Gingergrrl
Senior Member
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I have been taking 15 mg of Cortef (hydrocortisone) since approx April or May 2015 to help tamp down MCAS reactions. I am unclear how much of a role it has really played versus my core MCAS daily meds but at the time we were desperate to find anything that could allow me to eat without anaphylaxis (which thank God is no longer an issue thanks to my MCAS doc and the right meds.)
I have been gaining weight from Cortef and my MCAS doc agreed it was a good time to attempt to taper off of it. My Endo has wanted me off of it for months but my MCAS doc said to wait (back in Nov) so I did. My Endo and my MCAS doc proposed slightly different tapering schedules so I studied them both and am going with my Endo's plan which is slower and more gentle for the body (and MCAS doc agreed.)
I normally take 10 mg AM and 5 mg late afternoon (total 15 mg per day.) The plan is to reduce the 2nd dose by 1/2 pill so I will still take 10 mg AM but only 2.5 mg afternoon (total of 12.5 mg per day.) I do this for three weeks and then reduce the AM dose by 1/2 pill so 7.5 AM and 2.5 afternoon (total of 10 mg per day) for another three weeks. At that point, Endo wants me to do a blood test and not sure what happens next.
Has anyone done this before (with or without MCAS) and if so, how did it go? If the MCAS flares up, my doc said I can stop the taper and we'll try it at another time. Prior to April/May of this year, I had never taken Cortef before and I have not experienced any side effects from it other than the weight gain.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts or experiences on this.
I have been gaining weight from Cortef and my MCAS doc agreed it was a good time to attempt to taper off of it. My Endo has wanted me off of it for months but my MCAS doc said to wait (back in Nov) so I did. My Endo and my MCAS doc proposed slightly different tapering schedules so I studied them both and am going with my Endo's plan which is slower and more gentle for the body (and MCAS doc agreed.)
I normally take 10 mg AM and 5 mg late afternoon (total 15 mg per day.) The plan is to reduce the 2nd dose by 1/2 pill so I will still take 10 mg AM but only 2.5 mg afternoon (total of 12.5 mg per day.) I do this for three weeks and then reduce the AM dose by 1/2 pill so 7.5 AM and 2.5 afternoon (total of 10 mg per day) for another three weeks. At that point, Endo wants me to do a blood test and not sure what happens next.
Has anyone done this before (with or without MCAS) and if so, how did it go? If the MCAS flares up, my doc said I can stop the taper and we'll try it at another time. Prior to April/May of this year, I had never taken Cortef before and I have not experienced any side effects from it other than the weight gain.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts or experiences on this.