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I made a mistake I'm am now regretting advise please

Posted , 8 users are following.

amkoffee
amkoffee

I was in nauseous this morning so I did not take my prednisone as I usually do in the morning. I thought I would just wait till lunchtime and take it however by lunchtime my arms and hands hurt me so much I wanted to die So I took my pred about 1 o'clock this afternoon (seven hours ago) my arms are a lot better my hands just ache terribly. Should I take a little extra pred or just deal with the pain until morning?

0 likes, 17 replies

17 Replies

  • denisep911
    denisep911 amkoffee

    Posted

    IVE  DONE THIS BEFORE  BUT I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS MY FIBRO  OR MY OTHER ISSUES. I ALWAYS FELT BETER THE NEXT DAY. I GUESS IT SHOWS YOU HOW POWERFUL THE PRED IS AND HOW MUCH WE NEED IT..I DONT USUALLY TAKE MORE
  • artfingers
    artfingers amkoffee

    Posted

    I actually had this exact thing happen to me today.  I took mine as soon as I realized my pain had increased a great deal (about 12:30 at lunch).  I have done this before a few times (I need a better system for my pills, I know!) and it is usually fine the next day after I have taken my night time dose. But I take it twice a day - I split my dose (half in morning when I wake up of regular pred, half in evening at 10pm of slow release type of pred called Rayos here in the U.S.)  Good luck!
    • hindags
      hindags artfingers

      Posted

      How did you settle on this pred. Regimen. The IR Pred in the morning and the Rayos at night? How much are you taking now of each type? When you taper, do you taper the two doses by the same percent?
    • EileenH
      EileenH hindags

      Posted

      Rayos/Lodotra is always taken at night, at 10pm within 3 hours of food or with a snack of bread and cheese or ham (i.e. not just a cracker). This creates the correct conditions in the stomach to make the coating of  the tablet break apart suddenly 4 hours later - it is the equivalent of waking up and taking the dose at 2am, the optimum time to have the peak level of pred in the blood come just as the body sheds the daily dose of inflammatory substances. Ordinary plain pred tablets are absorbed within an hour or so. So really she is taking all her pred in the morning, half at 4am, the rest with breakfast.
    • hindags
      hindags EileenH

      Posted

      I think I have to talk to my rheymy about splitting my dosage.  At least give it a try for a week or two.  I don't go to sleep mych before midnight anyway.  Last night I slept unusually long, until 8:30am.  I could feel the withdrawal effects in my body.  Not sure if calling them withdrawal effects is correct.  

      I usually have a bathroom break between 2 and 3am anyway. but I've been advised to eat something before taking Prednisone.  Would I have to?  I take omeprazole in the evening.

       

    • EileenH
      EileenH hindags

      Posted

      Most pharmacists and many doctors say a glass of milk is enough - and many people take pred with a yoghurt and never use a PPI (omeprazole as they have had problems with it). I never took one even when I was on plain steroid tablets.
  • amkoffee
    amkoffee

    Posted

    What a terrible mistake this is turned out to be. I guess I'm just going to muddle through to the morning. It's about 945 right now so hopefully I can sleep through it all. I did take one of my muscle relaxers that I've usually take for my back and that seems to be helping a little bit. Can't wait to take my pred in the morning. I never plan on doing that ever again!

  • EileenH
    EileenH amkoffee

    Posted

    I think you just need to ride it out I'm afraid - sorry it's such a late answer for you but we in Europe were in bed by the time you posted!

    Every morning your body sheds a new batch of inflammatory substances at about 4.30am. They circulate through the body setting up a new lot of inflammation. The best time to take ordinary pred to avoid the morning pain is 2am, the peak level in the blood is then just before these substances are released and the inflammation never gets hold. Otherwise, the sooner you take your pred after 4am, the less work the pred will have to do when it gets to the workplace. 

    The Rayos artfingers mentions does just that without having to wake up in the middle of the night, it isn't actually a slow release form, it releases all at once at 2am, 4 hours after taking it. The blood level shoots up, just the same as if you take plain pred. 

    The antiinflammatory effect of pred lasts from 12 to 36 hours - for a very few of us it will last nearer 48 hours - and the nearer you are to the 12 hour period the sooner you will have pain as the effect wears off. Much beyond 24 hours is pushing it! I was only on 5mg and fine - within 6 hours of missing that first 5mg tablet I was in worse pain than before taking pred. It took a long time to get that flare under control - because I couldn't take any pred, I hadn't got any!

    • amkoffee
      amkoffee EileenH

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply even though it was a little late as I got it this morning when I woke up. Based on the timetable you gave me it makes a lot of sense because I typically wake up around 5 o'clock in the morning and immediately take my prednisone so I'm taking it just really close to the 4:30 am mark.

      Thank you Eileen your explanation of everything really describes it very well for me. And you can be sure I'm never doing that again.

    • EileenH
      EileenH amkoffee

      Posted

      Maybe - or maybe not! Everyone says that the first time it happens - but most people do forget again wink

      I do think the little reminders of WHY we take pred are sometimes a good thing - stops us getting complacent about PMR having gone away!

    • amkoffee
      amkoffee EileenH

      Posted

      I use a pill planner because I have so many pills to take. I'm a walking Pharmacy. So it wasn't that I forgot to take my prednisone. I was nauseous when I woke up yesterday morning and I was afraid that prednisone would make it worse so I thought I'd hold off a little while. In fact I didn't take any of my morning pills yesterday morning except for my pain pills. I guess I'm going to have to learn to treat my prednisone in the same way I treat my pain pills. Take them no matter what.

    • EileenH
      EileenH amkoffee

      Posted

      Yes, I'd noted that. But it doesn't matter WHY you don't take them, you are often skating on rather thin ice time-wise and being late will have an effect.

      As long as the pills stay down for about an hour you're fine - but feeling nauseated is bad enough and the thought of it being made worse is even more daunting. I don't blame you being tempted to wait.

    • Anhaga
      Anhaga EileenH

      Posted

      I'm really confused now.  My dear hubby shared a stomach bug with me, so I'm pretty sure I didn't absorb yesterday's dose, nor did I take any this morning.  Hubby did not develop the headache and overwhelming fatigue that I have.  I have had NO PAIN.  Less, in fact, than on a normal day. Does this mean I no longer have PMR, that all my current struggles are only to do with steroid withdrawal?

    • EileenH
      EileenH Anhaga

      Posted

      A lot of people find that having a bug makes their PMR pale into insignificance. However - that could well be the case - you can't get off pred without some symptoms if PMR is still around, if it is gone there may still be problems but the cause won't be the same.

    • Anhaga
      Anhaga EileenH

      Posted

      Yes, it was pretty funny, actually, me stretching and trying to feel the usual niggle, and not finding anything.  The worst part was having a headache and then realizing that was being caused by lack of pred.  Felt like a whole new person after the headache was gone.  
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