Prednisone doesn't always prevent sleeping

Yes it does Eileen.  I proved it to myself a few weeks back.  When I got down to 18 mg in November I found I was getting fatigued again in the afternoon and decided to try going back to taking prednisone in the morning.  BIG MISTAKE!  The fuzzy head returned big time.  I was back to the evening meds within a week.  I'm tapering to 16 mg at the moment after failing to drop from 16.5 to 15 over Christmas and still have occasional fatigue, which I deal with through cat naps when needed.  I've resigned myself to .5 mg drops at this point.

Have you tried taking it a bit later? Or are you like me - struggling to stay up later? Though I have to say that just recently I have not been falling into bed at 10pm and out for the count but have been finding the concept of having to get out of bed at 9am something of a struggle! 

I'm afraid I struggle as you do to stay awake Eileen.  On rare occasions I make it to 10 or 11, but I'm usually in bed by 9:30.  Even before PMR and predinsone I was an early riser and that hasn't changed.  I can be up until mignight or later and will still be up long before 9 am.  If I sleep later than 7:30 am I feel like crap all day.  I don't think I've been in bed until 9 am for 30 years!! 

I started remaining in bed when my girls were small and allowed dad to get them out of the door for the school bus at 7.30! I found it made for a far less fraut day ;-)  When PMR hit I was in bed soon after 8.30 given half a chance - but was able to struggle out of bed to get to a 9.30 aqua class. Then I could move for the rest of the day...

OH had cancer 20 years ago, during the chemo he had to drink 3 litres of fluids a day, no beer. To do it he got up at before 7am, made tea and brought it back to bed to drink 2 large mugs. Then 2 more with breakfast before work. He worked in the NHS - they are tea jennies anyway. But he has never got out of the habit. Up at 6.45, tea and Sky News. When all I want to do is sleep longer...

What is it with men and sky news and tea!! Mine did shifts, and still thinks he doing them, up at 6ish!  I am struggling on this new dose of 20mg, (I can`t do medication!) I feel weird (not wired!) but still have some aches, head spinning, fatigue and slightly less blurred vision, slight jaw tension! (4 days now)....Although I have found a little more sleep by taking the dose with breakfast...if not I`m awake through the night and on the loo like Jean.....I guess we all react differently, not easy!

Saw a lady today, who had just started on 15mg, and felt wonderful....just like me 3 years ago.  I advised with the slow reduction, and told her to come on this forum if she gets problems...wish I`d known then what I know now.....dosen`t that sound familiar!

Absolutely Linda!  Hindsight is a great thing, but we very rarely learn.

Mine is positively autistic spectrum! He's been wandering in and out all day: his cousing and husband are skiing up the road this week, we're meant to meet for dinner/lunch. They all have stinking colds which messed up last night's arrangement, nothing heard today, lunch tomorrow is the last option. He's now panic-stricken they've fallen over skiing and that's why they have disappeared. Me: "so what, they're adults and insured". They'll get in touch at some point, even if it is when they get home...

Hope you can sleep more and feel better soon. I just went up to 30 mg a day.we shall see how it goes. Hope this is enough. Last time 2008 I required 40 but believe me I don't want a K + of 2.5-- hope you doctors say to supplement K+ . I ended up in the ER with low K+ needed I V doses. Pat

Was this message meant for me....or am I being fuzzy headed?? (as usual!)

Thanks for that, I feel faint at times, so hope I never have to go higher.  I`ve never been able to tolerate any medication or supplements....if I`m in pain, I can only take one Paracetamol at night!  (What is the K+2.5??)

It was in response to "What is it about men..." ;-)

If this newer version of replies is meant to prevent confusion I don't think it always works! It looks as if your response will be by what you want to respond to - but then it appears halfway down the page. At least before you realised how displaced the answer would be!

(What is the K+2.5??) - K+ is the chemical sign for potassium and the blood level should be between 3.5 and 5.0 of the units they use. 2.5 is rather low - and really not very good for you!

Thanks for that Eileen.....sometimes I must have a "pred head" on!

One thing I do know though....we`ll never work out men as long as we live!

Having a bone density test next week, because I haven`t been able to take the meds for preventing bone loss...tried all of them.  Do you know what a healthy reading is?....I`ll ask when it`s done....if they know straight away that is.  Thank You.

The technician/nurse probably won't tell you - it has to be reported by a clinical scientist. When I had mine done in the UK it was my husband's department so I didn't have to wait. Here the technician said she couldn't really tell me, but it all looked OK - and it was. You (or maybe your doctor) get a printout with all the figures it has calculated - it isn't just one reading. 

No - men are something else sometimes. And they complain about us!!! After the last few days I need a holiday from mine ;-)  When he was still in the NHS he'd go off by train to Leeds to lecture or London for meetings and I could go and have some fun on my own. Now if he goes over to Innsbruck to work he takes my car and wants to know what I'm doing if I want to take off without him...

Mine has the best of health, so he can`t understand much of anything that I have had to contend with....wait for it...he`s 70 in May, and hasn`t even had a cold since he was 15!!  his answer....refuse to have it!  I`m sure he carries all the bugs back to me whan he goes out.  He has 5 pints of beer every Wed/Sat. 

I would leave his body to research....but I`m sure he`ll be here long after me!  I`m convinced most of health is genes....his whole family are like him....ain`t he the lucky one, without health you don`t have choices do you....like going to the pub!....Thanks for the info once again.

Thanks for the info!   I had sent an answer previously, but it`s being moderated!!  Goodness knows why.....

I wonder that sometimes - and it really irritates me that they don't simply stop it being posted so you can check there aren't unintentional typos. It can be because you forgot a space after a fullstop. The computer scanner thinks it's a website name.

The scanner could be male!

Sorry. The K+= potassium. My ER doctor said it should have been ordered for me since I take a regular diuretic for blood pressure which with the added prednisone causes loss of potassium in the blood. Can cause confusion, dizziness,heart irregularities , etc. I was nurse for over 40 years and my husband used to say I had the tendency to use medical terminology too often for non medical people. I did not mean to be unclear, just wanted to warn people about low potassium. Pat

That is what I was telling Linda. It was my potassium after 2 weeks on 40 mg of Prednisone. They gave me 40 meq of potassium IV over several hours. Doesn't feel very good.-- head spinning,couldn't sleep, feeling if I went to sleep I would not awaken. Got through it. Pat

Haven't they put you on a potassium-sparing diuretic? Anybody would think electrolytes were rocket science!