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What was your experience on Kevzara?
I am curious about other’s experience with KEVZARA. I am currently taking 11 mg of Prednisone, down from 60 mg in April 2024. I am continuing to experience pain and stiffness daily, especially in the late evening and the morning. I am also fatigued most days. I am on an anti-inflammatory diet, walk daily and do a little restorative yoga. My Rheumatologist suggests going back up to 12.5 mg but I do not think that will be helpful as it will only lengthen the time I am on a drug that appears to not be helpful. She has suggested KEVZARA and we are now waiting on approval from my insurance company. My questions are: should I wait a bit and stay at 11 mg to see if anything changes (I have been on this dose for 4 weeks) before I start KEVZARA? Is it too soon in my treatment to start a biologic? It seems as tho my autoimmune system is not responding to the Prednisone or maybe I need more patience? My doctor was vague on these questions. Thank you in advance, I really appreciate this forum!
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@sharonmc18 make sure you have had a cortisol level test..
I wasn't able to stop taking prednisone , finally had a cortisol test and found that the use of steroids inhibited cortisol production. I now take hydrocortisone every day.
Do you continue taking kevzara when you have a cold and cough, viral ?
Kevzara was a game changer for me. It takes about 2-3 months for the Kevzara to fully kick in. When I started Kevzara my Rhumatologist started decreasing my Pred dose down 2.5mg every 2 weeks until I was totally off. Best thing I did.
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@jsue yes, Kevzara no effect for me with a cold etc.
@jsue
You should report “any infection” to your doctor when you on a biologic. However, I reported a cold once and it seemed to create some confusion about why I reported a cold. I mentioned that stopping the biologic might be needed but they only asked me why?