Posted , 10 users are following.
i was diagnosed with PMR 6 weeks ago and started on 20 mg of preds. although there was a vast improvement in the level of pain within a couple of days I still have pain throughout the day but more severe in the morning. My preds have been gradually reduced and I am now on 10 mg. my question is will I ever be pain free? Or is this the way my life will be from now on?
0 likes, 16 replies
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diana21296 maria49950
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tavidu maria49950
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Hiya Maria. Dropping from 20mg to 10mg in such a short time is not good. With PMR it's a good idea to stay on 20mg for at least a month to allow time for your body to adapt and the steroids to take control of your pain. When you do reduce, no more than 10% (2mg) at a time otherwise you risk having a flare. You will find out more on this forum as you go along and also get loads of advice. Good luck.
elizabeth40672 maria49950
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Hi Maria, I am no expert and there are others who will be able to answer your question better than me! but when I was diagnosed 17months ago I was put on 25mg and within 4 days I was 80% better. Some people get more relief others less so I felt happy with that. It has however taken all of that time to get down to almost 12mg. It has been a slow journey. I wonder if you have not stabilised long enough and reduced your pred too quickly. If it is not giving you relief there is little point in taking it. I would think about trying to find the dose that allows you to be as pain free as possible and work from there but don't be in too much of a rush to reduce. I hope that helps.
pauline36422 maria49950
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maria49950 pauline36422
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linda17563 maria49950
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Try to drop slowly as this forum has recommended, otherwise you will have flare ups of pain and struggle in the long term to reduce, this was a mistake for me, instructed to drop and get off steroids quicker than my body could cope, 5 years later still struggling. I didn`t know about this forum then and wish I had......
(try to get "snipper" from the chemist so you can cut the pills better maybe)....
?Good luck....
BettyE maria49950
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A possible way round the small reductions with the 5mg. pills is to alternate doses. If you can successfully cut them in half then the reduction using alternate days would only be 1.25 which might help. It does have the disadvantage of keeping track of which dose you take on each day, of course, as I know from experience.
Can only echo everyone else's amazement art the speed of you reduction. Did you doctor give a reason?
maria49950 BettyE
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No reason given. I have actually slowed down myself as after reading recommendations on this forum decided that from 20 for 3 weeks to 15 for one week then 10 for 20 days was far too quick a reduction. So thank you all😊
Anhaga maria49950
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It's unfortunate that you can't get smaller tablets than 5 mg. I wonder what they do for children who need pred? However the idea of using half a tablet and alternating doses could help, although 2.5 is still a big toggle and won't really work when you are securely at a lower dose.. But the first thing is to get that inflammation cleared out and you weren't on your higher dose long enough for that to happen. I was started at 15 mg and stayed there for five weeks before tapering. Many people stay on their initial dose for six weeks. I was lucky that I could taper by 1 mg at a time. At first it was 1 mg per week, but at 10 mg I started the dead slow nearly stop taper, and have used that ever since, now at 1.5 mg. To compare with your journey so far - it took me ten weeks to get to 10 mg from 15. All told I've been on pred for over two years, and the lower I get the slower the taper has to be,
Anhaga
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Clarifying (oh for an edit button) Ten weeks from start at 15 to 10 mg, so half of that time was tapering. After that it was more like 1 mg per month and then .5 mg, and later even slower. I think I'm at my lowest effective dose now and may have to stay here until remission finally occurs, which I will only find out by attempting a new taper from time to time until it works!
Blockhead maria49950
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Ask your Dr. To split the dose to twice a day. My Dr. Says any dose of Prednisone is only good for a 12 hr. Period. Ask for both 5 & 1 MG tabs to ease off it as time goes. No one seems to know how long it lasts. Some have it for years by what I've been reading on this forum.
Anhaga Blockhead
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This may be true for some people, as apparently we process pred at different rates and some people metabolize fast. I've never felt the need to split the dose, I feel the same in the morning after 24 hours as I do in the evening after 12. However spitting the dose could be a way for Maria to attempt a more gentle taper, which is an excellent point.
EileenH Blockhead
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Michdonn maria49950
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Maria49950, each individual case is different, but the timing of your reduction seems very rapid. I for one will not reduce if I have any PMR pain. I have on a dosage for as long as six weeks before reducing. I am very active and pain free, tapering down from 30 mg. Good luck on your journey. Try to stay positive, active and keep smiling. SMILING 🙂
diana21296 maria49950
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Splitting the dose is a good idea and works well for me. 1/3rd in the morning and 2/3rd at night with a ramekin of natural yoghurt eaten just before to line the stomach. I was waking up at 2am in terrible pain when just diagnosed and taking pred after breakfast and it wasn't lasting,
I learnt the tip from this valuable forum very early on. Good luck.