Cortisol levels symptoms and conditions

I have been weaning off Prednisone for sometime, from 50mg down to 5mg in two week steps, 5mg at a time. I've had quite a few of the physical side effects of Prednisone, though none so severe that I would have considered not taking the drug, as it is helping the neuropathy that it was described for. When I hit the 5mg dose, I really seemed to be having trouble with my mental state. I seemed to switch back and forth from knowing what was going on to wondering if I was starting to go insane or losing touch with reality. Hard one to explain. It seems to occur later in the day when I am fairly tired. Back on 10 mg for the last three days and seem to be tired but not so mentally confused. Don't know if this is all from the Prednisone, though. Has anyone out there had any seemingly similar mental things happen on this drug. Thanks in advance for answering if you have had these experiences, they are scary and am hoping that it is the drug and not something else.

Silke-
So glad to hear from you. I am just interested to know because I had lab tests done (blood) as well and mine came back "normal" low normal so I ordered a saliva test online for a hormone profile because I read that saliva tests are more accurate than blood tests for hormones and my labs came back that my testosterone is way low as well as some of my other hormones which were too low for a woman my age. ( By the way I have been off the yasmin since the end of Nov. 2005) So now I am looking into bio Identical hormone replacement, which is a natural hormone much like the hormones our bodies make already NOT the synthetic junk in BCP's. I think in my case that the yasmin supressed my androgens and testosterone which are the male hormones, guess what these hormones are responsible for? skin elasticity, mood, sleep balance, cholesterol levels, muscle integrity... among other things...hmm sound familiar? a lot of things we and other people on this site are complaining about. I am still looking into finding a good doctor for the BIH replacement but you can read up on this on www.salivatest.com click on 24 HOUR HORMONE HOTLINE on the bottom paragraph of the second box on the left hand side of your screen, then on the next screen scroll down to 630 ANDROGENS: Testosterone and DHEA listen to what the hormones are responsible for. 627 All about Hormones is very informative as well, actually if you click on a lot of the numbers there you can learn a lot, as well as about saliva testing and BIHR. You can order a saliva test by clicking on the home page you started out on, at the very top it says order test kit. I ordered HORMONE PROFILE I. That measures your estridiol, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, and cortisol levels in the am. This will give you a basic idea of where your hormones are at. I would be curious to see where your levels really are as well. Let me know what you think. Bitter RN-

Kenalog 40% 2cc in shoulder. Depressed pituitary/adrenal function- cortisol levels went to nonexistent. ACTH levels non-existent. Neither adrenal nor pituitary funtioning- had to take small dose of prednisone (2 mg) for ten days to keep from going into adrenal crisis- never felt so exhausted, so weak in my life- and I have fibromyalgia. Moon face, FACIAL HAIR on the sides of my face (and loss of hair on scalp, under arms, legs)- and I am a very fair Caucasian FEMALE- will this hair GO AWAY- one endocrinologist says yes- in 1.5 years, another says no, the dermatologist has never heard of it, and the orthopedic surgeon who administered the shot into shoulder says he has never seen this reaction. MD'S ARE PATHETIC- 35% OF MEDICAL DIAGNOSES ARE INCORRECT.
Yes- it relieved the pain in my shoulder- torn labrum- temporarily, and it cleared up my facial eczema- temporarily- but at what COST. I have been an invalid for the three months since the injection, although my cortisol levels are starting to rise again. Also- had ALLERGIC reaction at time of injection- about two minutes after the shot, I had problems focusing my eyes, was nauseated, disoriented, had diarrhea- was told this was an ANXIETY reaction- even though I went to the ER later, they also told me "everything was fine."
ANY EXPERIENCE WITH FACIAL HAIR- is it reversible with time? In despair....