Any Tips For Tapering Off Prednisone?

Please google “NSAID and prednisone”.
It can be quite dangerous.
My doc approved “infrequent” once I got down to about 2, but only with a Prilosec and food.

Hi, are you taking any other drugs to manage your PMR? I am on 1mg and be off it in a week, however my Rheumatologist got me on other drugs that work in place of prednisone. I had 1 flare up at 3 mg and went back to 5 mg. I have some gout issues also.

Prednisone is no good long term, I have been on it for 20 months and both my doctors believe 99% that this has caused my osteoporosis.

Suggest you investigate using Sulfaslazine. I also take allopurinol, methotrexate with folic acid, lengout and vitamin D3. Obviously individual symptoms need to be considered.

Good luck.

First go-round w PMR/GCA my doctor put me on 80 mg of omeprazole to protect my esophagus from possible
Increased acid from prednisone. When I was
off prednisone I finally got down to 20 mg (now Pantoprazole) but can't seem to go below that without my vocal chords getting
Impacted by the acid (I had silent reflux prior to Pred.) I tried tapering with Famotadine but that didn't work either.
Anyways - I stayed away from NSAIDs for years -
but recently have added them back into the mix so really appreciate the reminder. Thank you!!

OMG, another person with teeth pain! My rheumatologist said bluntly, "go see a dentist". Blurry vision too...am tapering down prednisone, at 4 mg now from max 60 in 2018 and multiple flares.. Pain in shoulder muscles, buttocks and neck pains all increasing but will tough it out. 3 biological had side effects.
I'm curious what doctors say about your teeth pain?
Insidious is an understatement. Wish you luck! 15 to 12.5 seems too rapid. I'm doing 1mg per month.

That seems too fast a tapering. No more then 1mg taper per month is recommended here but there seems to be no set standard.
Good luck!

Another voice here reporting tooth pain with tapering. Several different teeth affected, wandering around my mouth at different times. I was seen by the dentist and xrayed, no findings until the last one where an abscess had started due to a cracked crown. I’ve never had these kinds of dental issues in the past! Wondering whether the prednisone allowed that infection to build. Off the prednisone now…how long until my system settles back into normal again?

Hi Leeta,

How interesting! I still have 3 main teeth that hurt/throb after both hot and cold….onlu upper teeth. X-rays clear but who knows what could be happening. Wonder if it’s GCA as I had horrible jaw locking 3 months ago. Surgeon wouldn’t do biopsy since I’ve been on prednisone so long. Are you free from GCA?
Karo

I’v e been using an OTC mouth guard at night to protect from gnashing teeth. Grrrrr! Also have cracks showing up—but wonder if that’s not also age?

I had a few episodes of tooth pain. It seemed to be part of a group of symptoms I had: headache at the left temple, numb feeling on the left side of my face, jaw pain, blurry vision in the morning. I was diagnosed with PMR 4 years ago and have had a mild form of these symptoms all along but the PMR shoulder and hip pain was much worse. Now the PMR symptoms are gone and it appears that I have GCA since the headache and face symptoms got worse. I think I had both diseases from the start and now mainly one, the GCA. Having both diseases is apparently fairy common from what I have read. A friend contacted me because her eye doctor thought she might have GCA due to headache, neck pain and jaw pain. It turns out that she had a severe tooth infection and needed a root canal.

With my normal inflammatory markers and lack of other definitive symptoms, my rheumatologist is not convinced about GCA, though that remains a concern. For now, still off prednisone and hoping for the best.