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Anyone have discomfort or pain when tapering off prednisone?
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Sep 22 7:45pm | Replies (144)Comment receiving replies
I have been tapering at a rate suggested by my doctor. I was just wondering, is prednisone to make the pain go away or just make it more manageable? As I have tapered down from the 10mg level I have found each time that I usually have some discomfort during the first week or so and then seem to level off. It is never totally gone since I notice some discomfort in the morning when I get up. It is not at all like the pain before being on prednisone. When my dr asks me about pain I am not sure she understands when I describe things.
I was down to 7.5 for a good 6 weeks and she wanted me to go to 6mg after my last visit. And then after 3 weeks go down to 5mg. I did get down to 6, but am wondering if it is my tipping point. I had a little flare for a couple days after about 2 weeks at 6. It improved but it has made me leary about going down to 5mg. I was supposed to have started that a week ago but haven't. I'm just not sure what to do since I don't want to do anything that would complicate things with my condition.
I have reached out to my dr via their portal but haven't gotten any direct answers to my questions. Only suggestions were to see my pcp or move my appointment up. I tried to move my appointment but there are no openings before my appointment at the end of the month.
Replies to "I have been tapering at a rate suggested by my doctor. I was just wondering, is..."
I have always had aches in joints and pains when tapering down. After an allergic reaction I had an ER Dr. take me from 80 mg to 40! I thought I was dying. I wouldn’t be concerned if you are having discomfort with your joints.
Maybe consider asking about getting on Methotrexate or one of the drugs such as Enbrel, Humira, etc. But consider the side effects of being on Prednisone for a long period vs taking the other drugs. My personal experience was that while I loved the feel of sufficient Prednisone, there are side effects that are not desirable like it affects your bones, etc. I tried replacing the Prednisone with Tylenol for Arthritis (800 mg per day) and that helped a lot, but I am managing things to my satisfaction with a combination of Methotrexate and Enbrel. You cannot drink alcohol with Methotrexate though.
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Seems a little fast, compared to my schedule, but….
Between 10 and 5, I was tapering at 1 per month. Now I am tapering at 0.5 per month. I do have some wrist and shoulder pain some mornings.
Unless testing shows differently, the pains you are having are probably not PMR. You may need to slow your taper to give your adrenals more time to ramp up cortisol production.
There are numerous earlier posts in this thread and elsewhere in the PMR group that you should be checking out.
Another person’s taper is not necessarily the right one for you, and pain is not necessarily PMR.