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Almost off Pred, but Very fatiqued
My husband is 80 and this is now his 2nd round with PMR. Had it for about 14 months, tapered the pred and it "went away". He was "PMR-free". for about a year. Then the PMR came back. He's been on a slow taper for about a year and is down to 1/2 mg of pred. every Other day. No pain at all, but the fatique and weakness seems to be taking over. Is this a symptom of not enough pred? or does it have to do with cortisol levels? We thank you all and Lord bless.
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Is this a symptom of not enough pred? or does it have to do with cortisol levels?
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I think it is 2 sides of the same coin. The treatment for adrenal insufficiency is a synthetic corticosteroid to replace the less than adequate level of natural cortisol. Adrenal insufficiency is probably the single biggest reason why it is so difficult to successfully taper off prednisone. No matter how slowly we taper, getting completely off Prednisone is easier said than done, particularly for people on long-term treatment.
If he currently has no pain on 1/2 mg of Prednisone every other day then it probably isn't PMR. When I tapered off Prednisone, it took at least a year for the overwhelming fatigue to improve.
The weakness I still have is currently confined to my lower extremities. My legs are weak because of severe lumbar spinal stenosis which went undiagnosed when I was on prednisone. Prednisone controlled the pain that you would typically experience from spinal stenosis but Prednisone didn't prevent the damage caused by chronic inflammation.
Spinal stenosis is often caused by age-related wear and tear, such as thickened ligaments or bone spurs that narrow the spinal canal. Prednisone cannot reverse these structural problems. It only treats the symptoms (inflammation) rather than the root cause.
Thank you. Rheum. dr. says he should try to completely go off since he's only taking 1/2 every other day and "so close". My husband seems to think if he goes back up and takes 1/2 mg Every day, it will boost his energy?? It's all about fatique at this point. (not mentioned, but he's 80 and preaches 3 x's on Sun. and Wed. at church- Pastor) One more thing.... I see it mentioned in your response and others, regarding Adrenal insufficiency. Has anyone taken supplements for adrenal gland to help?