Sorry anonymous - I don't understand what you mean. The study shows that 5mg of Pred a day (equivalent to 20mg of cortisol) doesn't suppress HPA activity. Higher doses may or may not, depending on the individual and presumably the state of their adrenals before they started taking pred. I agree this may be different for already adrenally fatigued people.

I don't know about the effects of pred on arthritis. It is arguable whether pred depresses the immune system, or enables you to fight off infections and viruses. I stress dose when I feel something coming on, as my adrenals can't increase their output of cortisol as they should, and the virus is gone in 24 hours or short-lived.

Believe me, I would rather not be taking pred, but I feel it's important to have a balanced view for those who need to take steroids. There is a huge difference between pharmacological and physiological doses. I would rather not have had a mouthful of leaking amalgams that trashed my adrenals, but I didn't have any say over that either.

Best
Nicola