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Exactly why I'm trying to determine an acceptable level of "pain and discomfort" and ensuring I am not damaging my joints. What I think (no proof just experience) is that taking prednisone and trying to reduce it's use down to zero is not a straight line. I am down to 2.5 mg/day and want to get to zero but about once a week I need to boost back up to 5 - 7.5 mg for the day. Then back down to 2.5 mg the next days. So when I get to zero I'm not entirely sure if I'll have to bump up to 2.5 or 5 mg for a day or two but I'' definitely check with my rheumatologist about it. any experience with this let me know.
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My previous rheumatologist had me taper down 1 mg per month…slowly. If I had a flare, which could be terrible, I was to go back up to mg before the flare. It sounds maybe you’re reducing too fast? The ultimate goal is to be off the prednisone but I’m at 11 years now, and it won’t happen for me.
In fact, I’m thinking seriously of going back to UCLA or Mayo Clinic. Vegas has no reliable rheumatologists. Many have sold to corporations, retired or left town. Good luck.
Karo89135
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I have successfully tapered with minimal pain , and no prednisone increases as follows :
From 10 to 5 at 1 per month.
From 5 downward (now at 2) at 0.5 per month.
Decreases in larger increments often seem to produce excessive pain problems as evidenced by reports in this support group.
Some pain can be expected while your adrenals restart cortisol production. Unless it can be confirmed with inflammatory marker testing, it is probably not PMR and therefore should not provoke an increase in prednisone dosage.