple weeks.

Let's hope it's the prednisone. By the way, when you say that you are trained not to let your thoughts influence you? I was curious. Who exactly is it that is trained not to let the thoughts do any influencing? ;)

Post Edited (jeffereyr123) : 11/30/2014 2:13:33 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/30/2014 9:18 PM (GMT 0)
All of the above posts sound like prednisone withdrawal symptoms. You have two choices, either grin and bear it and it will pass. Second choice is slow down your taper. There is no medal for finishing pred first. In fact, you can taper too fast and have worse withdrawal due to it. Give the last few drops extra time, cut pills in half and do smaller drops. It's much easier on your body that way. Good luck.
Posted 12/1/2014 4:46 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks iPoop that's what I'm hoping to do, I'm 10 this week and 5 next.

The fatigue has been scary Jefferey I completely understand. I am so sorry you've had to be ill so long. I am a trained Zen Buddhist ex nun. We meditate for long periods to a point where we realize "we" are not "our thoughts". I saw a bumpersticker recently which sums it up "Don't believe everything you think". Most humans let their thoughts and emotions control their actions. At least they take them seriously. With a meditative practice you can actually observe thoughts/emotions and let them pass, not add any additional thoughts/emotions to the one that's passing.

One of the first Zen teachers from Japan said: "let your mind be a house with the front door and back door open; thoughts and emotions/feeling come to visit like guests. Just don't serve them tea"

You then learn to concentrate more on the space between each guest, until the guests stop coming. As you continue eventually your mind becomes more and more quiet, then you gain great calmness and an acute awareness. Life becomes a beautiful experiment. That is why I know this bleakness is drug related. Good Journey :)
Posted 12/1/2014 6:30 PM (GMT 0)
Haha, that's great! I love it. Meditation is a powerful training tool for the mind.

It's funny how we are systematically taught to ignore the background as if it's not important, when in reality the foreground and the background, i.e. the space between your thoughts, are at least equally important.

But you still didn't answer my question. If you're not your thoughts, then who is it that decides whether or not to serve your thoughts tea when they enter your house? ;)

Post Edited (jeffereyr123) : 12/1/2014 11:34:07 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/1/2014 9:42 PM (GMT 0)
right now Prednisone!
Posted 12/1/2014 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
Before Pred I had trained a racing thinking mind. The initial intent to quiet one's mind is also a thought, and every word thought or deed has consequences. In the earlier stages of meditation there most certainly is a meditator and a practice (subject/object). Eventually the lines blur, until the meditator becomes the meditation. At that point everything he does says or think is the product of awareness. If a guest comes, say you need to pay a bill, the "real" you takes out the thought toolbox to solve the situation; i.e., send a payment. Once you've attended to a situation, the toolbox gets put away. Good luck with that.
Posted 12/5/2014 9:22 PM (GMT 0)
Very cool. Thanks for that.
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