On Wednesday and Thursday I felt a little “not me” a couple of hours after taking my steroids although I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I felt like that. I just felt a little strange both in mind and body, and I put it down to the steroids, correctly as it turned out. So I rang up the hospital on Thursday and asked if someone would call me back as I wanted to reduce my dose. I’d decided I was going to do it anyway on Friday as I often listen to what my body is telling me, and this felt like the first rumblings of trouble.
Friday morning, I took 55mg instead of 60mg and waited. Two hours passed and then three, and I felt fine, felt normal. I think my dosage – that I had asked for to deal with my skin FAST – was a little too high, and I’d got almost a couple of weeks in before my body started complaining. I have to say though that the change in my skin has been amazing and it was the right thing to do.
At this point, the right thing to do was reduce the dose. I was supposed to keep taking 60mg for four weeks and then reduce down to 55mg before my next appointment on the 13th September. Instead I’ve done two weeks.
My doctors registrar called me back on Friday and I thanked him as Dr H is on vacation this week. I explained I’d reduced my dose and he agreed that it was okay, but that I shouldn’t reduce any more until my next visit and they’d had a chance to take a look at me – I’m taking weekly blood tests, so they’re monitoring it all anyway. I agreed to this, but if I feel a little strange again I will of course phone up as I want to take responsibility for this kind of thing.
The way I feel about this is that while they’re the health care professionals and have the experience and training, it’s my body and I can tell when things aren’t quite right.
As I said, since I reduced my dose I feel fine again, so to me it was the right thing to do regardless.
My concern is that some people would have kept taking the same amounts and who knows, may have caused themselves some permanent damage? In my case, problem avoided.
