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Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jun 26 7:15am | Replies (17)
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You're really lucky to get down to 15 mg per day of prednisone so quickly. I think it took almost 6 months for me to get to that point after starting at 60.
I take weekly injections of Actemra instead of infusions. I haven't had any side effects, and it has allowed me to taper the prednisone down to 2 mg per day with no flares.
Replies to "You're really lucky to get down to 15 mg per day of prednisone so quickly. I..."
Thanks for the info . Side effects of the Actemra is what I’m worried about
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I agree that you are lucky to get to 15 mg of Prednisone so quickly. It took me 10 years and countless relapses to get to 15 mg of Prednisone. I'm currently doing Actemra infusions every 4 weeks. I was able to discontinue Prednisone 4 years ago. I'm still recovering from side effects from long term Prednisone use. I had many side effects from being treated with long term Prednisone but almost no side effects from long term Actemra.
I know Actemra is being used sooner these days in the USA. However, I think it is still being reserved for "relapsing" and/or "refractory" cases of Temporal Arteritis. Unless you have PMR symptoms and difficulty with Prednisone side effects, maybe Actemra can wait. Problems generally surface at Prednisone doses of 10 mg or less.
It does seem like your doctor is waiting until August. I don't know how long you should wait but the sooner you can get off Prednisone the better.
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oops ... meant this to reply to original poster @hoosierlarry