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PMR Dosages and Managing Symptoms
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jun 1 1:21pm | Replies (445)Comment receiving replies
Hi @kimberlynitz66, Welcome to Connect. Tapering off of prednisone for PMR can be very difficult and needs to be slowly. Usually if my pain symptoms returned when I had tapered down, I tried upping the dosage by half of the previous taper so it was still less than the previous dose. Each of us are different but I think you are still early in your PMR being diagnosed in March. The first my PMR came out it took me 3 and half years to taper off. The second time 1 and half years. You will notice that we moved your post to an existing discussion on the same topic here:
-- PMR Dosages and Managing Symptoms: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pmr-dosages/
You might want to jump to the top of the discussion by clicking the link above and read through the posts of what others have shared to see if anything rings a bell for you. Do you keep a daily pain log and dosage to help you keep track of your tapering?
Replies to "Hi @kimberlynitz66, Welcome to Connect. Tapering off of prednisone for PMR can be very difficult and..."
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Hi Everyone,
I am new to the group and was diagnosed with PMR by my rheumatologist in May. I also have degenerative disc disease and really thought my new hip pain was a consequence of the progression of issues with my lumbar spine. My CRP and Sed Rate were both crazy high and that convinced both myself and my ortho that something else was happening. I have had minimal shoulder pain but have had significant neck and upper back pain & spasms. My question is that my initial dose of prednisone brought immediate relief at 15 mg but within about 5 days the pain returned. My dose was increased to 20 mg but I have not had the kind of complete relief that I felt originally. Should I expect to be pain free or just better than I was? I am experiencing some side effects from 20 mg so I am reluctant to increase the dose but I would also like to do what I can to facilitate remission. Your comments have been so helpful and I am thankful to have found this resource. Blessings!