Hi I was just wondering as to continue with the tapering I started off with 15mg of prednisolone tried to taper to 121/2 ended up stiff and aches then for the past week I've been trying to come down to 10 mg Marco feel like I gone back to square one I can hardly move for the pain in lower back my hips are heuristics as are my shoulders and neck should I keep on trying with the 10 mg or should I go up to 15 as that's the last time I was comfortable thank you in advance
Hi Paula I had to go back up to 15mg one other time for about a month then was able to reduce to the ten successfully now after a month of change to my diet of no dairy no sugar the two man contributors that feed inflammation I have been down to 5mg for a week now and feeling very little pain now. Not sure how long you have been on the 15mg I was since last August not that long compared to so many others.
Hi Paula , I changed my diet and everything and could not get down to 10mg . Lost 2 stone and still ache like crazy . Be carful with dieting as you need to get correct vitamins and minerals . Talk to dietician if you want to go that way. I think if the disease is really active in you it don't matter what you do your get inflammation symptoms. Maybe talk with your Dr about putting you on a drug to go along with the prednisolone . But don't suffer talk to a Dr. Best wishes from V .
Thank you very much for replying Donna
I was on 15 mg since 14 Feb this year was on them for 3 weeks then went to 121/2 on 4 April then been try to get down to 10 this.last week been too soon I realise that I should have stuck to 121/2 a bit longer but I am trying get down see what my body can manage with well it definitely can't cope with 10 mg silly me gone up to 121/2 again see how I get along with that dosage
If it does not feel right, then you are probably reducing too fast. I would stay on 12.5 for a while and then try to reduce in smaller steps, less then 10% of the dose. At this level, it would be about 1mg. Search for DSNS (slow tappering method) it will help you.
If, at any dose, you are still getting symptoms, then DON'T keep reducing. Stay on any one dose until you are comfortable and then think about reducing. Forcing reductions always ends in tears, you are not keeping the inflammation down enough for it to help. Taking too little Pred just means you are getting all the downsides but none of the benefits.
See your doctor asap, I think you really need to go back to the 15mg you started on and begin again. Even at 15mg, you may find it takes longer to calm the inflammation than it originally took.
Paula, listen to your body. It will tell you when to taper and when you've tapered too fast. Seems many of us learn this the hard way. I would proffer that you are ahead of the curve, and should slow down. You cannot taper any faster than your PMR let's you. You cannot push it. PMR has a mind of its own, and everyone is different.
You may may want to read up on the dead slow tapering method that EileenH prescribes and many of us have successfully followed.
Ask your doctor to let you go back to 15mg - and once the symptoms are under control again try reducing just 1mg at a time. No reduction should be more than 10% of the current dose - and for many even that is too much. And you should NEVER reduce if you have symptoms. They must stabilise to the level they were with your starting dose - that is always your guideline: Do I feel as well as I did originally on the highest dose of pred?
We are ALL trying to find the lowest dose we can manage with. But you will only get there when your body and the PMR are good and ready. When you try to force it all that happens is that you end up back at the beginning. You are back at a higher dose and have to reduce all over again - and you have not achieved what you were aiming for, a lower dose, so it was all rather pointless. As Daniel says most people find that out the hard way - we oldies have been there, read the book, got the t-shirt, watched the film. We do try to explain it but very few believe us first time round!!!!
The slow method Daniel mentions is here:
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/reducing-pred-dead-slow-and-nearly-stop-method-531439
I WAS ON 10MG FOR 2 YRS WENT DOWN 1MG PER MO. SLOW. IM DOWN TO (0) NOW AND FEEL FINE. I TRIED TO DOWN FROM 10 TO 5 THEN 3 THEN 1MG THAT DIDNT WORK FOR ME.
Thank you Eileen she told me after 3weeks To go Down to 121/2 mg then 3 weeks at 121/2 mg go down to 91/2 mg my body can't cope so I'm going back to 15 mg I was ok on that dose so I'm going back to that thank you for your help
Thank you Walter
Thank you Daniel I've just read Eileen slow tapering I'm going to follow that way of doing it thank you for your advice
Thank you for your advice
Thank you for your advice
It feels like you've been trying to taper off too quickly. If you started out at 15, (dont know how long you were on 15) going to 12 1/2---you should be on that for at least 2 weeks before going to 10 for another two weeks, or even one month. When you get below 10, the recommended tapering is l mg/month---ergo 9 mg for one month; 8 mg for one month and so on. Much has to do with the dose with which you began and how long you've been on it and for what. I think you should consult your physician. Prednisone can be a dangerous do-it-yourself drug!!
Thank you babaza
Not sure how you you can go down by 1mg at a time my tiny pill is 5mg and I could cut it in half so now from 10 to 7,5 and that was even tricky so small to
This is when we get 1 mg tablets!
Oh ok I wondered maybe should check with doctor see if i can get the 1mg. Thanks for the info