Have you been able to taper prednisone with long lasting success?

Hello @leon1649, I think the average length of time for most folks with PMR to get into remission and taper off of prednisone is 2 to 5 years. For me, it was 3 and half years for my first episode of PMR and 6 years later the PMR returned and it took me 1 and half years to taper off of prednisone. I've been in remission for about 5 years now so hope it's not close to returning again.

@virginiaj @scpartain @briand3960 @munchie and others may also have some experience or thoughts to share on the topic.

Do you keep a daily log with your prednisone dosage and your pain level when you first get up in the morning?

For me, it was a 22 month slow taper. Many things that I read said 6 months to a year. But it really is a marathon not a sprint. I read that people who do have a longer taper many times remain in remission longer too. I have now been off prednisone for a year and a half and doing well. The few times that I tried to speed up my taper, I only ended up in more pain and going backwards rather than forwards. Wishing you all the very best! I am so thankful for this forum. Great job John!

I’ve been on Pred for 5 years, can’t seem to get below 4 mg without a pretty good flare. Thank goodness I tolerate it well, thank God for Pred.

Have you tried splitting the 1 mg pills with a pill splitter and tapering down by 1/2 mg to see if that helps get below 4 mg? My last six months of my first occurrence of PMR I went back and forth between 1 mg and 1/2 mg until I was finally able to stop taking prednisone with only minor morning stiffness which went away quickly once I started moving around.

I haven’t split pills but I’ve tried alternating 3, 4, 3, 4 without much success.

I have been off and on prednisone for about 30 years. At the beginning I could be off for a year or two, then the very classical pain came back: generalized pain in the shoulder and hip girdle for no reason at all. About 10 years ago a went on 2.5 mg daily and then 5 mg and now 10 mg tapering to 7mg. We are going to hydroxychloroquin to see if I can reduce P some more.

I was on HQC for quite a while during Covid, I don’t think it helped with the PMR but I figured it might help with Covid. I finally quit taking it and really couldn’t feel any difference. It was prescribed for the PMR.

I did split the 5 mg pill and took 7.5 for 1 week with some symptoms. Once I reduced to 5 the pain returned. I’ll keep trying!
Just worried about raised glucose level and calcium deficiency with prednisone.

@southtexas
You have hit upon the key....different for everyone, and quality of life is what counts. I have GCA and have been on Prednisone and Actemra for three years. I only go into single digits this year, and if I have to take a little forever...I don't care. I'm not looking for a trophy; I want to keep my sight.💞

My doctor now has me on 2.5 mg to 5mg ,am Usually on 2.5 until I get a flair up then I can go up to 5mg for2 to 4 days then drop back down to 2.5 mg until the next flair up , it has been as long as 2 weeks, hopefully it will be longer than 2 weeks . Will see how it goes. I will get small flair ups in my hands mostly the left hand but also my lower back neck and shoulders but they only last for an hour to a hour and 1/2 and they go away but then there are times when they will last for a longer period of time, that is when I go up to 5 mg for 2 to 4 days. Hopefully the days between the long flail up gets longer

sirmac