Atypical response to reduction?
I’ve been on prednisolone for about 3 years now - most of that time has been spent trying to get off it. My Endocrinologist just gaslights me so I have absolutely no understanding of this. I was prescribed for autoimmune flare up, so secondary AI. All tests refused except a morning cortisol test (very low) which was pointless because I couldn’t withhold my dose for it.
When tapering - my heart rate, SpO2% and glucose (blood pressure was too inconsistent to add to the data) all followed the exact same pattern. Stable for the morning after my morning dose, hit an absolute cortisol trough in the afternoon and all 3 metrics would go haywire and body never adjusted no matter how long I held the dose or pushed through and continued to taper - that trough would just come sooner with even more unstable readings.
Endo scoffed at the idea this was even real, CGM is too inaccurate (I finger pricked for accuracy but it was the pattern I was more interested in) despite me losing consciousness on 2 occasions. Wearables can’t be trusted (OMRON medical grade cuff was used for BP and pulse) and SpO2% has nothing to do with cortisol.
Anyway I watched the data and at 12.5mg/2mg split that data stabilised, as well as many other symptoms like electrolyte handling, weight, sleep quality, stress tolerance… but this was all completely brushed off (refused to even look at the data) and repeated over and over “the science says X weight needs only X dose a day” and even though she agreed my symptoms of an adrenal crisis fit, it wasn’t possible for it to be real? I feel like I’m going mental - I’ve spent the past year religiously sticking to the “do not go above 10mg, do not split dose, do not stress dose” and it almost killed me… but I feel like I’m in the wrong for taking matters into my own hands and gaining a tiny bit of life back…