Rheumatoid Drs

Find a good rheumatologist. Look in your insurer network then look for patient reviews. But yes you need a specialist in these type of auto immune diseases.

I agree with finding a good rheumatologist. The rate at which you taper off prednisone can be very important...and different methods and rates seem to work for different people. You have to find what works best for you. I have had to taper much more slowly (.5 mg per every two weeks) to get down to .5 mg. After several unsuccessful tapers my rheumatologist finally convinced me to try adding methotrexate (and folic acid) and I believe it has helped. There may be other medications that might also be helpful.

Thank you for your advice. I did message my family Dr for a referral. Unfortunately it takes about 3 months around here to get into someone and that is if I’m willing to drive an hour away. I’ll continue to try a slower pace to taper at in the mean time.

You’re at 7.5 now?

Yes. But having a hard time so I think I’m going to go back up to 8.5 for a few days to see if it helps. I lift weights and do yoga 3/4 days a week. Trying to stay active. I need get off of prednisone because I have severe osteoporosis.

No,no,no. See a rheumatologist!

I took have osteoporosis and I was on Risedronate 150 mg once a month for that. I would switch to low level exercises for now as your present routine could be creating a flair. How about doing just 5 reps of lower extremity exercise and 5 reps of upper body exercises several times a day. If you lean on the top of the fridge facing sideways and stand on the right leg then you can swing your left leg forward and backwards 5 times. Switch to standing on the left leg and swinging the other leg. Alternate with both legs going backwards, side to side and finish with clockwise and counterclockwise circles for both legs.
For upper body you can sit on a chair and swing each arm, rotate your head in both directions and move your shoulders up and down just 5 times.
I switched to a very low carb diet with no sweets, alcohol,bread, pasta potatoes or rice. I eat a purple sweet potato every day even though it has sugar because it is filling and mushrooms which are great for staying full.
I am now at 4 mg after starting August 2023. Most would consider that too fast and I will slow with the tapering from now on.

@carnie16 - great advice. I agree that particularly in flares you need to get the sugar out of your diet.

I do worry about increasing from 7.5 to 8.5 in response to pain. To me that just makes the hopes of weaning more difficult. Again, I have RA not PMR. but I do use Prednisone on flares. I would always talk my my Rheumy. But if I didn’t have one, I would use the same logic going up as going down - small increments and using other mitigants - like reduced sugar.

Yes I do not eat or drink anything sugary. I’m into more of a Keto diet. No processed foods. My one weakness is wine. I went up just a half mg to 8. Feel a big difference today. Was able to lift weights n do yoga!

I have osteopenia ( less severe than osteoporosis) and my rheumatologist put me on Fosamax to prevent bone loss as soon as I started the prednisone. While on Fosamax my bone density increased 10%. You might talk to your doctor about whether this medication would be appropriate for you. Also, Kevzara is a newer medication for people who have PMR but cannot tolerate prednisone or cannot taper off it. As far as flares, my rheumatologist told me that I could increase my dose up to 25%, then taper back to where I was. My experience is that waiting to increase prednisone during a flare just makes it harder to get the pain under control. I reduced my previous activities ( uphill hiking, biking, yard work etc. ) . What I do now seems pretty whimpy but I stay active.