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DiscussionAny Tips For Tapering Off Prednisone?
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jul 24 11:10am | Replies (111)Comment receiving replies
Replies to "Does anyone’s blood pressure go low while tapering down ?i have pmr been on prednisone for..."
Does anyone’s blood pressure go low while tapering down ?i have pmr been on prednisone for 2 yrs i can’t get past 7 mg each time I go to 6 mg my pressure drops and I feel terrible ..
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I hate to complain too much about prednisone. It did spare me from having too much pain.
I had a problem with feeling terrible when I reached 7 mg. My belief was that it was a combination of both a low cortisol level and symptoms of PMR returning.
I didn't have the problem when Actemra controlled my PMR symptoms but I felt terrible when I reached 3 mg. That was a low enough dose of Prednisone for my cortisol level to be checked. My cortisol level was low so I needed to stay on 3 mg for 6 months.
Low blood pressure was never a problem until I was able to get off Prednisone. When I was taking Prednisone, my blood pressure would sometimes be higher than 200/100 but not all the time. Three blood pressure medications were needed to control my "labile" blood pressure.
After Prednisone was stopped my blood pressure didn't drop all of a sudden but it gradually decreased over time. One by one my blood pressure medications were stopped. Now my blood pressure is normal without any blood pressure medications.
I have learned to appreciate everything that cortisol regulates in the body. It regulates inflammation, metabolism and so much more. When I was taking Prednisone ... it was impossible for me to keep everything regulated.
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My blood pressure used to drop a bit at the beginning of each reduction, but was still in the low normal range. Before PMR I occasionally had low heart rate (42 bpm) and/or low blood pressure and a nurse told me it can sometimes happen with dehydration. So whenever it happened I drank two full glasses of water to get things back to normal within an hour or so. Now I drink extra water every day with no further problems. I don't know if that's your problem, but drinking more water could be worth trying.
Low blood pressure is also one of the symptoms of adrenal insufficiency, so as I drop to 2.5mg pred I'm keeping a close eye on it, but at 6mg, I don't think adrenal insufficiency is likely to be your problem. What does your doctor say?