PMR and the new Shingles vaccine

PMR generally occurs when your body has taken too much abuse, be it a shingles shot or other medication, an overload of stress. The average time is almost six years for PMR to last. Some people are on low dose prednisone for life as their adrenal glands cease to function. Prednisone should be reduced very slowly to help the adrenals wake up to produce the cortisol they did before prednisone took over. It sometimes takes a year for that to happen. Reduce pred at 1/2 mg after reaching 10 mgs.and take a month or more at each drop. If you go too fast you will have a flare, which means the PMR is still there and you must stay there until either the PMR goes into remission or the adrenals wake up. Inflammation occurs early in the morning and must be mopped up by the prednisone each day. If you do not take enough pred, you will have a flare and have to up your dose 5 mgs or more and than gradually reduce until you get to the right amount for no or little PMR pain. One rheumatologist keeps his patients on 5 mgs for a year.

agree with all that you say except nothing in the literature says per lasts for 6 years..hope the literature is correct and you are not

There was a Mayo/Matheson survey done in 2017 re PMR and Prednisone that said PMR average length is 5.9 years. I belong to another PMR forum that has many people on pred for many more years. Very few are off pred by 2 years. Males are more likely to have a shorter time with PMR.

Hi there. I agree. I've read the study and 5.9 is the average length. I also belong to the other large forum from the UK. Lots' of experienced members with great advice especially regarding tapering which should be very slowly to avoid flares. Many recommend .5 mg. reduction once you are at 10 mgs.

I think you mean 1/2 mg (.5 mgs) reduction after arriving at 10 mgs, which is what i did to arrive at 3 1/2 mgs currently. I used the following method to reduce:
1wk: Sun/Thur new dose; MTWFSat old; 2 wk: Sun/Tu/Thur new dose; MWFSat old; 3 wk: SunTuWTh new dose; Mon/Fri old; 4 wk: SunTuWTh/Sat new; MFri old; 5 wk: every day new dose
The above is known as Dorset Lady's method. I would usually stay at the reduced dose for a month or more or until I felt well enough to continue the reduction..I reduced to 3 mgs last year but the hip pain made me go back to 4 mgs for a month or two.

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Thisvirveally valuable Peggy. Thank you for sharing this.

I am doing something similar, 4days old, 1 day new until I feel good with no symptoms, then 3 days old, 1 day new until I feel good, then 2 days old, 1 day new, etc. this worked until I got to 5 mg and have to go even slower. I told my rheumatologist in was the “British method” and she is fine with it. She just prescribed a large batch of one mg tablets and I am working on getting down to 4 mg now. (3rd bout with PMR so have experimented a lot). I also need an occasional ibuprofen when decreasing. I can work around PMR, but scared of GCA.

Yes. .5 (1/2 mg) and I follow the same site (Dorset Lady and DSNS. Found at healthunlocked.com PMRGCAuk). Even with a very slow taper, I struggle to reduce below 10 mgs. I keep trying though. 9.5 today.

Sorry, I didn't see the decimal. How long have you had PMR?

@djhclovis Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, a place to give and get support.

It looks like you are already connecting with members like yourself.

May I ask how long ago you started to have symptoms of PMR after your first shingles vaccine?