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Would I be stupid for discontinuing my prednisone now at 5 mg? My GI instructed to taper by 1 mg/per week then give him a call when I'm at 1 mg. I started at 40 mg in July and thought I'd be off of it by nowl. My D is back and I'm in the bathroom about 4x in the morning. I'm supposed to go Walgreens to pick up my new 1mg RX today so I can taper to 4mg starting tomorrow. It seems pointless to continue if it isn't even helping the D. Am I wrong?
I've been GF/DF since mid November and SF/ no eggs/legumes for 2 weeks. I'm disappointed the D is back, although I knew it would and was hoping the diet would have helped. I also know it takes much more time and I have to be patient. I'm not getting up in the middle of the night though so I am thankful for that.
Maybe I shouldn't be "playing games" with my meds but I feel bitter taking it when it isn't producing results & I'm desperate to figure out what other foods are bothering me.
Prednisone Taper
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The purpose of tapering off prednisone is to (hopefully) reduce or eliminate the withdrawal symptoms whether or not it is helping your D. I honestly don't know if 5mg is a good place to totally stop or not. I'm sure someone else who knows more will post soon.
Good Luck,
Shirley
Good Luck,
Shirley
When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber"
-- Winston Churchill
-- Winston Churchill
Shirley is correct. The prolonged tapering has nothing to do with treating MC - it's to give your adrenals a chance to resume the production of normal levels of cortisol. If you haven't noticed any withdrawal symptoms by now, (D is not really a withdrawal symptom - it's an MC symptom), then you might reduce the dosage at a slightly faster rate, (such as maybe every 3 or 4 days, rather than 7). Lowering the dose by 1mg per week, for 4 weeks, seems a bit extreme, but I'm certainly not an expert on corticosteroid withdrawal. Maybe some members who have been through that will comment.DebE wrote:It seems pointless to continue if it isn't even helping the D. Am I wrong?
Hopefully, you're getting close to the point where the diet will begin to have more substantial benefits.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Sigh- thanks for the reminders. Of course last week the nurse said she'd call in my RX and after a second reminder call this week I still don't have it. Sometimes I get the feeling that I get the extended RX time so they don't have to deal with me. Like I complained about many times before, I started it in July and it was supposed to be for short term use. I have lots more gurglings now that puts me on edge. I've asked several times about entocort (not that I want to use that either) and it seems to get lost in translation when the nurse talks with the GI- usually I get a different nurse too so it seems like they really don't know who I am. Although, since the enterolab request they seem to recognize my name, however, there's been no official comments from them on my results and I'm still waiting for reimbursement from my insurance company.
If I would limit my diet even further to just a few foods per day and ideas how long it would take to notice improvements? or should I wait until I'm totally done with the prednisone? I have the feeling I am one of those who will require some kind of RX to help manage the D, although maybe I'm not giving it enough time and am being extremely pessimistic.
If I would limit my diet even further to just a few foods per day and ideas how long it would take to notice improvements? or should I wait until I'm totally done with the prednisone? I have the feeling I am one of those who will require some kind of RX to help manage the D, although maybe I'm not giving it enough time and am being extremely pessimistic.
Well, without knowing which foods to remove, that can be a frustrating game plan. If you had ordered the gene test, we might have a much better idea of what you might be up against, but I checked, and I see that you didn't order that test, so we'll have to just wing it.DebE wrote:If I would limit my diet even further to just a few foods per day and ideas how long it would take to notice improvements? or should I wait until I'm totally done with the prednisone? I have the feeling I am one of those who will require some kind of RX to help manage the D, although maybe I'm not giving it enough time and am being extremely pessimistic.
If you have the time, you might post your typical menu for the day, (including any supplements and meds). Sometimes when we do that, someone can spot a potential problem, or at least make suggestions as to which foods might be worth trying to eliminate for a week or so. Sometimes, a med is the problem.
You've been GF for slightly over 2 months, now. With any luck at all, you should be seeing some improvement within the next month or two, unless a med or something is upsetting the balance.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.