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Adjusting to life with temporal arteritis
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: 1 hour ago | Replies (253)Comment receiving replies
I was diagnosed with GCA in October. I was put on 80 mg prednisone at that time and am down to 20 mg now. Dr could not drop again at last visit because I was having symptoms. Head now is very sore as if in another flare. Do you up your prednisone or does the dr advise to increase when you have flare ups? I do not have rhuemotoligist but seeing a Neuro ophthalmologist. All info will be so appreciated.
Replies to "I was diagnosed with GCA in October. I was put on 80 mg prednisone at that..."
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Sorry to hear that you're having a flare. I have a rheumatologist, but I felt comfortable adjusting my dosage when I had a flare. I told her what I was going to do and she concurred. I have learned a lot in this forum and feel like I can take charge of my care. There's no 'standard' dosage. Everyone reacts differently.
Has your doctor ordered bloodwork to check your ESR and CRP (inflammatory markers)? I was diagnosed with PMR and possible GCA in July 2024. I started with 60 mg. of prednisone. I did the taper and when I got to 10 mg in November, I started getting more achy. In December, I was down to 8 mg and had a flare during the holidays. I started getting my GCA symptoms again. In the beginning of January, I requested that my rheumatologist order Actemra infusions for me. I didn't want to get on the 'taper/flare/increase prednisone dosage/taper...' roller coaster. (I had horrible side effects from the prednisone.) Started in mid-January and getting them every 4 weeks. I haven't felt better since last spring. Actemra is prescribed to treat GCA, but some doctors will prescribe for PMR, too. You might want to have this conversation with your doctors.