I have been on 6mg pred for a month , this is my second attempt , I haven't managed to get any lower ,just before I was about to drop the last time I had a flare looking back it had been building up slowly , this time the problem I am having is waking up early with pain in my back and the tops of my arms this does get better once I am up but it takes me a while to feel better I feel I have little energy. I don't want to attempt another drop just yet as I am going on holiday in the next week then when I return I am due to have a virtual colonoscopy so don't want to add any more to the mix. Do you think the back and arm pain is pmr related ?
I was diagnosed with PMR in December. I have made several attempts to decrease the pred and have had flare ups. Sounds like this could be pred related . I went from 15 mgs to 10 to 5 over several months but when on the 5 had bad elbow, hands and feet pain again. I'm back on 7.5 mgs since May and feel better. I will reduce to 5 mgs in August when I return from vacation. Hoping all goes well. Good luck to you.
I'm down to 3 mg. Like you I still have some of the pains in morning and evening. But yes, moving and stretching help them subside. My lower back pain comes and goes depending on what I've done. We had dinner with people and I had to sit up right, no back support for 2 hours, my back was quite painful. Pulling in my belly button to support my back helps very, very much. The Prednisone really atrophied my muscles so I'm having to work daily on gaining them back, I know it's helping because many of my pains are gone or are much less.
Making sure you get up every 30 minutes to walk around I think is very important. I fear travel for this reason, but I am finally able to travel in car for more than 30-45 minutes without so much issue, so I see travel in my future! Yea!
Also, what is very, very important is to not feel stress, or fear in your body, I'm finding that really adds to our chemical releases wanting to "protect" us very being in happy state
Have a wonderful holiday, hug and love your body, and I hope for good results from your colonoscopy,
It's no wonder that you've experienced flares dropping as fast as you have. I would suggest that you don't drop to 5mg next but try 7mg first. I would put money on you having a flare if you do drop quickly to 5mg. That is a 33% drop when no more than 10% is advised.
It is typical - they tend to be worst in the early morning until the pred kicks in. The body sheds new inflammatory substances about 4.30am every morning and they cause the pain and stiffness. I also wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to reduce again at this stage - your body has to start producing a top-up of corticosteroid once your dose is below about 7 or 8mg and slow is definitely better in encouraging that to happen.
I was in agony each morning for about three hours. I thought that I had developed carpal tunnel. Anyway, ten days ago I decided out of desperation to try splititng my dose. It just made sense to me that if you put all of it in once a day that it probably wears off. So, I now take half with my breakfast and half with my dinner. I have had absolutely no pain for ten to eleven days, lost count now. I actually assume now that when I wake up I will fee good. Maybe at a super low dose it would be different, but as I taper I am planning to continue with this plan. I had read on here somewhere of people who were doing this. Haven't read anything lately, but am hoping that if this helps ever one person that it is worth it. I love this group. I have learned so very much. Have a good day. Donna
Many people split their dose - and a study showed the optimum time to take ordinary white uncoated pred tablets is 2am - that leads to the maximum blood level being achieved at about 4am, just before the cytokines that cause the inflammation are shed in the body. This has led to the development of a form of pred which you take at 10pm and the coating breaks down after 4 hours delivering the entire dose then. It works very well - I've been on it for 4 years. Unfortunately it isn't available in the UK and is extremely expensive in the USA - it is used to some extent in some countries.
That is very interesting. Lots of meds here in the U.S. are very expensive. The pharmaceutical companies have us right where they want us/ I hafe read other places of people insisting upon taking their pred at 4:00 a.m. or some such thing. I have so much trouble getting back to sleep dealling with restless legs and such. I have had RLS for over 40 years and I deal very well with it, but if I had to get up for prednisone and the food required, I would be doomed. So, what I am doing is working for me now, so am going to stick to it and see where it takes me. I am so happy to be pain free. I realize I may be in for a big fall, but I try really hard to live in the present. I read a wonderful book a few years ago when my husband was dying. It is called. " The Power of Now" and really saved me emotionally. Thanks for your. I appreciate hearing all that I can about taking this crazy drug. Wishing you some pain free days. Donna