G'morning.
I've decided against going off the steroids altogether. I missed one dose and planned on taking a half dose the next day and do this for a while gradually decreasing to a quarter tablet etc.
Well I got a hypotensive attack despite not really having started the taper....just one missed dose on top of the Lasix. I still had quite severe peripheral edema so I wasn't dehydrated. I really don't like the fainting, vomiting, collapse attacks either, can't please me huh?
My brother came to visit yesterday for the first time in many months....he immediately recognized I was on steroids....he has Lupus (rarely has a flare or needs treatment) and when he was young he was put on massive doses of Prednisone for ITP. He became huge (my father used to call him fatty) and he's been paranoid about his weight ever since. He could almost be classified as having an eating disorder. He's really thin and only eats breakfast and dinner, he will not touch anything like chocolate or cake at all. Anyway, what I was going to say was that he had a panicky look on his face and didn't stay long. I think it brought back bad memories for him.......didn't make me feel real good either.
I know that somehow a balance will be achieved between having severe hypotension and being Cushingoid from the steroids and I'll just have to be patient until that balance is achieved. I'm just a bit disappointed that I'm not getting more medical support to achieve this.
I try not to delegate the responsibility for my health totally to my doctors, after all there has to be a degree of personal responsibility but I'm feeling a bit lost with this issue.
Regards
Chirley