I was diagnosed with PMR in Sept, 2014. Initially I was on Prednisone, 20 mg, then on Medrol, beginning in Feb 2015. I have been using the wonderful "Dead Slow" reduction plan since October, 2016 beginning with 5 mg Medrol in the AM, and am now at the transition from 2.5 mg to 2 mg. Having read here that a 10% reduction is recommended, I'm concerned that here in the US, the smallest Medrol tablets are 2 mg, which I cut into quarters, so I have 0.5 mgs dosages. To reduce by 10% from 2.5 mg. I would need 2.25 mg. which I can't really cut. Anyone have any suggestions or alternatives to get a smaller increment?
I think that using slow tapering method is just as helpful...You could extend the transition to even longer periods if you feel that is necessary. Instead of 5/1 sequence, you could use 6/1 or even longer, but 1/2 drops should be small enough for the body to adjust to new dose.
Just keep using the Dead Slow pattern - I developed it to take into account some people can't reduce by less than 1mg because their tablets can't be cut. If it is still a bit fast for you, repeat each step once or twice before moving on to the next step. And as nick suggests - start with 1 day new, 7 days old if you weren't already doing so.
I think being able to get .5 mg from your tablets is good enough. I have tiny 1 mg regular pred tablets and wouldn't even consider cutting them smaller than 1/2. I've found a very slow taper has worked, but it did take me more than half a year to get from 3 to 2 by way of 2.5. Since then, strangely, the taper has become easier and I'm now waiting it out at 1.5 for a few weeks to make sure that's okay before heading down another.5.