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Day 4 of prednisone and happy! Stay at 15 or go up to 20?
Greetings! First post (yay!). Finally got a treatment plan exactly a year after first hearing of PMR (and lurking here). Delay caused by other health issues (see below). This week started on 15 mg prednisone with instructions to increase to 20 mg after 3/4 days if I didn't get relief.
I started feeling relief in about 3 hours, and after two days my cement shoulders were largely gone, my hips have loosened, and my fatigue has lessened. But it's confusing; like may of us, I have a slew of other muscle issues. Specifically:
Over the winter I had a flare up of a crushed nerve root issue; treatment was successful but it leaves my hip and leg muscles a mess, with slow (months-long) rehab. Also had a prolapsed biceps tendon last year that messed up my left shoulder (two problems that keep me from raising my arm, yay!). The amount of home PT I do is insane. And my sense is that the PMR made rehabbing these injuries extremely difficult, with limited results (though I am currently reaping the benefits).
So now, starting day four, I'm feeling all of the old injuries in a more pronounced way--as if, with most of the PMR pain removed, they've reared their heads to demand attention. I'm happy to provide that, of course, but it is just a bit hard to tell what the heck is what in my left shoulder, left hip, and left leg.
So it's hard to judge exactly how successful the 15 mg dose has been. I'm thinking at least around 60% better? Maybe 70%? It's great, whatever it is, but I can't quite decide if I should stick with 15 mg or go up to 20. I'm thinking, this is my chance, don't blow it. Any thoughts?
A bit more about my PMR. Pretty classic morning stiffness, shoulders lately unusable, fatigue. ESR topped out at 104; CRP at 32 mg/L in January; about half that now, for whatever reason--maybe doing Mediterranean diet and upping the antioxidents. I'm gonna be 73 next month. 🙂
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Any change in dosage should be reviewed by your Doc. Just tell the Doc what's going on. I've had a little bit of uncertainty in this regard, too, by the way. I started out at 20 MG in the morning, but found that the next morning I would have hand stiffness. So now I take 15 MG in the morning and 5 MG with dinner, and it seems to have helped quite a bit.
When I miss a dose, my symptoms come back with what feels like a sense of rage! Strange afflication. I'm a 69 year old male.
Best of luck with your plan.
@p0rtia
If 15 is working don’t go higher because it will be that much harder and longer to taper.
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4 ReactionsOne week in. It's been eye-opening, not only for my long-suspected PMR but for my various other mobility/pain issues. Makes me wonder, not for the first time, how long I've had PMR--two or three years, I think.
Most notably, 80 percent of the leg stiffness/dysfunction I had attributed to my recent bout with spinal stenosis seems to be gone. I am no longer tottering and my balance is rapidly improving. Got out of the car one leg at a time without thinking about it, instead of my usual swivel.
Seeing a massage therapy tomorrow to work on my messed-up left shoulder, which seems eager to finish healing now one of the sources of stiffness has gone. Amazing how easy my PT has become.
Weight loss is going well -- Mediterranean diet using the Weight Watcher's structure and group support.
For me since April 2025 its been an up and down journey. Started at 15mg, got down to 9mg, now having to take another 5mg to stop the pain. (mostly shoulders) ...
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2 Reactions@rickman Until I started reading here a few months ago, I had no idea how this condition presented, was suppressed, and reappeared. Now it's rather heavy on my mind--along with the pleasure of pain-free shoulders I now experience.
May I ask the details of your taper, and whether you went back up slowly or fast when the pain returned?
@p0rtia - Roughly as follows
April 2025 to Feb 2026 - 15mg (.5 morning, afternoon, evening)
March 2026 started .1mg taper per weeks
For example: 14mg for two weeks, then 13mg for two weeks and so on.
I stopped at 9mg (because at 8mg there was too much pain) where 9mg was tolerable taking 5mg in the morning and 4mg in the afternoon.
This June, I had a flare-up where I had to take an extra 5mg to get out of pain. Moreover this is a very recent issue for me- so I will have to wait and see what the next day brings.
I do not journal, but starting to think I should with respect to weather, activities and food so I may share this with a rheumatologist I am scheduled to see this Oct.
- Hope this helps. - Rick
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2 Reactions@rickman has Prednisone caused weight gain for you? I am afraid to go on Prednisone because I have heard weight gain is one of the side effects and after losing weight I don’t want to gain it all back again, and then some!
@rashida I had PMR 5 years ago and was on tapering doses of Prednisone for a year. I never gained weight or had an increased appetite. The Prednisone gave me so much energy and eliminated my pain. Because of all the energy and because I was pain-free I was busy every day cleaning closets, painting the garage, exercising, etc. Doing all these things must have kept the weight off. My PMR has been gone, or at least in remission, since 2021. For me prednisone was a wonder drug.
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5 Reactions@rashida If weight gain is what is keeping you off prednisone, then I am thinking you should try prednisone for 30-60 days. You will have to taper off prednisone even after one month, but that taper should be short. If you can manage the weight concerns while on prednisone, then you can stay on it.
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1 Reaction@slh317 happy for you. Can you think of anything you did that helped the PMR go away?