Splitting the dose

Yes, I do. I take 15 mg total. 10mg at 8:30 am and 5mg at 6:30 pm. Works real well for me. Keeps me pain free all through the night.

All I can say is beware of the Prednisone side effects. I was on it a few years ago for PMR and I stopped after weaning off of it. Then I found I had high blood pressure now, where I had been normal all my life. I had weakened bones and ligaments. I had strong bone health before. It led to a fractured L5 and somehow my bicep ligaments in both arms eventually tore and I now have Popeye bicep muscles. All from Prednisone use. So have your bone density checked while your on it.

More recently, I went back on Prednisone because of some lesions on my legs due to a drug reaction for the new diagnosis of vasculitis. So reluctantly I had to start again. I'm thankful for the results this time,as it has been over a year since the reaction. So almost healed and last month I was bending over to tuck in sheets for the bed and experienced a loud pop in my back. I now have a fractured L1 vertebrae. It seems to never end. I immediately stopped the Prednisone. I was already weaning off of it.

Yes, I split the dose too. Started on 15mg prednisolone in May last year and had 70% morning pain reduction taking it all in the morning as instructed. After finding out that PMR inflammation peaks while we sleep in the early hours of the morning, and seeing others take a small part of their prednisone in the evening for full pain control, I changed to 12.5mg morning & 2.5mg in the evening. There was no morning pain with the split dose.

I think we all want to stay painfree, I certainly do. I'm currently on 6mg a day, taking 4mg in the morning & 2mg at 6.30pm. A month ago I tried reducing the evening dose from 2mg to 1.5mg, but some small new aches and joint tenderness reappeared and had not resolved as they usually do after a week or two. I wouldn't rate it even 1/10 on a pain scale, but it was new and persistent, and in my mind could only get worse as I reduced. So I put the evening dose back to 2mg (2 days ago) with my doctor's agreement, and reduced the morning dose by the .5mg instead. The small evening dose is key to maintaining pain control for me. I'll be reducing from morning dose only for a while.

Make sure to keep your doctor informed about any changes you make or want to make with prednisone. It's not something to mess around with, but tweaks to dosage that maintain pain control and improve our lives without increasing side effects should be of interest to them. My doctor is on board with that.

I very reluctantly started on prednisone and then found myself on it for longer than I wanted because another doctor had to run some tests to determine if I needed to triple my dose for some nerve pain. That was a two-month extension. I was at 10mg. I am now down to 3 mg and have never had break thru pain at night. I do take my prednisone after breakfast and before lunch. I have always taken it all at the same time. I wonder if my dosage timing has anything to do with not having break thru pain.

The half-life of prednisone is 3-4 hours. Meaning that half of it is out of your system in that time, then half of what remains is out of your system in another 3-4 hours. At the end of 8 hours you have approximately 25% of the dosage remaining. I use drugs.com as my subject matter expert resource.

I am experiencing fatigue daily but I discovered that prednisone can mess with your body's ability to convert T4 to T3 - these are the thyroid factors. Low T3, which is what I currently have, is hypothyroidism and one symptom is fatigue. My Endocrinologist is not treating it due the timeline to treat it is months and by then I will be off the prednisone. We will see it my body can recover on it's own. If not she will address it.

I am getting a bone scan this year to see how the prednisone robbed my bones. I am going to PT now to help rebuild some muscle strength I lost due to atrophy from my greatly reduced activity level due to PMR systemic pain.

Prednisone is not always your friend. It can be very naughty.

Just thought I would share in case it helps anyone.

Thank you. I have been on Prednisone for about a month, awaiting my appointment with a Rheumatologist.

I sort of figured out how to dose on my own (and with help from this forum and the internet). My doctor wanted me to take 30mg every other day. That left me in agony in the wee hours before my dose. I decided to take 10mg one day and 20 the next. Much better pain control. It's not quite enough though.

I understand why he dosed like that, my body would have a chance to produce its own cortisol.

Hoping the Rheumatologist figures out what I need RIGHT now. I'll worry about weaning off when the time comes.

I think I'll split the dose like you do. I need it to last longer.

Hoping this will pass for you soon.

Any insomnia?

Maybe a few times if I take after 5pm

Glad you found the right dosage for you.

Do you have any trouble with insomnia taking Prednisone in the evening?

If I take later than 5 sometimes