Originally Posted by
annekat
The point I was trying to make, badly, is that our immunosuppressants do not supply cortisol to the body at all, and prednisone does. So stopping prednisone abruptly is going to cause a lot more of an immediate problem than stopping one of the immunosuppressants. Especially if we have been on pred long enough for our adrenals to have totally shut down, which they do after two months of 20mg./day or more, if I'm remembering right what our esteemed Sangye has said on here more than once. Yes, prednisone is known as an immunosuppressant, but it is more known as an anti-inflammatory. It suppresses the inflammation caused by immune system activity; I don't know to what extent it suppresses the immune system in general, and I'm well aware that it is not as much as our well known immunosuppressants. That is why we need them both, as the pred is better at controlling inflammation by virtue of the cortisol it provides.
BTW, I briefly looked up pred side effects and withdrawal symptoms. The side effects included bone, muscle and tendon problems among the others we know about. The withdrawal symptoms were mainly nausea, dizziness, and vomiting, and maybe fainting, I forget. But that was only one site, and every site will say something a little different.
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