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Increasing prednisone dose. Any side effects?

Posted , 7 users are following.

audrey80537
audrey80537

Does Increasing prednisone dose after flare up

From 13 to 20 sometimes cause muscle weakness in arms and legs? Can I split the dose to half morning half night. Or could Xanax .25 along with the pred cause the problem?

Was in hospital for overnight but everything checked out ok.

1 like, 19 replies

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  • janet08828
    janet08828 audrey80537

    Posted

    Hi Audrey - yep 'fraid so!

    I experience it quite often but it seems to disappear again reasonably quickly.

    Not in connection with upping the dose or a flare but just in general in my case..

    I am down to 8,75 at the moment - trying to hang on to this dose even though my last blood test showed a worsening. I (and my rheumy) are hoping that it is just my body adjusting.

    Weak arms and legs have been one of my pred companions, not so much as on a higher dose but still visits.

     

    • audrey80537
      audrey80537 janet08828

      Posted

      Sorry you also have it but good to know I am not alone and it is not a problem from something else.

      My GP suggested splitting the dose between morning and night. Has anyone found that to be an advantage?

  • constance.de
    constance.de audrey80537

    Posted

    Muscle weakness in arms and legs is one of the side affects of pred (and also PMR)! I still get them after 3 1/2 years.😒

    It's perfectly alright to split the dose, some do it, some don't.  I did it when I was on higher doses.

  • misdiagnose
    misdiagnose audrey80537

    Posted

    Hi Audrey, most info sites say that the dosage needs to be taken in the morning early because that's when the body's cortisol is highest. However, the body's cortisol is different from prednisolone. I have split my doses, taking most in the morning and a little at night and wow! I have been pleased with this!
  • ptolemy
    ptolemy audrey80537

    Posted

    I am so much weaker after taking pred than I was before, in my case it does not seem to have improved over time. I think if you want to split the dose you may find taking slightly more in the morning and less in the evening may work better than a fifty fifty split, but try it and see. It does vary from person to person. The pred I take says you must take the whole lot at 10pm in the evening, so I must not split it. 
    • audrey80537
      audrey80537 ptolemy

      Posted

      I'm thinking if I took 5 mg in the morning and 15 in the evening I would be experiencing most of the weakness while asleep. However, I'm too much of a coward to try. I'll wait and see if someone else does it first.
    • ptolemy
      ptolemy audrey80537

      Posted

      The main reason people seem to split the dose is that it does not last for the full twenty four hours and so splitting it can spread out the pred effect. I am not sure splitting it would necessarily help the weakness though, however I may be wrong. 
  • jean39702
    jean39702 audrey80537

    Posted

    Audrey, I've been taking mine at night for about 5 months now to avoid the horrible fuzzy steroid brain. For the first few months I took it around 9 or 10 pm. The only negative effect was I had to go to the loo several times during the night. About 2 months ago I started taking it between 1 and 2 am and it's going fine.

    I take the uncoated tablets, which Eileen has said are best taken at 2 am.

    I've dropped from 16.5 to 14 mg in. 5 drops over the past 5 months. My body can't seem to handle bigger reductions.

  • audrey80537
    audrey80537

    Posted

    Hi Jean,

    Apparently  from now on I will have to go down very slowly as well.

    i was wondering, does the pred make you urinate more frequently because I do since I have taken it .  "Loo" that's cute and much better sounding than toilet.  I'll have to start using that word over here, which should raise some heads as It doesn't exactly fit my NY/FL accent.  

    I have the uncoated tablets. I think I am going to try the 10/10 split and see if it works for me.  This gets so complicated.

     

    • jean39702
      jean39702 audrey80537

      Posted

      Yes, it makes me pee more often. Although taking it in the week hours of the morning seems to be better.

      I started at 40 mg and did the split dose for quite a while.

      I live in Canada and "loo" is pretty common here. You can start a new trend in the US. 😊

    • Kassie_beetle
      Kassie_beetle audrey80537

      Posted

      Morning Audrey. 

      In Australia when we go to the "Loo" we also say going to the "Toot". 

      Cheers

      Kathy

    • constance.de
      constance.de Kassie_beetle

      Posted

      Wherever do these sayings come from?  Any others out there?  Printable of course!
    • jean39702
      jean39702 constance.de

      Posted

      On board ship it's "the head".

      Then there's "the water closet" - not sure where that one originates.

      And of course "le or la pissoire" - pardon my French spelling.

  • audrey80537
    audrey80537

    Posted

    Some of your expressions or words I never heard and others I have on the 

    BBC sitcoms they show over here.  The only one I fully understand is Keeping Up  Appearances.  Have difficulty with Are You Being Served and the others I can't figure out at all.  But they are funny.

    As far as I know we don't have any odd sayings in the States.  Not odd to me that is 😀😀😀

    One thing we all understand is PMR and for that there is no distance between us.

    i am truly grateful for the  knowledge you have passed on to  me.  Thank you.

    • ptolemy
      ptolemy audrey80537

      Posted

      What about the US sayings blue plate special and lead-pipe cinch? 
    • EileenH
      EileenH ptolemy

      Posted

      Translations would have been helpful...
    • ptolemy
      ptolemy EileenH

      Posted

      Sorry, Blue Plate Special is a low priced meal, sort of meal of the day, I think it is taken from willow pattern plates for the blue bit. Lead-pipe cinch is a dead cert.
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