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How to Slowly and Safely Taper Off Prednisone but ... no set rules.
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: 2 days ago | Replies (65)Comment receiving replies
Your rheumatologist can answer this better than anyone but going back up a little bit is a fine answer. You can always taper back down again , and next time taper at a slower rate. like 1mg per month. My rheumatologist agave me two choices the methotrexate or something like that and prednisone. They both will work he said. I picked the prednisone and am at 4mg. My inflammation blood work is finally in the normal range after about 6 months of this. My plan is to taper at 1mg per month for the rest as long as all goes well. I also started at 15mg. My non medical understanding is it just takes a bit of time for the PMR to burn itself out. And when you get down to 5mg and less a slow taper is key to success.
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"My non medical understanding is it just takes a bit of time for the PMR to burn itself out. And when you get down to 5mg and less a slow taper is key to success."
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True in the majority of cases. However, sometimes PMR doesn't burn itself out and sometimes people take 5 mg of prednisone for the rest of their life.
If a person has trouble at approximately 7 mg and always seem to flare at lower doses of prednisone their adrenal function might be the problem. It is hard to ignore withdrawal symptoms and adrenal suppression as a side effect of long term prednisone use. However, a slow taper is still the key to success.
Otherwise a biologic like Kevzara or some other medication that doesn't suppress adrenal function might be helpful. Lifelong prednisone is hard on the body and not a good outcome according to many medical professionals.