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What was your experience on Kevzara?
I am curious about other’s experience with KEVZARA. I am currently taking 11 mg of Prednisone, down from 60 mg in April 2024. I am continuing to experience pain and stiffness daily, especially in the late evening and the morning. I am also fatigued most days. I am on an anti-inflammatory diet, walk daily and do a little restorative yoga. My Rheumatologist suggests going back up to 12.5 mg but I do not think that will be helpful as it will only lengthen the time I am on a drug that appears to not be helpful. She has suggested KEVZARA and we are now waiting on approval from my insurance company. My questions are: should I wait a bit and stay at 11 mg to see if anything changes (I have been on this dose for 4 weeks) before I start KEVZARA? Is it too soon in my treatment to start a biologic? It seems as tho my autoimmune system is not responding to the Prednisone or maybe I need more patience? My doctor was vague on these questions. Thank you in advance, I really appreciate this forum!
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@tonimcbride Kevzara and my numbers went down too. My dr. had me space the shots 3 weeks apart and retested…..that worked for my numbers. Note: I had already tapered off prednisone for abt 6 months.
@kjoed53 I hadn't heard of LDN until now. At 10 mg P, I am able to sleep 6 hours, a minimum for me, and tolerate the pain in favor of sleep. So many people have something in addition to PMR. I hope that isn' t the norm for me!
@eparnold0219
LDN is an off label use that not even every doctor is familiar with. It has been studied as options for several different maladies. Insurance doesn't cover it, but I paid $110 for a 90 day supply at a local compounding pharmacy. I could get it cheaper but I didn't have time for mail order or a long drive when I ordered it.
@mikeydee What are the issues with cuts and scrapes? Are they not healing?
I have been on Kevzara a year this June. I was at 12.5mg prednisone when I started the Kevzara in June of '25. I had to do a very slow taper with the Prednisone, even while taking the Kevzara. The pain I experienced while tapering, seemed to be from cortisol insufficiency. The pain lasted about 7 days, so I just took some Tylenol during those 7 days and powered through. I did not ever go back up on the Prednisone after I started Kevzara. I just had to allow my adrenal glands to wake up slowly and they did. It did take the Kevzara around 6 injections (12 weeks) ,to make a difference. By Feb. of 2026 I was off Prednisone I've felt great on the Kevzara and have had no side effects. My WBC count has stayed normal, also.
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2 Reactions@eparnold0219 they can easily get infected and take time to heal... the antibiotic ointment seems to stop all that
I was on 20 msg prednisone for 2.5 years,got down to 10mg started kevzara shot every 2 weeks 6 months ago now on 5 mg but now I have a flare but that is
ok, But I must say kevzara is very helpful in tapering. It has and is helping me.
@david682e Good News…I have to ask myself, is the flare PMR, or something else. More often than not at that stage it’s something else.
@tweetypie13 I have taken the Kevzara shot every two weeks since January, while tapering down on prednisone.
So far, the shot has helped me taper with no side effects.
My rheumatologist lowered my Prednisone from 7 1/2 mg to 5 mg. last week. In one month I go down to 2 1/2 mg. of prednisone. I am beginning to sleep much better. I have gained 25 pounds since last October. I am praying I start losing some of the extra weight.
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