PRED is evil

Hi all, I have been reducing PRED 5mg until 20 and then 2.5 until now (which is 12.5). However the past few days have been okay but the first day of taper was absolutely the worst. I now suffer really bad migraines and anxiety which I have been unable to solve. My plan is to go down from 12.5 , 1mg every 7 days or every 5 days. Which one do you guys think I should do? I am struggling staying on them as my face has taken the usual hit with acne and I have gained weight and the mood swings are so bad. I cannot fall asleep anymore without taking sleep pills and cannot calm myself down during stressful situations. I get mad easily and at anyone. My boyfriend doesn't want anything to do with me but has been understanding and supportive... I think him and my family are just scared of seeing the "nice" one today and the "mean" one tomorrow. I cannot stand being on this anymore. I want to rip off everyone's head and at work sometimes I have to go to the back to take a breather and regroup. Sometimes I get so upset and sad for no reason I don't know why either. It's so upsetting when the people around you see you do a full 180 on them in less than a year. What do you guys suggest? I have been on PRED since October (40mg for about 2 months) and have begun tapering since. I usually go down per week but some weeks I listened to my body. I am also on remi 300 every 8 weeks. It seems to do well the first. 4-5 before and then the symptoms would come back. Any advice is helpful.

Thank you

Truer words have never been said: prednisone is evil.

Everything you're describing can be attributed to prednisone side effects: wild mood swings, insomnia, anxiety, acne, and weight gain. I know you're quite eager to get off of pred, however, taper slower once you get around 10mgs. The taper is more about total percent drop, and those percentages get higher from here on out. 1mgs is good as you get low. There's no exact science on 7 or 5 days. Try one, see what works, but listen to your body.

Not a lot can be done to avoid prednisone side effects. Limit your salt intake to reduce bloating. Try eating as healthy as you can to reduce weight-gain. Prednisone hunger is insatiable, but go for apples instead of chips!

sometimes a necessary evil, and for some there are few side effects.

But, it sounds like it is good that you are tapering. You seem sensitive to pred.

But, discuss headaches with doc, because it could be Remicade. (See other threads here). 12.5mg is not that high a dose. You may be extra sensitive, but many people with IBD and other diseases stay on 10mg for years.

Once you get down to 10'ish, the main point of going slow is not to flare again. I never understood the primary point of going slow being to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Especially after only 8 weeks on pred.

good luck

iPoop said...

Bull101 said...
Don't mean to hijack your thread but what are the side effects of too fast of a taper? Just worse withdrawal symptoms?

Generally, withdrawal symptoms should be very short with each dose drop (48 hours at most). If they persist longer or don't go away at all, then you're tapering too fast. A very fast taper can cause a flare. The longer you've been on prednisone, the slower the taper process.

So if the pred isn't stopping the flare anyway, then you may as well taper at a normal rate to try to get off it ASAP?

Bull101 said...

iPoop said...

Bull101 said...
Don't mean to hijack your thread but what are the side effects of too fast of a taper? Just worse withdrawal symptoms?

Generally, withdrawal symptoms should be very short with each dose drop (48 hours at most). If they persist longer or don't go away at all, then you're tapering too fast. A very fast taper can cause a flare. The longer you've been on prednisone, the slower the taper process.

So if the pred isn't stopping the flare anyway, then you may as well taper at a normal rate to try to get off it ASAP?

If you have only been on the theraputic dose for 8-12 weeks. IF longer, I think a slower taper may allow your body more room to adjust. I would also take extra no matter how long at the higher dose when going below 5mg. That is how much the body normally produces. So your glands actually have to kick in and produce cortisol. People say you can drop form 10 to 5 to 0 each week, but I would go 5 2.5 0 if not on pred for too many weeks, and 5-4-3-2-1-0 if on pred for more than 12-15 weeks.