Shaking and anxiety on 8 mg pred
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I have been on 8 mg pred for the last 3 weeks and have started shaking and getting agitated and restless again. My head is also whirling, it is difficult to sit still and relax. Has anyone had the same problem and any suggestions to help me please ?
2 likes, 19 replies
sandra10048 jan21306
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lodgerUK_NE jan21306
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jan21306 lodgerUK_NE
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EileenH jan21306
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If you were less agitated at the prvious dose maybe it is the change in dose that has triggered it being worse - that is why we suggest a very slow reduction, introducing the new dose just one day at a time which doesn't shock the body by the loss of the pred so much.
One is described in the replies section of this thread:
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/pmr-gca-website-addresses-and-resources-35316
jan21306 EileenH
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I went to see a rheumatologist who suggested I try oral methyl pred, but I am loath to go from one to another and find it no better. I looked it up and it has anxiety as a side effect too. I had to try 5 different beta blockers before I found one which I could tolerate.
I havent really been a lot better on any dosage of pred, i do have days which are slightly better, but cannot work out the common denominator as to why ! Perhaps if the fatigue wasnt so bad i could do more exercise which would help. I have only been on 8 this time for 3 weeks, but perhaps I should try reducing slowly now to 7 or 71/2 to see if it improves.
EileenH jan21306
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Personally, I found the only effect that methylprednisolone caused were the unpleasant ones: weight gain, muscle wasting, my skin and hair went wild, I felt rubbish! And it did nothing for the PMR, allowing a massive flare at even 20mg. The rheumy here wouldn't listen when I told him right from the outset that I didn't like it, it felt strange. My new GP, however, did believe me and offered the only other option here, Lodotra. Medrol is the standard corticosteroid here in northern Italy - most people do fine, but not me!
jan21306 EileenH
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I dont like the sound of Medrol at all ! I had breast cancer last year and also could not tolerate tamoxifen. I had just finished radiotherapy when the symptoms of PMR first appeared, diagnosed a few months later in
september. Funnily enough, my oncologist also had breast cancer some years ago, followed by PMR ! She was very interested to hear about PMRGCAUK.
EileenH jan21306
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The fatigue is part of the underlying autoimmune disorder and the pred doesn't really do much about that. It is up to you to rest and pace yourself to manage the fatigue. Google the spoons theory by Christina Miseriando - you have to manage your resources as she illustrates there.
The anxiety and restlessness is probably due to the pred and it will improve as you reduce the dose. If it is too bad then discuss medication with your GP - it is possible to help it a bit if you really cannot cope.
If you mean that you have good days and bad days of the PMR it is almost certainly because on a good day you do far too much - your body is intolerant of acute exercise. It won't tell you you are doing too much so you over do it, thinking you can manage more, and then your body takes far longer than normal to recover. In the meantime you try to force yourself to do things and just make it even worse. You MUST rest - that doesn't mean sit and watch TV all day but it does mean just going for a walk, maybe a gentle swim if you have a warm pool to keep your muscles mobile but not doing the heavy housework and exhausting yourself. Look for ways of adapting what needs to be done - after all these years and down to 5mg of pred I still cannot sweep/wash floors/vacuum for more than a few minutes at a time. So I do things in tiny bites - but I also have learnt to live with some dust. If OH doesn't like it he can either do it himself of find a cleaner. If I do it I am miserable for days! Life may be too short to stuff a mushroom - it is certainly too short to kill yourself with housework! But you can achieve far far more if you do it in 10min chunks with at least 10 min rests in between.
But be patient - your body will get more used to the pred and as the dose reduces things will improve. Hang in there.
jan21306 EileenH
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EileenH jan21306
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jan21306 EileenH
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EileenH jan21306
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jan21306 EileenH
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EileenH jan21306
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jan21306 EileenH
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EileenH jan21306
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jan21306 EileenH
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