PMR tapering

My internist has always recommended a 3-4 week taper. 4 weeks worked best for me. Never 2 weeks. Not a good idea to rush it.
I Usually had a little discomfort for one to two days after a taper. But I went from 20 to 2mg in
14 months.
At 3 mg, I had trouble with pain so back to 3.5, the 3 then 2.5 for two weeks each time. Much easier. Now at 2. Hoping to be done in 6 weeks! We’ll see…. Then I have a Celebrex Rx in case.
I take dose at 7-8 pm so I have very little morning discomfort. Hope this helps.

I'm having some facial surgery and the doctor said he wanted me to go from 3.5 to 2.5 so that to help with wound healing and inflammation. He knows that I have PMR. It's been about 1 week since the drop. Just a little pain in the hip but 8 hour Tylenol knocked it out and now no pain. Prayers that it stays that way! Best wishes with your taper. Slow and steady wins the race or so we can hope. 🙂 Lol

I have upped my dose to 5 mg a few days ago and still a little stiff and achy in the morning. I take the 5mg I. The morning. I’m wondering if I should take the 5mg in the evening around 7 to 8pm so that I won’t be as stiff and achy in the morning. I thought you were supposed to take your prednisone all in the morning.

The usual recommendation is to take the entire dose of Prednisone in the morning. My doctor was flexible with how I took my Prednisone dose. I took most of my dose in the morning and a small part of my dose in the evening.

If I took all of my daily dose of Prednisone in the morning, I would routinely wake up in pain at 3 a.m. If my total dose was 15 mg --- I would take 10 mg in the morning and 5 mg in the evening, Splitting my dose allowed me to sleep all night without pain.

The ratio for splitting the dose can be adjusted and it didn't need to be exact. I preferred 2/3 of my dose in the morning and 1/3 of my dose in the evening. My doctor knew what I did and didn't have a problem with me doing it that way.

Took me three weeks at 3mg to feel as good as I did on 4mg. I am glad I was patient. Been on 2mg for a week now, a bit achy and stiff.

Im doing the same with positive results! Been on
3mg for 2 weeks and feeling good so far. I’ll give it another week and then I’ll start on 2 mg. Slow and steady, but Im determined to wean off of prednisone!!
Good luck to you! Sounds like you’re doing great!

I was diagnosed in November 2024 and was started on Prednisone 5-10mg. I started with the 5 and never had to increase it. I started to taper off, I did fine going down to 4 mg, I just went to down to 3mg on Saturday a bit achy but hopeful. I went down to 4 for 5 weeks and I will stay at 3mg for at least that long if not maybe a couple weeks more.

I went from 5 to 4 mg a week ago. Increasing pain and stiffness. Tried Tylenol but very limited duration. I talked with my rheumatologist today and she said to go back to 5 until I see her in 2 weeks. She also said that alternating 5 one day and 4 the next may work. I’ll try that starting June 1.

Alternating day dose is the same as reducing by .5mg instead of 1mg at a time, which is a good idea under 5mg especially.

That’s exactly how I’m tapering. I started on 4mg and when I began tapering I alternated between 4 and 3 I would take 4mg for a couple days in a row and then slip a 3mg in there for a day, gradually increasing the days of taking 3mg and eventually weaning out the 4mg. I did this for a couple week.. then I started alternating between 3mg and 2mg. This is the point I am currently at. I started with mostly 3mg and would throw a 2mg in there every few days. Right now I’m mostly at 2mg each day with an occasional 3mg some days. This is working for me. I know everyone is different but this has been fine for me. So far no pain or stiffness. I’m giving it a couple more weeks and then I will drop the 3mg and start alternating between 2mg and 1 mg. I’m hoping to be finished with this soon. Hopefully bye bye prednisone!! Also, I’m keeping a journal of how much I take each day and how I feel on each day. This helps me as I taper down.