Newly diagnosed with PMR. This is awful!

I was eager to resume a generous amount of exercise when I finally got a diagnosis and was put on 20mg for two weeks. I crashed when the two weeks ended, severe fatigue, nausea and even mild fever, plus my joints were so painful I walked like I was 40 years older than my 53 years.

When I was later prescribed a tapering dose starting at 15mg/day, I got most of the relief I had at 20mg, and again was anxious to resume exercise. I believe the two hours of daily exercise helped, but not as much as I hoped. That would have to wait a few months when at 12mg I was improving rapidly and getting back into sporting activities.

The following months didn't go well, I suffered needlessly at too low of a dosage until I reached 5mg/day and had to go up to 6mg for a while, then held at 5mg for almost a year.

Now 3-1/2 years later, and at 3mg/day, I still exercise as much as possible and use a dosage that I adjust to seemingly seasonal changes in my dosage requirement.

My rheumatologist is ok with my adjusting dosage to my real-time needs.

I recommend maintaining dosage that allows one to be active, and to take advantage of improved condition by maintaining a generous schedule of exercise when allowable.

I also medicate in the evening now that I am on low dosage, so I wake with the ability to exercise at the time of day that I have the most energy.

My dosage level from the start was presumably based somewhat on my 140lb body weight, for what that's worth, and it seems that I have been able to make the largest and fastest seasonal reductions to my dosage level when I am most active.

kathy61958  OMG no wonder you feel so awful.  Your doctor subjected you to a 50% reduction in dosage.  Admittedly 40 mg is kind of high even as an initial dose for PMR, but still you should have been allowed to reduce in much smaller steps.  Try to get a dosage which manages your pain, then stay there for a month to get the inflammation cleared out, then start a slower taper - no more than 10% at a time.  At higher doses you may be able to drop more frequently, say once a week or fortnight.  But  always you should let your symptoms be your guide, not test results, although they can be useful guides.  Later you should consider the Dead Slow Nearly Stop tapering method which enables you to find the lowest dose which manages your pain.  This is not a quick journey.