"I don't know if it's working other than I have been able to taper. That's a good thing, I guess."

I didn't know if Actemra was working for the first 3 months. I wasn't sure how I should taper prednisone when Actemra was started. I stayed with my usual 1 mg per month prednisone taper for the first 3 months.

I could only say Actemra "might be working" when I got to 7 mg because that was the dose where I usually had a flare. I wasn't confident that Actemra was working but I was getting impatient. I decided to taper my prednisone dose by 1 mg per week until I got to 3 mg of prednisone. I wanted to get the "inevitable flare" over with so that was why I tapered so quickly.

I got nervous when I got to 3 mg. I decided to ask my rheumatogist about what I should do. I described my symptoms to my rheumatologist and he was concerned about a low cortisol level so that was checked. My cortisol level was low so my rheumatologist said to stay on 3 mg until I saw an endocrinologist.

My endocrinology visit was several months away so I just stayed on 3 mg. The endocrinologist verified a low cortisol level so she recommended I stay on 3 mg even longer. At my next visit, the endocrinologist said my cortisol level was "adequate."

I hate to say this - my endocrinologist said I didn't need to taper prednisone from 3 mg to zero as long as my cortisol level was adequate. So much for slow tapers ... I guess. I had to stay on 3 mg for a total of about 6 months.

I didn't stop prednisone immediately. I tapered from 3 mg to zero in a little over a week as I recall.

Don't do what I did . It would be better to ask your rheumatolgist and keep them informed about the symptoms you are having.