Dropping from 9mg to 6 mg Budesonide - Feeling Foggy

Personal experiences with various medications used to control the symptoms of Microscopic Colitis and related issues, should be posted here.

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Pam V
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Dropping from 9mg to 6 mg Budesonide - Feeling Foggy

Post by Pam V »

I'm wondering if it's "normal" to feel a bit of brain fog and mild dizziness when you start reducing your daily intake of budesonide. I saw my GI yesterday - the first time since being diagnosed post colonoscopy. I have been on 9 mg Budesonide for just under a month. I read the MC book cover to cover when it arrived last Saturday so I went into my appt with the hope of being able to taper off Budesonide over a long period. My GI seemed happy that I have found an online support group and said she has no problem if I do a slow tapering over 6 months or so. She's kind of leaving it up to me.... She suggested that I drop to 6 mg as, although I wouldn't say I'm "norman" every day, things have been much better.

Today, (day 2 of reduction to 6 mg), I am feeling pretty "foggy".... - is it normal to have a few days of dizziness, fogginess, when reducing Budesonide?

I've ordered some Magnesium from IHerb (Magnesiumm Biglycinate) and have upped my Vit D. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thank-you so much,

Pam
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tex
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Post by tex »

Hi Pam,

No, I don't believe those are symptoms that normally develop upon lowering the dose of budesonide. If someone else has experienced them, hopefully they will post. Dizziness might possibly be a withdrawal symptom if you have been on budesonide or some other corticosteroid for a long time, but short or medium-term use shouldn't cause that symptom. I wonder if you might have picked up some sort of virus recently.

In most cases, if dizziness or other neurological symptoms are going to show up, they do so when a budesonide treatment is started (not when it's ended). That said, the brain fog is a symptom of MC, so it might appear when a dose of budesonide is reduced (if it's reduced prematurely, and that causes MC to relapse.) Are you taking any Imodium? It's somewhat uncommon, but Imodium can cause dizziness. It causes dizziness for me. If that should apply to you, lowering a budesonide dose could have allowed that dizziness to become noticeable.

Tex
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Gabes-Apg
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Post by Gabes-Apg »

I never used steroids, for me brain fog was related more to inflammatory foods and being low in key nutrients like Magnesium and B12.

what is your current eating/drinking plan?
what supplements are you taking?
do you take any other medications?
Gabes Ryan

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