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The pros and cons of Prednisone

Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jun 14 10:13am | Replies (34)
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@1942marilyne

I am now on dexamethasone 3 mg. And at 82 I am not going to worry about long term etc. I feel good and functional and will go down to 2 mg as long as I remain functioning 3 1/2 years with pmr. I am opting for max function. Any views?

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Replies to "I am now on dexamethasone 3 mg. And at 82 I am not going to worry..."
DadCue | @dadcue | Jun 11 9:14am

Tough question ... I don't have any views. It is truly a personal decision.

I was taken aback when my rheumatologist said I was "too young" to take Prednisone for the rest of my life. It sounded like age discrimination to me. I was 65 years old at the time. I wondered how old I would need to be for my rheumatologist to think it would be okay to stay on Prednisone for the rest of my life.

I was feeling very old at 65 and I truly didn't think I would live much longer. I was conflicted because people on another forum were saying I shouldn't risk Actemra because of all the potential "serious side effects. " They said staying on Prednisone with "manageable side effects" was better. I questioned how they knew if they had never tried Actemra.

My rheumatologist said I wouldn't know unless I tried Actemra. That made more sense to me.

I don't think I would have tried Actemra if I had been 82. When I was 65, I felt like I was closer to 100 years old. I was already planning on having a serious talk with God about of all the Prednisone I needed to take over my lifetime. I didn't think all the pain was necessary! I was mostly grateful about having Prednisone to take.

I'm almost 70 years old. I feel like a 70 year old person on Actemra.

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