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← Return to PCP advising fast taper
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That taper seems unnecessarily fast. I'm tapering prednisone, and I also take weekly Actemra injections. The Actemra controls the inflammation from my GCA and PMR. Once I got down to 5 mg per day of prednisone, my rheumatologist recommended tapering 1 mg per month. He said it would take that long for my body to adjust to each new level without causing adrenal issues. I assume you're not taking a biologic drug like Actemra or Kevzara? If you're not, it is more likely you would flare when you're tapering. Most people who are not taking a biologic drug taper .5 mg a month when they get down to 5.
Replies to "That taper seems unnecessarily fast. I'm tapering prednisone, and I also take weekly Actemra injections. The..."
Thanks @jeff97 I am not taking any biological. I also think the taper schedule was too fast but I didn’t question my doctor at the time, hoping it might work. This makes me doubt she has much experience with PMR
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Hi Jeff,
It’s been a while since I’ve been here. PMR diagnosis in about 2016. Still on prednisone but down to 5mg, then 4mg starting tomorrow. This has been multiple years of decreasing then up then back down. Rheumatologist insists it’s osteoporosis or fibromyalgia as I can’t have PMR with a sed rate..highest 36 and CRP always normal. This is the third doctor at this office. GCA was a concern, jaw locking and terrible headache about 6 months ago. My teeth still hurt, jaw is better and headaches come and go but nothing like the scary one. Surgeon won’t do a temporal biopsy since I’ve been on prednisone so long. My pain these days is so debilitating in the mornings, improves by evening. Kevzara caused chest pain and chest rash, Actemra took my sed rate to ZERO. Methotrexate caused nodules in wrists plus a 13 mm lung nodule which was not present 2024. That was an incidental finding as I passed more kidney stones in February 2025. Hand pain is retuning so one of the biologicals probably helped but now, won’t take them. Palindromic PMR (arthritis?) is what I was told can happen to hands and feet. This information was from my previous rheumatologist who stopped her practice, then opened her own office and mentioned my insurance didn’t pay her enough! Sorry I haven’t been more involved here but it’s been challenging the last year. I know my body and look forward to any comments/replies.
Karo actually Carol