Symptoms after you stop prednisone

I also found that neither ibuprofen nor naproxen had any effect on the pain due to PMR, but they do alleviate the aches and pains associated with being an old person who sometimes exercises too much. I am currently down to half a milligram of prednisone after a 17 month taper, first episode of PMR; no GCA.

I have multiple conditions that cause pain. Some of my conditions are autoimmune and some aren't. They all involve pain from inflammation so prednisone relieved any type of inflammatory pain. It was way to easy to lump all the aches and pains together and take Prednisone. When the pain was relieved it was easy to think the pain was PMR but not all of my pain was PMR.

Prednisone relieves pain caused by a wide variety of medical conditions. Sometimes doctors prescribe Prednisone to placate their patients versus doing all the tests and listening to patients describe their pain. When Prednisone relieves their pain, doctors will take the credit without doing all the work to investigate and making sure their diagnosis is correct.

I just had a rheumatology visit because I'm on Actemra which is targeting PMR specifically. I don't take Prednisone anymore. Actemra works for PMR but not for some of my other conditions.

I have severe spinal stenosis that is still causing me pain. I know for a fact that more Prednisone relieved my back pain too. My rheumatologist said there were better options available to me instead of Prednisone to help with my back pain.

I was telling my rheumatologist how Actemra wasn't working as well as it used to. My doctor was honest about it and said it was difficult to know if my symptoms were PMR symptoms returning or being caused by something else. I have been told that I have a "full range" of rheumatology problems.

My pain isn't like a sudden flare that frequently occurred when I tried to taper off Prednisone. My current pain is tolerable and PMR pain wasn't so I don't think my current pain is PMR. My rheumatologist says if the pain gets any worse we can try Actemra infusions every 3 weeks instead of every 4 weeks to see if it helps. In the past, I would have taken more Prednisone.

Even those slow tapers we do are more for preventing withdrawal symptoms and aches and pain caused by adrenal insufficiency than PMR. Completely different conditions but symptoms of both are relieved with more Prednisone. Both conditions are said to mimic each other. There are many conditions that mimic PMR.

Hi! I was on prednisone for one year and two months and have been off prednisone for one week. I am also on Kevzara. A couple of days ago my feet started burning and my fingers are swelling. Could this be the adrenaline sufficiency? I expected being tired, but sure didn’t expect my feet to burn so bad. Has anyone else had this experience? Does the adrenals have any influence on the nerves thanks! I have a doctors appointment next week.

It is very complicated and I don't understand it all. However, cortisol has an effect on neurotransmitters throughout the body.

Sometimes I think it would be easier to list what body systems are NOT influenced by cortisol. I think the list would be short.

"Cortisol is an essential steroid hormone that affects nearly every organ and tissue in the body, primarily by regulating the body's response to stress."

I started on Prednisone June 2024 15 mg now down to 3 mg which I decreased from 4mg ( after two months ) on Oct 1,2025 Woke up yesterday and worse today with pain in left hand palm , fingers stiff... took paracetamol this morning . seems to be easing a bit. anyone else experienced this ? I will e-mail my doctor shortly. i really do not want to up dose again.

@eby

I used to taper my Prednisone dose based on how stiff and sore that my hands were every morning when I woke up. I suspect many people have these symptoms. Whether or not stiff fingers is the best reason to adjust your Prednisone dose is debatable. However, I needed my hands to work in order to do my duties as a nurse, I couldn't do anything without my hands.

Until a tendon that connected my thumb spontaneously ruptured when I pushed a button on an IV pump it didn't occur to me that Prednisone might be the problem. The work related "injury" from pushing the button on the IV pump was disputed by my employer. They said the tendon rupture was caused by all the Prednisone I was taking at the time of injury. They said it was only a coincidence that the tendon ruptured at work.

Let me know what you find out I have had pain in my hands and my fingers go numb for about a month now I can’t get into a rheumatologist till December

@naveiraps
Try Tylenol for Arthritis……it’s my OTC

I tried it and no relief for me my doctor put me on a pain killer for now but it doesn’t take away the numbness feeling

I stopped Prednisone a year ago. I still have symptoms, although not as severe as before. I have 5 trigger fingers in total, as well as pain in my feet. My tendons are definitely affected.