How are you tapering prednisone?

Has anyone experience gastric distress? For example, Stomach burning, soreness and pain during a taper?

@predniso141
Would you send me that link again? If it's no trouble. I'll take another look at it. Thanks for your advice!

@kereno it is PMRGCAuk
Polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis i information from people who have one or both conditions

@predniso141

Just so people know ... there is no high-level clinical evidence (such as large-scale randomized controlled trials) in the medical literature to definitively prove that the "Dead Slow Nearly Stop" (DSNS) method works better than other tapering methods. Patients on the UK web site have problems tapering off Prednisone too.

Remember that if you’ve been on prednisone a very long time, even when you’ve been off it for a while you still may require “stress dose steroids “ during high stress events ( illness, accidents, etc). So be cognizant of this and if you’re ill or break a leg, etc, watch for signs of adrenal insufficiency and contact your doctor if they appear.

@laura1970

After a long time on Prednisone it was difficult for me to know if I still needed prednisone for PMR or because I had adrenal insufficiency since both conditions cause muscle and joint pain. Corticosteroids are the treatment for both conditions.

To a certain extent, after prednisone suppressed my adrenal function, it caused me to be "dependent" on prednisone to regulate my inflammation levels. My adrenals weren't producing enough cortisol to regulate inflammation for me.

According to my rheumatologist, both PMR and adrenal insufficiency have similar symptoms like muscle pain and fatigue making a precise diagnosis challenging after prolonged prednisone use. It was easier to differentiate my symptoms when Actemra controlled PMR without suppressing my adrenal function. After my adrenals recovered it was much easier to taper off Prednisone. It was still a slow taper but not for years.

@dadcue That's an important point you made about being able to differentiate your symptoms with Actemra because it doesn't
suppress adrenal function.

@rickman
Yes, I have had to take pantoprazole to control the excess acid and stomach discomfort and growling particularly overnight. Now I have stomach upset I think because of my tapering from 7.5 mg to 5 mg of prednisone. Also now feeling sluggish so assuming it is due to adrenal insufficiency or withdrawal. Hope it goes away soon!

Diagnosed May 2025. Started on 10mg then to 15 pred. Now after slowly tapering I’m on 4mg. Noticing pain is increasing in my body especially in the morning. Gets better as I move around. I’m thinking this is the new normal. I really don’t want to get back on a higher dose of pred and really don’t want any other steroid or the like! I will take any suggestions you all have. Greatly appreciated. Thx

@mezack25 I was diagnosed May 2025 also. I am. 71 year old female. Do you think your taper was slow enough?
I reduce by .5 mg every 4 ( or 6 weeks. When you get down to the lower doses, the percent change from the previous dose is much greater so I think it's better to go slowly.