Alternative to Prednisone for Treating PMR?

I am sorry, the medication I am taking is leflunomide, gave the wrong medication.

Thank you for sharing the stories about your aunts, @mild835. It goes to show we should never give up or view advancing age as a defeat rather than a gift. I hope the tea works - there are a number of the "relaxing" teas on the market.

I think for those of us w kidney disease LDN is dangerous.

Yes I am looking for an alternative to prednisone. I have not heard of ONE before. How dare is that?

I am SO tired of the side effects of prednisone. The main culprits are blurring vision, lack of sleep, emotional lability, and weight gain/puffiness. Yuck! It beats the pain and immobility of PMR and I'll settle for it if I have to, but I wish there were an alternative that would work instead. I have passed an article on LDN to my general practitioner (who first diagnosed PMR) and she is going to check it out -- hopefully, she will find it acceptable as a safe and potentially effective replacement. I am concerned about how long it will take to taper prednisone before beginning the LDN, but it will be whatever it will be.

I never realized how a chronic illness can change a person until this PMR business struck. It is demoralizing to lose function and mobility -- never mind the pain. But even now that prednisone has given me back function and mobility and eliminated the pain, I still feel like a stranger to myself in many ways. The 'cure' isn't worse than the disease, but it is a VERY mixed bag. I know I'm not "entitled" to perfect health, but I so miss the healthy days of feeling up-to-whatever-came-along. I try to concentrate on being grateful for all I have had and still do have, but this is a harder path than I would have chosen, if I'd been able to choose.

Does anyone have experience with LDN that they could share in detail? Just looking to feel hopeful again.

I just started trying Methyprednisolone (day 2) to see if works better than Prednisone for me. Still a steroid though. My Rheumatologist is going to talk to me about adding Methotrexate - I don't know alot about that yet.

I think the half life of prednisone is 24 to 36 hours. Not sure it would make any difference. But you have nothing to loose

I tapered from 10 mg to 7 1/2mg to 6mg and then to 5 mg, but this last 5 is killing me. I see the Rheumatologist next week and I want to increase it, but I'm going to try and work through the pain until then. I was good with the 7 1/2 and and stayed on 7 1/2 before I went to 6 1/2 and stayed on 6 1/2 for 3 weeks. A trip to my PCP in early January for my yearly told me to go to 5 mg. because my SED was 28 and CRP was 3.4. My Primary is working with my Rheumatologist and I feel well taken care of with very caring doctors. Some days I can't even take the dogs for a short walk the PMR is so painful and just standing to make dinner is difficult.

If you're trying to work through PMR pain, the inflammation will just continue to build up and you may have a flare. When you have a flare, general advice is to increase by 5 mg. until pain is controlled and then go back to the last place you felt good. If you were good at 6.5 that would be the place. Your body dictates tapering, not your blood work or a set schedule. We all want to reduce as much as we can, but if you go too low or too fast, you'll have a setback. You shouldn't be in pain.

Has anyone had a PMR flareup and still had low Sed rate