Hi @charlena and @colleenyoung, I was on prednisone for a couple of years before I was able to get off. My Mayo rheumatologist had me gradually reduce the dosage using a titration schedule. I was on a 20 mg dosage daily and would reduce the dosage by half every week...or tried to reduce it. If the pain came back I would go back to the previous dosage. When I finally got to 1 mg dosage I think it took me several months to cut that to .5 mg daily and was on and off that several times before finally being able to go off completely. I would discuss a plan with your husbands rheumatologist to get off. The good news if there is any, is that the 5 mg is a really low dosage. Biggest struggle I had with prednisone is the weight gain and trying to keep my weight down. As far as managing the disease I'm beginning to think that diet may play a big part in a lot of autoimmune diseases. I'm currently trying to follow the basic Wahls Protocol Diet to see if it will help with my PN in my feet and legs. I've been on the diet for about 3 weeks so far and have managed to lose a little over 10 pounds. If you want to read about it you can find out more info on her website - http://www.terrywahls.com/. She is a doctor in Iowa and has an amazing story to tell about her own struggle with MS and the research she has done. Good luck and stay proactive!

Another thing you might want to discuss with your doctor or rheumatologist is some genetic testing to determine which medications may work best for you based on genetic testing. There has been talk about this in a Facebook group I am a member of - Our Neuropathy Friends. You can find information on this website for both patient and doctors - http://genelex.com/youscript/

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