Severe fatigue

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nogutsnoglory

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Just reached 2 weeks and suddenly like a ton of bricks I'm so dizzy and fatigued. Is it safe to just stop? How long will this fatigue last ? My doctor is calling in the morning.
 
Hi! I'm in a similar situation.

I felt great last week on 40mgs pred, now on 35mg and I feel totally wrecked again - tired, shaky, emotional, not with it, etc.

As far as I know it is NOT safe to just stop steroids (though I'm not a doctor) and I was given a card to carry with me to inform people that I'm on steroids which must not be stopped suddenly. I believe it can cause some kind of adrenal crisis as they affect your body's own corticosteroid production. The drug leaflet says not to stop taking them without consulting a doctor, unless suffering a serious allergic reaction.

I'm trying to contact my IBD nurse today to find out what to do. I totally sympathise because I feel really disappointed that I seem to be going backwards again.
 
Hi Nitty thanks for weighing in. These steroids wreck havock on the body. My bones are in pain too and I just feel fragile and sore.

I think pred is a little different because it gets absorbed in the blood whereas entocort mostly just gets in the gut and has fewer side effects.

My GI is reducing me but said if it persists to give him a call. I am using this as a bridge till we determine the next appropriate medication.
 
Yep. I was resisting steroids, but came to the point where 5-ASAs weren't working. I'm waiting to start Aza, but it's taking an eternity for my TPMT result to come back and I need it chasing up. I'm even wondering whether to go back up to 40mg pred, as Aza takes so long to take full effect I'm not sure what to do in the meantime. Hopefully I'll get some advice in the next day or so. I've had to ask my hubby to phone up on my behalf as I just keep blubbing embarrassingly when I try to talk about it!
 
Never heard of TPMT and just looked into it. My GI never suggested it after I stopped 6mp. I wonder if I should get tested for it?
 
I don't think you need to know your TPMT when stopping Aza/6mp. They use it to determine how you might metabolise the drugs when you do start taking them.

On the pred front, I have had a few stressful things on the last few days, one of them ending with something that finished last night, and already this morning I feel a bit better. I'm going on the theory (made up in my head!!) that the steroids, by overriding the body's own corticosteroid system, have caused a massive over-exaggeration of my stress response. As soon as I was thinking about the things going on I would get palpitations, sweating, ocular migraine, shaking, etc...

I think some serious relaxation techniques are in order!
 
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