Advice about Decreasing Pred Dose
Posted , 8 users are following.
Hi all,
I've been on 12.5 mg of prednisone for 6 weeks (15 mg for 6 weeks before that), and it's time to decrease to 10 mg according to all the advice I've read on this forum.
However, in the past few days I'm feeling pretty raw, especially in the mornings and especially in my upper thorax regions. Painful to even breath deeply. By noon, the pain is usually gone (at least 75%). I'd say that my condition has been slowly drifting to this state over the 6 weeks -- not getting better but very slowly worse (especially in the AM).
So here's my question: should I simply go down to the 10 MG a day, or should I continue at the 12.5 MG?
In general, I don't know how to handle these reductions. Should I (we) go by the book, or go by the body (feelings)?
Thanks for all your help (all of you). By far the best such group I've ever joined.
0 likes, 29 replies
EileenH bob73443
Posted
Do you think this could be a chest infection? Bear in mind that if you have bronchitis the pred will reduce the inflammation - so having taken it in the early morning it will take a bit of time to soothe the inflammation and that would fit with feeling worst in the morning and then improving as the pred kicks in.
We always say to not reduce if you are unwell, wait until you are better. And I would suggest you check in with your doctor - just in case it is a bronchitis that needs an antibiotic. Pred does make some people more prone to infections - doesn't affect me but I do know lots of people who get cold after cold.
If you haven't seen it before, my reduction scheme is in posts 4 and 5 of this thread:
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/pmr-gca-and-other-website-addresses-35316
lodgerUK_NE bob73443
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bob73443
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manymany bob73443
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bob73443
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Yes, I have made an appointment iwth the doc since I'm scheduled to be out of town again for a few weeks. We'll see what he says.
However, my PMR has been a bit atypical right from the start. It started FAST (typical), from shuolders, neck, and then thigh muscles. Then it went just as quickly into my rib cage -- so much so that i could not turn in bed without moaning.
The rib cage pain is the pain that's returning -- although now it's in the back instead of my sternum.
We'll see.
Thanks for all your help.
manymany bob73443
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EileenH bob73443
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bob73443 EileenH
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Yes, I have heard of that and researched it a bit myself. Interesting thing is that it came suddenly, and also goes suddenly with the prednisone -- it seems to fit the bill for PMR, aside from its weird location.
As an aside, I visited my doc today and I do not have any infection (bronchitis),
But he was very interested in the link that you've posted in the past -- the ones that talked about prednisone treatment plans. Would you be able to repost the links?
Also, are these links permanently posted somewhere here on the forum?
Thanks Eileen
MrsO-UK_Surrey bob73443
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erika59785 bob73443
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I feel for you!
EileenH bob73443
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Click on the red print in that post - the thread that comes up has a post with the final link being to the paper by Quick and Kirwan and in later posts you find my reduction plan.
Or as MrsO has said, go to the top of this page and click on the red printed "Polymyalgia and giant cell arteritis" and it will take you to the same list of threads, it is the first one.
Myofascial pain trigger points also respond somewhat to higher doses of pred - they are concentrated areas of cytokines, the same inflammatory substances that cause the pain and stiffness in PMR. If you are just on the borderline of the muscle going into spasm it will come and go.
EileenH erika59785
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manymany bob73443
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erika59785 EileenH
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Then months later the shoulder pain first starting on my right arm, then moving to my left arm signaled a diagnoses by my GP that I have PMR. The shoulder pain on my right arm was worse than the one on my left. At that time the girdl/pelvic pain was only noticable on standing up from a seated position. I did not know that this was another symptom of PMR, but this got worse until now.
MrsO-UK_Surrey bob73443
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http://www.rcpe.ac.uk/sites/default/files/quick.pdf
bob73443 MrsO-UK_Surrey
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Yes, this is the one. Thanks to you and all.