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Tapering off of Prednisone

Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Feb 28 5:49am | Replies (313)

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@rosemarya

@barbararene, Yes, every other day meant that I took my 2.5 mg dose one day, and then I skipped a day. Then took it , then skipped a day.
After doing this for about a month, with no pain, I even began to break these tiny half pills into half again, and followed the same every other day pattern with the teeny piece of pill (1.25 mg). Then I got brave and skipped two days, then quit. 🙂

I find it interesting one of my doctors said I should have no problem going off that small of a dose (5 mg). I guess that just shows that we really are all different in how our body reacts to different medications. It was my transplant team who suggested the NASA countdown taper: 5...4...3...2...1...And it was my PCP who suggested the every other day taper.
I hope you find a taper pattern that works for you.
Rosemary

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Replies to "@barbararene, Yes, every other day meant that I took my 2.5 mg dose one day, and..."

Thanks for these comments. I am new to this site, beginning my second year of PMR. I started on 20 mg daily and have managed to exercise throughout this awful year. I have been down to 2 1/2 mg every other day for two weeks and I am trying to figure out how to ditch prednisone altogether. I will try breaking these in half and continuing as you described. Wish me luck.
I do think the key to this mysterious condition is to stay mobile and to try to eat well. While I do not swim daily as I once did, I have been getting into a kayak or walking regularly.