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How to address PMR pain while decreasing prednisone
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Nov 6, 2023 | Replies (747)Comment receiving replies
I have a question and a concern. I have PMR and have reduced (1 mg a month) now at 1.5. I certainly don't feel pain and discomfort like I did when I started on prednisone, but the last 2 weeks or so I have experienced slight discomfort in my neck, hips and thighs. It is certainly manageble and doesn't keep me from going about my daily exercise or sleeping. However, I read about others going up and down on prednisone to manage the pain and reduce the inflammation. Should I expect the discomfort to go away completely before quitting prednisone or do you taper to a level that is tolerable? My worry is that inflammation is still "brewing" and I may get GCA.
Replies to "I have a question and a concern. I have PMR and have reduced (1 mg a..."
@irishdancer, I think you ask a very good question that each of us has struggled with when tapering off of prednisone. I put my tolerable pain level between 1 and 2 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being I can't take any more. But I'm sure the pain scale is different for each of us. When my primary care doc was following up with me, he was always asking about pain around my forehead and temples, jaw pain, scalp tenderness and then mentioned he wanted to make sure I didn't also have GCA. My discomfort never really went totally away when I tapered off the first time but if I remember correctly it was around a 1 or a tad more. I went back and forth between 1/2 mg and 1 mg prednisone the last six months of my first occurrence with PMR before I could finally taper off with tolerable pain/discomfort.
Do you keep a daily pain and dosage log? I think it would be a great question for your rheumatologist or doctor also.
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I have been wondering about that very issue. It seems like we need some research into this question. I know that getting off prednisone quicker and tolerating some discomfort seemed to lead me right into a relapse, where staying between 1/2-1 mg of prednisone for almost a year led to being free of PMR for 12 years. I see mention of waiting for your body to again produce cortisone. I wonder if this process is slower when you’re older. You’re right! GCA is the fear!