Feelings of fatigue in Malaysia
Posted , 10 users are following.
I'm trying to taper again to get below 11 mg. I've actually managed to get to 10.5 mg and I've been here since Friday without any pain so far and this is where I've always had problems before.
So this time I have no pain but I feel like I am sick with a cold. I've felt bad off and on since Friday.
Then it hit me maybe this is because I'm tapering off of the prednisone and it has nothing to do with being sick at all. But I've always heard that prednisone will not make you fatigued any better but it just takes care of the pain and inflammation. So I guess I need to know what you think.
0 likes, 14 replies
adette01750 amkoffee
Posted
I wake up feeling flu like symptoms on my reductions most times, and PMR type pains, so could be that? I up my dose back to the old dose for a day or do then drop back down, it takes me a week to 10 days to feel better and day 5 is horrendous.
Good luck I'm going to 10mg tomorrow (2nd attempt).
julian. amkoffee
Posted
what's the temperature and humidity compared to home?
amkoffee julian.
Posted
I'm not quite sure I understand your question. I am at home so are you asking me what my temperature is or I guess I just don't understand
Anhaga amkoffee
Posted
amkoffee Anhaga
Posted
Yes that damn predictive typing. I just didn't catch your joke
julian. amkoffee
Posted
I asked because Malaysia is tropical, warm, and sticky.
Where I live near Brisbane, Aus has been hot and sticky this summer. Sudden change to lower temperature and humidity after cyclone gave me heaps of energy.
I just wondered if increase in temperature/humidity had increased your fatigue.
By coincidence, we were stuck in Kuala Lumpur waiting for shipping of our motorhome to home before I was diagnosed with PMR. Fortunately the hotel was air conditioned.
I think you should take a holiday in Malaysia to check.
Mrs_CJ amkoffee
Posted
Fatigue is my main symptom other than the muscle aches. I have recently reduced to 3 1/2 mgs. I think my reducing fatigue is caused by taking away the prednisone and my adrenals being slow to increase their production of cortisol. Or that I've reduced the prednisone so I may be experiencing an increase in inflammation and that is causing the fatigue. I just know that I always get increased fatigue for awhile when I reduce and it's awful because I have to miss things that I can normally do. Who knows with this exasperating condition!
You could try doing each step in your reduction plan twice - I've done that before. Or maybe you are at the right dose for you for now.
amkoffee Mrs_CJ
Posted
Since this is my fourth attempt at getting below 11 I am starting to think that 11 is where I need to be. However it's going to take a lot of talking to get my rheumatologist to agree to that. I am going to try to weather this yucky feeling for a few days and see what happens. Especially since I'm not having any pain with it. I am just exhausted and feel crappy
rachel24455 amkoffee
Posted
It's the fatigue I can't bear! Paracetamol helps any pain but if only I didn't feel so exhausted!
EileenH amkoffee
Posted
It won't take away the fatigue due to the autoimmune disorder in that it doesn't do anything to that at all, it just manages the symptoms. But if you are very sensitive to the pred, the change in dose will make you fatigued until your body adjusts. And in some people pred DOES have a "stimulating" effect, the Duracell Energiser Bunny effect - which will balance out the other fatigue to some extent
I do wish doctors in general would remember some science when they look at patients' doses! The bioavailability of steroids (the amount of what you take that you absorb) is quoted as 70% - but that is just the average: across the general population it varies between 50% and 90%. So you could take 2 patients and give them 10mg - and one would actually get the effect of 9mg and the other only 5mg. The body produces cortisol - and the physiological dose (the equivalent of what the body produces naturally) is said to be about 7.5mg. But obviously - that will vary too.
Either way - one patient on 10mg will do well in either respect, it is plenty to manage their PMR and is still above the physiological dose. Their neighbour won't do as well - the 50% they are absorbing is neither.
When a patient repeatedly is unable to reduce below a given level it is a strong sign that is where they need to be FOR NOW. And to be honest - when you try too hard to push that boundary, I do get the impression it slows some people's reduction down because they have to go back and start over again.
pparker1213 EileenH
Posted
If fatigue is the problem after a reduction, meaning no real PMR like pain just no energy, should I give my body time to adjust or is that a sign to go back where I was not fatigued?
Thanks
EileenH pparker1213
Posted
If you can. give your body plenty of time to adjust - it is by your pred dose being below the amount your body needs that your adrenal glands are stimulated to produce more cortisol. But it isn't a single step - there are a whole host of steps and hormones/organs involved so it takes time to settle down. Then you upset it all again with another reduction! So the smaller the steps and the gentler the slope downwards you create - the less awful you should feel.
If the fatigue gets worse though you may have to go back a bit. That may be a sign your body just can't keep up yet. It depends a bit on the dose - down to about 5 to 7mg you should be taking enough to not be ill - but everyone is different. Often waiting a couple of months and trying again makes a difference. And 1/2mg can make a major difference - I was OK at 4mg, 3.5mg and I felt like death!!!!
Anhaga pparker1213
Posted
I agree with Eileen - you must give your body a chance to remember how to produce its own cortisol. Just get as much rest as you can while you are feeling so fatigued. Most people will get back their adrenal function but for many, myself included, it can be a painfully slow process. But I've been at 2 mg for a while now, and am less fatigued than I was when at 7, or even 5.
LisaRN66 amkoffee
Posted