Status Check

Steroid withdrawal has diminished a bit. I could sleep last night and didn't have to fight spasms in my diaphragm to breathe.

The asthma is still pretty active. I still need the rescue inhaler at night and have been taking Pulmicort twice a day to try to beat it back into submission. Crossing fingers...I think I'm winning. (Update: Last night...first night without needing albuterol. Yes!)

I am eating! And yes! I'm excited about it! Not a lot, but at regular intervals. I have lost weight though and hit a number on the scale I haven't seen in a year (finally, a diet that works!).

My adrenal glands aren't burning anymore. So they've either given up and died or are feeling better.

Still weak. Weaker and fuzzier than I should be. I am trying to get by on the smallest possible dose, so perhaps am not taking enough.

Dosing is tough.

Endo told me to do 40mg and reduce by 5 every 2-3 days. They also told me I didn't need steroids and that this would not suppress the HPA axis (I am doubtful since my HPA axis is the gold medalist valedictorian champion etc... of suppression).

So the mixed messages from the endo and my fear of suppression mean I've been doing strange things with the dose. I feel guilty for taking them since I supposedly don't need them, so I try to minimize the dose.

Actually, I've been so loopy, I couldn't tell you how much I've taken at any one time other than to say, it was never 40mg and I only split dose a few times. Because splitting makes suppression easier.

Over the weekend I took 15mg of hydrocortisone, but I don't know where I came from. Maybe down from 30mg? Obviously, if I can't even keep track of my dose, I must be doing it wrong.

Today I will boost the dose back up to 30 and see what happens. If it helps, I am thinking of doing an alternate day high-low dose. Because I don't want to suppress.

Hedging my adrenal bets.