The average dose of hydrocortisone was 20 mg/d divided into two to three dosages. These issues include:Hydrocortisone injection can cause you to retain (hold onto) salt and water. Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur: More common. Primary and Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency patients may require a tapering program to return to physiologic levels after a prolonged illness, or in the presence of serious side effects such as hypertension or Cushing symptoms. However, 72% of these patients reported concerns about the use of HC (scores above the midpoint of the specific concerns subscale). All subscales are described in detail in The Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R) was used to measure cognitive and emotional representations of illness. Adrenal insufficiency was diagnosed when postsurgical cortisol responses to CRH or insulin tolerance test were below the reference range of normal. 1,2. Data are mean ± SD. AI can be caused by adrenal diseases, usually due to autoimmunity or bilateral adrenalectomy for other causes (primary adrenal insufficiency) or by (hypothalamo) pituitary disease due to pituitary tumors or their treatment (secondary adrenal insufficiency). Beliefs About Hydrocortisone and Illness Perceptions in Patients With AIRaw scores per disease are also listed. This means you may need to take it with other medications depending on the condition being treated.Hydrocortisone injection is used to treat many conditions. These results need to be taken into account in the treatment of patients with AI and may serve to enable the development of psychosocial education/self-management programs aiming at improving quality of life.Patients with adrenal insufficiency (AI) require daily and life-long substitution with hydrocortisone (HC). Hydrocortisone is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a prescription steroid medication that is indicated to treat inflammation, status asthmaticus, acute and chronic adrenal insufficiency, and as physiologic replacement in pediatric use.. Partial correlation coefficients were calculated, correcting for the type of disease. Side effects can include very low blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, or muscle weakness. Select one or more newsletters to continue. Types of … Adrenal insufficiency was diagnosed when cortisol responses to CRH or insulin tolerance test were below the reference range of normal. Your healthcare provider will look out for interactions with your current medications. Some may be better suited for you than others. All data were presented as mean ± SD, unless mentioned otherwise. It can be given by mouth, topically, or by injection. Future studies should include those measures to further explore the potential association between those factors and medicine beliefs.Our findings are in accordance with the extended CSM of Horne and Weinman (Considering the results of these studies, the theory of the adapted CSM, and our present findings, we speculate that adapting beliefs about medicines in addition to illness perceptions will positively affect self-management behavior and QoL. Search for other works by this author on: 5.2. Low-dose glucocorticoid replacement, defined as 20 to 40 mg of hydrocortisone in divided daily doses, was felt to be safe, to cause no symptoms other than occasional gastric distress, and to benefit patients with chronic fatigue. A class of drugs is a group of medications that work in a similar way. “This medicine has kept me alive for 20 years with very few side effects.” Another possible limitation is the lack of data on cortisol levels (eg, morning levels prior to HC) and adherence to HC. “Tests showed my cortisol production was low but I do not feel any better on HC. When endocrinologists are more aware of the potential struggles of patients, particularly with regard to medication beliefs and their perception about their illness, endocrinologists would be better able to assess those perceptions. About Adrenal Insufficiency: Adrenal insufficiency is a disorder characterized by underactive adrenal glands and an insufficient production of the hormones cortisol and, sometimes, aldosterone.The adrenal glands are small organs located on top of each kidney. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwideFor full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.