I have recently been diagnosed with Addisons

[oleqwilter]

sorry I forgot my meds... I take 30 mg of cortef in the morning and 15 mg in the afternoon. I also take .1 of florinef daily. I am also on synthroid.

I take evista because of the longtime steriod use. I have not lost much bone, but am trying to keep it that way. I have been taking steroids since 1972
oleqwilter

[Diane44]

Hi all,

I truly enjoy reading what everyone writes, sounds odd I know, but I am glad you are all here. We have all gong through a lot and have similar stories to tell. I am glad that you are all here to help me too. I am going to try diet and exercise again to lose weight. Anyone ever try Hip Hop Abs? Sounds like fun to me so I am going to start there. I like to dance but am really bad at it. I will only be able to do what my arthritis and Addisons let me do. When it hurts too much I have to stop. I really want to lose some weight.

I have never heard of Evista, what is it for? Boy am I happy to hear that you have been on steroids for that long and it has not affected your bones too much. I was a bit worried about my future and how long before it would affect them. My dad was on Prednisone for a few years due to emphazema and he broke his ribs just rolling over in bed. I am on Cortef and florinef but still sterioids to worry about. I also take levothyroxine for thyroid, Clarinex for allergies, alleve for arthristis, Ranitidine to help my stomach with all the other med I take, calcium, fish oil and Dhea as supplements and use Dovenex for my psoriasis. I tell you it is almost impossible to remember to take all those pills at the right time of day! I do it most of the time without missing one but every now and then I forget..............wonder if it is the addisons?

Oleqwilter you are on a lot of Cortef, I am not a Dr but from what I have learned and been told that is too much for your body and will cause more damage in the future. I guess it could be based on weight and I don't know how much you weigh but I have always been told by every Dr I have seen that 20mg a day is plenty. I am on 15. Have you been on that hight a dosage since 1972? If so then you are lucky to have no other side effects. Please do some research on that and talk to your Dr. I would hate for you to be having side effects because the dosage is too high. That would only make things worse.

Kareng45 you have to find a medicine that doesn't make you sick. You will die without it. What meds have you been on? Cortef or Prednisone? Florinef? Florinef is very important if you have low BP and that can make you sick. It might not be the meds that are causing you to be so sick but maybe you are not on the right combination? Karen just keep writing and people will respond, sometimes it takes a while but they do. This is a great place to be when you have Addisons. Sooo much helpful info.

Hope you are all doing well today also.

[oleqwilter]

Acutally I mis spoke I take 25 mg of cortef in the am and 15 at 4 pm. I took cortisone acetate for the first 24 years. Then because of production problems I took prednisone and several other steriods. I went to a new endo because of brain fog, muscle and joint pain. He switched me to Cortef and put me on thyroid meds too. Immediately the symptoms went away. But I don't know if it was the cortef or the synthroid. Evista is a medicine for bone loss. I am still way in the normal range for a 60 yr. old woman, but I intend to keep it that way and so have been taking the Evista. We played with the cortef using blood tests and symptom relief to adjust the meds to the current level. I believe I started on 20/10.

Has anyone had trouble switching to generic Cortef. I did within the last couple months and I am having dizziness, fatigue, muscle pain. I am wondering if it is because of the generic meds.

Thanks in advance Oleqwilter

[kareng45]

Hello, I to am sorry for not getting back with you or even been on the message board. I have had three really bad day's, yesterday I hurt so bad and could hardly walk by myself. I don't know if it was the Addison or the Fibro or any other of the many health problems I have. My Dr is trying to send me to the Mayo Clinic in Rockchester {half way across the world} or for me it is, I didn't even feel like having the CT text done and had to put it off till Tuesday. I also have three tumurs in my brain, I have lost more weight and I'm not sure what is the cause of it this time. Some day's are not this bad think goodness. I try so hard to live a normal life, what ever that is,lol. I don't go around and tell people about my health stuff. I have been sick for so long and have been to so many Dr's one for one thing and one for something else, I guess you know how it is, now this mayo thing. I'm just not that sure about that, it's so far from home. I was just wondering how long it took you to level off, I don't want to gain weight and everyone is on to me now about my eating. I just get tired of it all, what I meant by a normal life, I have been dating a really nice guy, for the frist time in years. He is a cop of 23 yr's however, he doesn't know that I'm as sick as they all say I am and I guess I'm alittle bit afraid to tell him. Anyway if you have any advice for me I would really like to hear it. I'm about to pull my hair out and I'm tried of crying, that's not really like me either, but now there having home health and hospice come, starting Monday and I guess I let that get me down when I woke up hurting so bad that morning, well later. Thanks for taking the time to read and ans this. Kareng45

[tamiam]

Karen, So sorry to hear about all the trouble you are having. It sounds like your doctor is on the right track sending you to Mayo. They can do some amazing things there. I was diagnosed last spring after having all the symptoms for 2 years. It started with passing out in the shower. Sometimes I wonder about the diagnosis-- I have never shown to be low on cortisol, although I am low on aldosterone. I had symptoms of having too much prednisone once I started taking it, so I am on a low dose but take a normal dose of Fluorinef. Did anybody else out there start with just being low on aldosterone?
It is great to find a place where other people know about this crazy thing called Addison's.