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How does your pain come back when decreasing dosage?
I was diagnosed with PMR in July after 5 mos of pain. 15mg of prednisone did the trick in 3 days. I’ve been decreasing but when I went from 5mg to 2 1/2mg the pain came back. I went back up to 5mg for a month and have started decreasing to 4mg this month.
If pain returns, is it always the same? Can it just come back on one side? How long do you wait until you up the dosage if pain returns?
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Dr Megan ... the Prednisone Pharmacist made an informative video about the problem with pain returning when we try to taper off prednisone.
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From my own personal experience with tapering off prednisone.. I can safely say that almost anything can happen. The pain was rarely the same as my original PMR symptoms. The pain was more severe I had severe pain everywhere when I tried to taper off prednisone
My original PMR symptoms were severe bilateral shoulder pain with only being "stiff and sore all over"
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8 ReactionsMead tapered and no more than a 10% rate per drop.
Also try OTC Tylenol for Arthritis if needed
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4 Reactions@dadcue Thank you. She is great. Now a fan of her videos.
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3 ReactionsMany of her videos talk are about Prednisone in general. More recently she has taken an interest in PMR/GCA and makes videos specifically about our autoimmune disorder. She was on Prednisone herself for nearly a year for another autoimmune disorder. Prednisone literally saved her life but she experienced many side effects. She understands the pros and cons of Prednisone extremely well.
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5 ReactionsWhen I try to taper from 15 to 10, I’m ok for about two days. Then the pain starts back
Mostly on one shoulder. I don’t wait for more widespread pain, I immediately go back to 15 mg. Originally my pain was so bad I went to bed with a sore shoulder and woke up a cripple at 3:00 AM. Fortunately I was diagnosed quickly as I asked my doc, what kind of injury would center in shoulders and hips? He tested my ear and it was over 100….as high as the chart went. Took prednisone 20mg and no more pain at all. I’m only in my 4th week, but I want off!
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1 Reaction@bonandrods 🤣🤣He didn’t test my ear…..he tested my ESH!
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1 Reaction@bonandrods Sed rate & CRP tests....2 tests for inflammation in body....
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2 Reactions@bonandrods
Ok taper is a trial and error.
How long are you at a number and how much you taper by.
My experience and others I have read on this blog kind of go like this…. REMINDER WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT
Never drop more than 15% at a time, and 10% at lower doses.
Stay at 30 days between tapers.
When there is “pain” you have to figure out if it’s PMR pain or something else and live with it for a few days to be sure.
Last tip is try alternate days for a week before the actual drop. I.e., 20 day 1, 15 day 2, 20 day 3, 15 day4, etc. After a week if no problem, go to all 15.
Patience is a virtue 🤔
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4 Reactions@bilgepump I know …the ESR is the sed rate test I had.
@tweetypie13 thanks!