Hi Patty

sounds like you have found an enlightened doctor, even if he wants to be guided by you! I take 5mg Pred in the morning - this is the equivalent of 20mg hydrocortisone, or Cortef. I take a further 1.5mg at bedtime. I take 175mcg of Florinef, 125 mcg in the morning, 50mcg at night. This prevents nighttime blood sugar crashes. But my adrenals are seriously shot. I don't think I will ever get them functioning again the way they should. I think I will be taking a maintenance dose for life. Sigh.

Did your doctor mention HC? If your adrenals are not too fatigued you may get with HC rather than Pred, which is stronger. HC is the physiological equivalent of what the adrenals themselves produce, so its a bit easier on the body.

You will need to learn about stress dosing, for when you are ill, or in a stressful situation. With three kids, a series of dental treatments and end of term events coming at me at high speed I am stress dosing quite a lot these days. I take one or two mg more Pred. If I don't do this, I literally run out of cortisol later on in the day, become extremely fatigued, hypoglycemic, and generally very uncomfortable. When I had tonsilitis earlier on this year I took at least a double dose to help the body get over the infection. I have also found out that NOT stress dosing, even for a simple cold, can crash my adrenals, so it's a question of learning as you go along.

Yes my candida exacerbated with the Pred, and I had to become REALLY strict with diet. I was still eating a bit of cheese, taking milk, and one piece of dark chocolate a day, and that was enough to give me serious problems. Had to cut all that right out. This is on top of the no gluten, grain, alcohol etc etc, so I am basically eating meat, eggs, vegetables, and some nuts, with good fats. I wish I could say I didn't mind, but it is very hard!!

Glad STTM is of help. It is essential reading for those wth thyroid / adrenals problems.

Best
Nicola