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How to wean off prednisone 5mg without side effects?
Autoimmune Diseases | Last Active: 6 days ago | Replies (43)Comment receiving replies
What is Prednisone treating? It can't be PMR because people with PMR take Prednisone for years. They would consider tapering by 1 mg per month a fast taper and not excessively long. I was diagnosed with PMR and didn't taper off Prednisone again for 13 years. I don't know of anyone with PMR who doesn't have difficulty tapering off Prednisone from 5 mg to zero.
I know what you mean by having done multiple "bursts" of prednisone." I did exactly that for 20 years before PMR was diagnosed. Going from 60 mg to zero in 4 weeks was never a problem. It just depends on what is being treated ... I guess.
I remember my days when I could taper off Prednisone quickly with fond memories. It makes me laugh about what people perceive about what is the "best way" to taper off Prednisone. There isn't a single best way --- there are too many variables.
It does get harder to taper off the longer you take Prednisone. Many people wind up taking 5 mg of prednisone for the rest of their lives. It just depends on the variable you are trying to overcome!
If it is adrenal insufficiency there isn't much you can do to speed up the tapering process. The adrenals won't be in a rush to produce cortisol again. However, I managed to taper off prednisone in spite of adrenal insufficiency.
Replies to "What is Prednisone treating? It can't be PMR because people with PMR take Prednisone for years...."
Any suggestions on where to go from here? I can ask my Endo to do an ACTH challenge but of course that’s going to mean being off the prednisone for at least 48 hrs. I don’t know what other tests to ask for, any suggestions?
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I’m sorry I didn’t really explain why I’m even on prednisone. I have been given bursts for asthma flares, acute sinusitis that turned into chronic sinusitis, bronchitis, the metapneumo virus. I do not have PMR but I came here in hopes of gaining some insight to getting off this horrible drug that has turned my life upside down. This time trying to come off is causing complete cold clammy body chills, headaches, extreme dizziness, extreme fatigue, to the point where I don’t feel like I have enough energy to take the next breath, nausea and joint and muscles aches. I literally feel like I belong in the hospital. My primary care said I shouldn’t be having these symptoms. The endocrinologist who I sought out myself to try to get to the bottom of what’s happening said to take 5 mg for 7 days then 2.5 for 7 days then none for 2 days then have an AM cortisol and ACTH level drawn. She said if the levels were normal I could stay off the prednisone. They were apparently normal but there was no way I could tolerate staying off of it so that’s when she put me on the 5mg/ 2.5 mg schedule every other day. I still don’t know if what I’m experiencing is withdrawal symptoms or adrenal insufficiency. The reason I say that is because I read that you can have a normal cortisol and ACTH level but if the pituitary isn’t functioning normally you can have adrenal insufficiency. I also read the only way to accurately rule out adrenal insufficiency is by doing an ACTH challenge test. When I mentioned this to the Endo she said she didn’t think that was necessary and felt that if I had adrenal insufficiency then I would not have had a normal cortisol and ACTH level after being off of the prednisone for 2 days. At this point I don’t even know what to think. So, tomorrow I start the new tapper.