Hi Charlotte. I had problems weaning down in my first two months. Started at 20mg. After two weeks on 20, I complained about the anxiety, insomnia, and erratic behavior the prednisone induced. Was dropped down to 15mg. My pain came raging back after a few days. Was put back on 20mg for month and a half. Then it was easier to transition to 15mg for next month, 10mg for following month then titrated down by 1mg/month. It seemed to flow reasonably well with minimal muscle pain. Last month I was down to 5mg when I experienced a flare up. Going up to 8mg didn't quite do the trick. Doc put me up to 15mg for 10 days . Now down to 10mg. Hope to stay there thru winter into spring. Cold weather snaps seem to take a bigger bite out of me. It would be nice to have some sort of device attached to my skin that would tell me that my prednisone level was low for early intervention.

I too have stomach issues. Diverticulitis I have to stay proactive with. What helps is my daily probiotic and Prilosec. As long as I buffer my meds with good fiber I stay in the safe zone. Even added a 1/2 teaspoon of Metamucil to my plant based morning smoothie which really helped my digestion. Vitamin D gives me headaches so I rely on the sun for that.

It's so interesting hearing so many diverse weaning methods. Next time I see my Doc, I'm going to ask for what my autonomy guidelines could be for weaning parameters without checking in.

Moderate exercise has been helpful for me. I started out thinking I just needed to heal and not stress my muscles. Found out I had more pain being less active (early in my learning curve).

Hoping and praying you have more successful progress with less pain.