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@milld835

Having great difficulty with this taper. Went down 5 mg. on Feb. 23 which was not bad at all. Went down 2.5 mg on March 21. Having a really hard time. Mood swings are awful. I don't even like myself. So nasty sometimes. Other times ok. Energy is gone down the tubes. A lot of diarrhea and I've been trying to determine what I'm eating that's causing it, but I think it's the decrease in Prednisone. Neck aching in the mornings again. Headaches in the afternoons and of course the sausage finger is acting up. Thinking of going back up to 15 mg. to see if it's the weaning and then will try again in a couple of weeks with a smaller taper. Is this normal and is 2.5 mg too much of a taper. Seems as though it is, but maybe I have to try it for longer than a week. I can handle the extra pain, but just hoping it does not worsen or leave me vulnerable for other things. Brain fog too, like forgetting what I just did. It's very irritating and I find myself angry. Allergies seems to be ramping up earlier than normal. Ears popping, eyes itching and a little red. Runny nose. This is not a complaint, but rather a quest for knowledge as I can rarely get hold of my neurologist. Thanks for any info. ~ Deb

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Replies to "Having great difficulty with this taper. Went down 5 mg. on Feb. 23 which was not..."

Oh Deb what a journey this is. It is so difficult to find a balance as our body does not always follow conventional protocols for weaning. I’m sorry I don’t remember her name but a very informed member of this group said “ your body determines you’re weaning process“
(She used better words than I just did!) even at 5 mg when I dropped very conservatively and managed to get down to 3 mg over four months, my body Gave me a reality check and Wham ! I thought my whole life was falling apart. I will be honest and admit that my ego gets in the way and overrides the messages my body gives me sometimes. I recognize that prednisone is not kind to our bodies but there is a point where quality of life comes out on top. Please let us know how you are doing 💞

Oh my gosh what a difficult time. I don't know where to begin. First off, you shouldn't drop by more than 10% when you're below 10mgs. And below 5 you must be very careful and give your adrenals a chance to wake up. You should be safe to increase by 5 mgs. for a week to ten days and then drop to where you were last comfortable and wait there until you stabilize. Slow and easy does it.