symptoms of predisone withdrawl

Hi,

I was on prednisolone for 4 months, started out with 37.5mg for the first month, reduced down to 25mg for the second month and 12.5 for the third and fourth month. Stopped when I was on 12.5mg and Yes, that was my local GP's advise to do so. I have been off for about 4 weeks now and I have to say, the feeling isn't nice. When I get stressed I feel like I'm gonna get a heart attack in a second and it feels like none of my organs are working properly anymore. The problem is that I don't have the money to see a doctor at the moment since I've been traveling for a long time now and it's not really possible at the moment, but is it possible that if I have been off from it for more than 4 weeks that I didn't get Addison's Disease? How long would it take for adrenal glands to start working properly again?
Cheers

Hi there...I understand your dilemna...
Like you I have OA & RA & now...MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity) as a result of all these drugs. I am stuck on 15mg too but it doesn't do for me what it did before...been on it 3 years now & can't get off...either my body won't let me or it won't let me...hard to tell. I had the same bad pain reactioins as you which makes me wonder if its the drug? Arava does nothing for most people but if you take Salazopyrine with it...it makes all the difference & worked for me that way but I became sulphur intolerant & since Salazo is a 'sulphur' drug...I had to come off it & consequently the Arava too since it didn't work & I had massive allergic rash from the salazo in the end. Hence came Prednisone!!! My pain is far worse now than when I wasn't on it so I have to wonder if it is Prednisone pain & not Arthritis pain.
When u said Adrenal Glands...you were right on the button there!!!!:) My research has revealed that I have burntout adrenal glands which do not produce cortisol or any other hormones anymore...that in itself says it all. All our symptoms can be produced by defaulted Adrenal glands...google it...they cause a host of problems like chemical toxicity, copper toxicity & all the above which I have been tested for & have so I would highly recommend you get your adrenals checkd & if necessarfy ...go about kickstarting them again & apparently, alot of our suffering & pain will go away!!! I am back on DHEA which is making a hujge difference in my energy levels, as well as herbal supplements you can take to support adrenal glands. Unless your doctor is Sandra Cabot, unlikely you'll get a doctor to support you in this. I get my DHEA natural hormones from Sandra Cabot as she visits here...lucky or I'd not be able to get it.
Hope I've bn of some help. Blessings & good health to you!:)

I am a 73-year-old woman who has just recovered from Prednisone addiction. I began to take Prednisone to relieve the symptoms of polymyalgia. My initial dosage of 20 mg a day was reduced to 10 within six weeks. At that point, I took Methotrexate for six weeks to help withdraw from 10 to 5 mg. It then took me a full year to go from 5 mg to 0 mg, during which time my main symptom was swollen knees. After I stopped taking any Prednisone at all, I felt worse than ever--chiefly because of swollen wrists, ankles, hands, and feet. For months, these symptoms persisted, and both my primary physician and my rheumatologist said I had rheumatoid arthritis and needed to start taking Prednisone again. I refused and am glad I did so because after being without the drug for about six months, the swelling in my joints began to diminish. Now, 26 months after I began taking the drug and eight months after reducing the dosage to zero, I am completely healthy. I feel great and am relieved that I will not be living the rest of my days taking a drug, which has serious side effects, for no reason other than addiction. I hope this provides a time frame for your own Prednisone withdrawal as well as the main symptoms to expect.

Oh wow I was treated with steroids for exactly the same temporal arthritis, and like you it was the wrong diagnosis. I took prednisalone for 4 months until it was finally discovered by a neuroligist that I had been incorrectly diagnosed . I was prescribed amatriptaline instead which worked. Now seven months later I have developed incredible pain in all my joints and muscles , I am currently undergoing blood tests , meanwhile the pain is unbearable , I can not sleep I can not get moving for at least an hour in a morning. What is happening to me? It has been suggested I now have artHritis,  I am 58yrs old and up until taking steroids I was very fit now I can not even get on my bicycle let alone ride it.  In conclusion I would just like to say please think very carefully before taking any form of steroid . Also make absolutely sure your doctor has the correct diagnosis. I started on 10mg and within eight weeks I was taking 75mg.  I took prednisalone for three months and was then weened off over the following six weeks. 

Pauline, you are not alone in your struggle.  You may find, as I did, that chat rooms like this one not only provide support but are the most helpful source of information about withdrawal from Prednisone (or Prednisalone).  After taking this drug for more than a few weeks, one's adrenal glands no longer release enough cortisol, a hormone with widespread functions in the mind and body, which is why an insufficiency causes such debilitating symptoms.  About four months after I had reduced my dosage to zero, I was still having withdrawal symptoms (trouble getting out of bed, trouble walking, inability to handle emotional stress, etc.) and so I sought advice from an adrenal specialist, who assured me that my symptoms were indeed caused by withdrawal from Prednisone.  He told me that, at this stage in my withdrawal, the last thing I should do is take Prednisone (even a very low dose) but that it is okay to take other forms of anti-inflammatory chemicals (I was taking one Aleve caplet every 12 hours as well as two glasses of red wine a day) because they help one tolerate the aches and pains without interfering with adrenal gland recovery.  He also administered an ACTH stimulation (low-dose short) test, which revealed that my adrenals were healthy but "lazy" and that my circulating cortisol level was low (10mcg per dL) but within the normal range.  This information gave me courage to 'hang tough' until my adrenals recovered fully.  If you have not yet consulted an adrenal specialist, I recommend that you do so.  (p.s., There is an error in my previous post: my initial dosage of 20mg was reduced to 10 within six months (not six weeks).

thanks for the info,I have been taking it for over 2yrs off and on,more on

i was put on 20mg of prednisone about four years ago because my hands and feet swell so bad i can hardly walk sometimes.i have been tested for just about everything but have not been given a diagnosis yet.the doctors tried other drugs but nothing else seemed to help me.now my problem is weight gain and not being able to wane myself off the drug.i can get all the way down to 5mg and as soon as i go lower i feel like i've been ran over by a bus.i hurt so bad its hard to get out of bed.in fact it hurts to move.i always end up having to start over with the 20mg again to get it fully back into my system until im ready to try to lower it again and again.i wish there was something with the same effect but not so hard to get off of

  Kells: I wish I knew how to help you.  My overwhelming response to your report is: Shame on physicians and shame on pharmaceutical companies for being so keen to get us on Prednisone and so reluctant to develop any sort of science-based guideline or clinic for helping us get off it.

In my opinion, getting down to 5 mg is a great achievement.  If I were you, I would hold it there for several months.  Then, when you feel ready to withdraw further, cut some of the 1 mg pills into quarters and use them to withdraw very slowly, a quarter mg every few weeks or so.  I always felt better for a few days after a dose reduction, so maintain each lower dose for at least a week to see its effects.  Even if you have to remain at 5 mg for many months, the side effects at that dose are much less damaging than yo-going between 5 and 20.  Try not to fret about your weight gain; that problem can be dealt with after the more difficult problem of withdrawal is resolved.  (Bear in mind that this advice comes from my own experience and reading; I am not a physician.) 

I have just weaned off prednisone...Have rash on legs and arms--also chest...Have taken it in varying dosages for several years and stopped with DR's care and very slowly. Been to DR ----creams administered, tho't possible allergies (have had animals all my life---in the house) .Will see Dermatologist first of week if the itching doesn't ease up...One of creams is a cortisteorid...This lady had rash--so was given prednisone....I have terrible rash after stopping...Any relationship to this withdrawal????Thank you .

I have been on prednisone for about 6 years. i went bown to 10 mig about 4 years ago. I just went to 5 for about a week. Last time I did this I had same symptoms. Late in the day I can hardly walk from pain in my lower legs and my hands and aems. This stared about a week ago and I have been off about a month.

HEALTHGLOI didn't get a reply to my comment   I  was wondering if these pains are withdrawl? The pain is very bad  today If I go back on should I try  10 or 5

Amazing story...you are my inspiration to get off the Pred once & for all. I have bn on it for 3yrs with no hope of my condition improving or anyone bng able to help me...doctors just say its arthritis & evn tho i do have Rheum/Osteo..I have never had problems with my legs/knes/feet/hands/ankles (like you) before & for 3 yrs now i have bn unable to walk & living in excrutiating pain. I have tried to get off before but the pain is so severe i go back. I am not going back this time, i will fight thru the pain as best i can because after reading your post Woebegone...i am beginning to believe that the steroids are causing mostof my swellings & pain in my legs so i am determined to get off it. The nights are rough & I am unable to leave my home without my wheeelchair during the day but i woke up today feeling more control & less pain in my legs than i have for a long time. I am down to 7.50...have to take it 1 by1 from here i think..very slowly...not sure if i should go weekly or monthly???? Probably monthly??? This is the hard part. I will have to go back on Methotextrate probably as my condition is complex & acute but better that than the steroids. NEVER again! The doctors are quick to put you on Pred cos its a miracle fix every time but getting you off it & the side effects it has doesn't seem to be on their agenda. I've bn on it 3yrs too long already & don't plan on being on it another 3yrs! Wish me luck!!!:)

Shereesmagic: Yours is a heart-wrenching story.  Painful knees and extremities, as well as all-over body pains after a period of immobility, appear to be the most common symptoms of prednisone withdrawal.  Withdrawal needs to be done slowly--between 0.5 and 1 mg a month in my experience.  I wish you good luck!!!

Hi everyone,

I too was on Prednisone  for the last 17 1/2 years, i has low platelet count.  i took different dose over the years and sometime IV treatment. then in january i got a new dr. and she decide that my last dr. did not treat me right, so she decided to put me on 80mg and start to withdraw like every month, so far it was good. when we got down to 5mg i personally believe it was too quick, so after a month i was told to go to 1mg. i on my own took 2.5, then she finally shy 1mg, my platelet count was over 100k  and after two weeks on 1mg she stop it.  Let me tell you, it was as if all HELL was loose on me, for about 1 1/2 months, i could not move, just to go to the toilet i need to use a cane, i slept all the time and had no appitide, i lost over 20 lbs. i told my dr. and her answer it that i have arthritis, so she order blood test, which all came back no such thing and she just seem oblivious .  now i cannot even comb my own hair or take a bath by myself because i cannot raise my hand and all my fingers are swollen.  the pain is too much.

my conclusion is that she move too fast, just to prove that she was better than my previous dr.  P.S:  i did not have any of the symptom, because i use to drink a lot of herbal tea from the islands was unknow to me was cleaning me out.  i hope this put a new light as to the danger of this drug,  i know as long as i live i will never take it again.