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← Return to Tapering off of Prednisone
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@johnbishop John, I was wondering at what point did your dosage change considerably during the 3.5 years? Did you start at 20mg/day and at what point did you start your taper? the reason i ask is i know everyone is different but I am at the 7 month mark having averaged about 20mg/day and was asked to try and decrease to 10mg/day by September. When I hit 15mg/day for 4 days the PMR came back with a vengeance and I am now 4 days trying to climb out of this pain by going back up on the prednisone, overshooting my original mark to get things under control. I have recently started methotrexate at 15 mg/week in an attempt to "spare" the prednisone. My question is for everyone who has these relapses, do you find that you need to go above previous dosages to get it back under control? Thanks
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@phoenix0509, I did start both occurrences of PMR with 20 mg prednisone. My rheumatologist suggested I keep a daily pain log and record the dosage as I was tapering down. He wanted me to taper off slowly and suggested I try going down by 2.5 mg every three days but that I could adjust up or down to find something that works for me. I was at around 10 mg prednisone at the 7 month mark my first time around with PMR. During that time I did go up and down a few times when the pain was too much. For me, i tried to only go back to the previous dose that was working and not higher. I never had to use methotrexate. One thing that is helpful when you are tapering is to have your doctor give you scripts for 1 mg, 2.5 mg and 5 mg prednisone tablets. That way you can easily go down or up in smaller increments.
Have you had a chance to discuss the pain flare with your rheumatologist to see if they have any suggestions?