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Adjusting to life with temporal arteritis
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Apr 24 10:00am | Replies (262)Comment receiving replies
I was diagnosed with GCA and PMR 10 months ago. I started with 60 mg prednisone a day for 6 weeks, and I started taking weekly Actemra injections a month after being diagnosed. I didn't notice anything from the Actemra, other than occasionally being a little tired the day after the injections. I'm currently at 5 mg a day of prednisone and still taking the weekly Actemra injections. I haven't had any issues since starting treatment.
I've read that it can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months for the Actemra to take full effect.
Good luck with your treatment!
Replies to "I was diagnosed with GCA and PMR 10 months ago. I started with 60 mg prednisone..."
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Depends if you define "full effect" as being able to taper off prednisone. I don't think that is the best definition when we are on Actemra.
People sometimes think remission is being able to taper off prednisone. However, remission might be better defined when we are on Actemra as being without symptoms and having no relapses when the Prednisone dose is approximately 5 mg or less. At lower doses of prednisone, being able to taper off prednisone is dependent on how fast the adrenals resume their production of cortisol to offset the reduction in the Prednisone dose.
In my case, it took me 3 months to be able to stay on 3 mg of prednisone for an extended period of time without a relapse. My cortisol level wasn't adequate enough for me to taper off Prednisone for another 6 months while I stayed on 3 mg. Actemra "facilitated" the process of me getting off prednisone because it prevented a relapse and Actemra didn't suppress my adrenal function.