Hello all,
Several folks asked me to report on my Kevzara experience when I could, so here goes. PMR began for me overnight in November of 2022. I do not recall the initial dose but I do remember that it was extremely effective right from the start. I have felt zero side effects from prednisone use, and a dxa scan a month or two ago showed normal bone density. I was lucky.
I started Kevzara in November of 2023. At the time I was at 5 mg prednisone (a split dose) with the pain under control. By the time I got down to 2 mg I was in moderate pain and also had difficulty using my right hand due to "severe" carpal tunnel syndrome. I had that fixed and my rheumy in consultation with my surgeon decided to bump me up to 20 mg briefly, followed by a fast taper. When I was back down to 5 mg I went to a regimen in which every other Sunday I took my Kezvara and dropped one mg, and finally on March 27 I took my last 1-mg pill...touch wood. No pain at present aside from normal old guy stuff. Am I in remission? Is the next step a taper off the Kezvara? TBD! No side effects from the Kezvara. Again, lucky.
Attached is my plot of the last few months of this journey, although my spreadsheet goes all the way back to December of 2022. I have found the plot to be a useful tool for seeing how things are going. If anybody is interested in this approach let me know and I will send you the spreadsheet. Just erase my data in the table and put in yours...the plot updates automatically.
Good luck...to all of us.