cushings

havnt been diagnosed with anything yet but the closest i can come to it is cushings as i have been on steroids for 20 years. the only symptoms i have are moon face (going down a little now that i am reducing) swollen tummy, chronic fatigue.  i am looking for a therapist in the uk to advise me on supplements to help my adrenals until i can stop the prednisolone altogether
elvera

[rumpled]

If you have been on steroids for 20 years, then likely you have steroid-induced Cushing's syndrome.

I am not sure which one you are on, but once you get to 5mg prednisone or 20mg of hydrocortisone, you may have a difficult time weaning as that is the time that the adrenals are supposed to wake up. However since you have been on the steroids such an extended time, you may be in the sorry situation where your adrenals have atrophied from not being used for 20 years and will not wake up. In that case, you will not have to take steroids for the rest of your life.

I hope too that you can get a bone check, eye check and all to see if there is the hidden damage that is typical of Cushing's. Heart, bone, eyes, and more may tend to be effected by the steroids and you may have steroid myopathy coming off the steroids too - so you may be weak for a while.

What dose and what type of steroid were you on?

[elvera1]

prednisolone 7.5 mg for polyartritus and asthma. at the moment i am down to 5mg but it hs taken a year to do this and i feel a lot calmer. i alternate dose between 6mg and 5mg depending on how asthma reacts. been no sign of polyartritus for years.  bone density scan fine. heart and eyes seem fine but not checked out. been following dr peatfields advice with regards to supplements. had saliva tests done and they have improved but dr peatfield has retired now.

[rumpled]

Are you going to find another doctor to guide you? I would suggest finding an endocrinologist as well as a pulmonologist.

You are going to need to find another medication to cover the asthma if you choose to go lower than the 5-6mg, which is now a life-sustaining dose.

You need now to understand the symptoms of an adrenal crisis, and also have the capacity to stress dose if needed. I am glad you feel better, but you have to see now if the adrenals are going to work. It seems that you *used* your steroid for the most part so damage may have been minimized, but if the adrenals were not used for 20 years, they may not want to wake up.