← Return to Polymyalgia rheumatica: Any thoughts on my taper plan?

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Profile picture for caro45 @caro45

Thank you for ur reply. Your suggestion seems to be a more cautious approach which I’ll take to my G P as I parted company with my Rheumatologist who was useless. Best wishes

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Replies to "Thank you for ur reply. Your suggestion seems to be a more cautious approach which I’ll..."

The standard recommendation for tapering off prednisone is to reduce by only 1mg (or less) at a time under 10mg. If you reduce the dose from 5mg to 2.5mg in one go, it's inviting a flare.

It's taken 18 weeks for me to reduce from 5mg to 2.5mg with no problem, reducing by .5mg every 3-4wks. You could try making small reductions gradually. An example of the gradual way some of us reduce is -

WEEK 1 (7 days of dosing, for example, starting at 5mg):
4.5mg / 5mg / 5mg / 4.5mg / 5mg / 5mg / 4.5mg
WEEK 2
5mg / 4.5mg / 5mg / 4.5mg / 5mg / 4.5mg / 5mg
WEEK 3
4.5mg / 4.5mg / 5mg / 4.5mg / 4.5mg / 5mg / 4.5mg
WEEK 4
Stay on 4.5mg and notice if there is any new pain or aches. Wait till they resolve, or move to the next .5mg reduction if everything is fine.

I found this gradual tapering method here on Mayo Connect after a flare last year, and haven't looked back since then. My rheumatologist told me to keep reducing the same way as it's working.