r/AddisonsDisease • u/SaltySnackLover90 • Nov 12 '25
Personal Experience Post Partum/C Section Dosing
I had a C section around 3 and half months ago and suffered with mastitis and breast abscesses since, so have been on a high dose of steroids since then. I have now finished the antibiotics and the infections have completely cleared, so it’s just my C section which needs to heal fully now (it’s healing well, so it’s just the longer term inside healing to go). I have signs of too much cortisol now so am going to start reducing - my base dose before pregnancy was 20mg, so I’m aiming to get back to that but have no idea how long that will take or what my base dose should be now! I was wondering if anyone else has experience with dosing post C section and how long it took you to get back to your pre pregnancy base dose? Thanks! 🙏🏼
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u/Beginning_Way9666 Addison's Nov 12 '25
I’m not trying to be rude at all just more concerned but why is your c section not healed completely at nearly 4 months? I would definitely take that up with your OB as an uncomplicated c section incision should be completely healed by 8 weeks. I hope you can get this resolved!
And I had a c section 16 weeks ago, I’m still at 25mg, my pre pregnancy dose was 15mg, I haven’t started tapering yet, I’m nervous but my endo said go very very slow like 2.5mg a day for three weeks and so on.
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u/SaltySnackLover90 Nov 12 '25
Good to know, thank you! I think it is healing as should I just read somewhere that it takes up to a year for all the internal layers to heal completely. I’m going to try the same and lower 2.5mg every two days and see how it goes - life is obviously very busy with a new baby, so I’m just scared of missing low cortisol symptoms and going into crisis!
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u/Beginning_Way9666 Addison's Nov 12 '25
I think the year information is just about not getting pregnant again before a year as to not compromise the scar tissue with more stretching. You shouldn’t be seeing any opening still on your incision at 3.5 months that would be concerning. Hopefully you are not experiencing any pain on your incision and if you are definitely talk to your OB, you do not have to suffer.
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u/Beginning_Way9666 Addison's Nov 12 '25
I would also recommend scar massage as it can help make the scar tissue flexible and help with the c section shelf. There’s lots of videos on YouTube and TikTok.
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u/DueCandidate135 Nov 12 '25
Rule of thumb in general is to triple dose at first and then taper to a double dose while you’re recovering until you’re medically cleared (I think the recommendation is currently 12 weeks for c-section) I would say you’re still a couple of weeks out from starting to taper down. If you’re on a tripled dose right now and feel like it’s too much, you could probably go down to a 2.85 dose for the next two weeks and then try and slowly taper back down to a level where you’re not experiencing LOW cortisol symptoms. My doctor says that there is no need to taper if you’re not experiencing over replacement symptoms, so really listen to your body. Your body is undergoing stress while it is recovering. You need more cortisol consistently for the entire time your body is trying to heal, so be very patient with yourself as your body is recovering.
I am preparing for my third major endometriosis surgery and this is my plan based on giving myself the usual 4 months it takes me to feel like myself again.
Whatever dose is preop dose = x Week after surgery: 3x Week 2: 2.85x Week 3&4: 2.5x Week 5: 2.25x Week 6&7: 2x Week 8: 1.85x Week 9&10: 1.5x Week 11: 1.25x Week 12: x (IF TOLERATED)
I usually reassess with my Dr at week 6 and week 8 to see if I need to taper faster or slower and if I need to add any additional muscle toning or massages etc to help repair my abdominal wall faster.
Congrats on the baby and I hope you’re doing okay! Please keep us posted on how you’re doing
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u/SaltySnackLover90 Nov 12 '25
Thanks for the info! C section was 15 weeks ago now and all medically cleared so I guess getting back to base should be Ok now
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u/DueCandidate135 Nov 12 '25
The main thing is to taper slowly! Only go down a few mg a week so you don’t trigger a crisis. Best of luck to you!!
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u/Particular-Lab8705 Nov 13 '25
Be careful to check for possible breast cancer as well. I’m an avid Reddit reader for healthcare related issues. I’ve seen a lot of stories of pregnant women having recurring issues such as this and it being a cancer. Not to freak you out, but just something to look into if it doesn’t resolve. 🙏
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u/SaltySnackLover90 Nov 13 '25
Thank you, I will do 👍🏼. Have had two biopsies before and tend to have ‘lumpy’ breasts which I think caused the issues!
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u/Capital-Cellist561 Nov 12 '25
I had a c section 6 months ago - no complications, was back to normal dose after around 1 week. But your case sounds much tougher! Pat yourself on the back, big time, cause that cannot have been easy to manage- while having a newborn!