- Messages
- 38
Hey folks...
Just wondering if anyone out there has any particular knowledge about Hydrocortisone and the weaning process?
I've been working to get off of HC since March (I have been on 25mg/daily since September, so 8~ months based on a flat-line saliva cortisol test result) and have hit a bit of a speed bump lately. I've been dropping 2.5mg every 2-3 weeks, and I'm at 10mg now. But I'm having significant hair loss and intermittent body "itching" (it's like it's under my skin, almost).
I've been six for 6.5 years with nobody able to really ID the underlying cause; the suspicion is now Lyme Disease or something else infectious/parasitic/viral, which I'm being tested for currently. Results should be back to me in the next 2-3 weeks for a whole raft of possible infections, etc.
As much as I want to be off this stupid medication and wish I'd never agreed to go on it in the first place, it helped me tremendously while on it... and I'm wondering if perhaps I should go back up to about 17.5mg (the last dose before things started to go haywire) to stop the hair loss, itching and other symptoms.
OR, am I better off to continue trying to get off this stuff? I worry about long-term use of this drug and its potential permanent damage. I also know it's h*ll to get off of any steroid, especially if the adrenals aren't strong... and I don't think mine are, given the underlying stress this illness is undoubtedly causing.
Does anyone have thoughts or advice?
Just wondering if anyone out there has any particular knowledge about Hydrocortisone and the weaning process?
I've been working to get off of HC since March (I have been on 25mg/daily since September, so 8~ months based on a flat-line saliva cortisol test result) and have hit a bit of a speed bump lately. I've been dropping 2.5mg every 2-3 weeks, and I'm at 10mg now. But I'm having significant hair loss and intermittent body "itching" (it's like it's under my skin, almost).
I've been six for 6.5 years with nobody able to really ID the underlying cause; the suspicion is now Lyme Disease or something else infectious/parasitic/viral, which I'm being tested for currently. Results should be back to me in the next 2-3 weeks for a whole raft of possible infections, etc.
As much as I want to be off this stupid medication and wish I'd never agreed to go on it in the first place, it helped me tremendously while on it... and I'm wondering if perhaps I should go back up to about 17.5mg (the last dose before things started to go haywire) to stop the hair loss, itching and other symptoms.
OR, am I better off to continue trying to get off this stuff? I worry about long-term use of this drug and its potential permanent damage. I also know it's h*ll to get off of any steroid, especially if the adrenals aren't strong... and I don't think mine are, given the underlying stress this illness is undoubtedly causing.
Does anyone have thoughts or advice?