Off steroids for a week; legs don't work right

I haven't had any steroids for a week. I am walking like a 95 year old woman. My legs seem stiff. Even the muscle/tendon in the back of my heels feels so tight that it seems they will snap. Is this steroid related??? How long does it last???

Sounds like it could be from steroids. How long were you on them? It took me about 3 months to be done with symptoms, I was on for 2 years. How's your neck?
Erica

I was on them 4.5 months! Neck is fine, but my whole back went into spasms again a couple weeks ago. That is very painful. It happened the second week into this mess and then again this time.

It can take time to get over the withdrawal symptoms. It took me a few weeks every time I tarred off of Prednisone. Just take it one day at a time and you will notice that things get a bit better every week.

Been off them a week and so glad to be off. I hope I stay off. One of the doctors-- the one I have quit going to-- said I should wait a month to get another blood draw. The one in Indy says still every two weeks. This week it took 3 times to get blood. I don't understand how you can stick a needle in a vein and get no blood to come out.

Roberta,

My legs hurt after prednisone too. I was on it for just about the same amount of time that you were. It passes... Another part of the joint pain is that prednisone is GREAT for arthritis and that pain goes away, and when it returns... well its not fun!

Jeffrey

RHofm50129 wrote: This week it took 3 times to get blood. I don't understand how you can stick a needle in a vein and get no blood to come out.

That is what happens when you get a lot of blood draws. The veins scar. I used to try to alternate arms and that helped some. Then I started to refuse constant CBC's. Once a week below 20k, twice a month below 50k, and once a month above that. During treatment and unstable times, that varied a bit. I now have one arm that I can't use for draws at all. Using the butterfly needle also helps a lot. I prefer that.

If it is from pred it will slowly go away. That said if it continues you could ask your doctor to check your potassium level.

Roberta,
I always get that kind of thing after prednisone withdrawal. For me it lasts for weeks.

The most depressing thing was getting on the scale and seeing I am 21 pounds over what I was four months ago. Makes you feel pretty lousy and pretty helpless.

Sandi, I've always been a "hard stick" and have always told them to take it from my wrist which is reliable. But these IU labs won't do that. They had some paramedic do it. He was the only person in my life who could not get blood from my wrist. Here's the stupid part. They had taken blood three times from my wrist and he could still see the line of dots where they'd gone in. It was like a freaking dot-to-dot. All he had to do was go between them. Instead, he went way off to the side. I could not believe it! There was one tech in the hospital who would get it from me first stick every time. None of the others could do it. sometimes I had 3 techs lined up at the door. If one person can do it, another should be able to do it, in my viewpoint. I had a picc line in the hospital which was good one way, in that there was no trouble getting blood or transfusing me. but the downside is that with ITP it would leak, and they can't have a wet picc line due to infection. So I had to have the dressing changed every day, and that was extremely painful.

Roberta,

Legs feeling any better?

Jeffrey

One is. (geesh)

Hang in there! It will catch up with the other one! IF you walk slow! :laugh:

Glad you are doing some better!

Jeffrey