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Pmr, prednisone and split dose

Posted , 15 users are following.

Twopies
Twopies

news flash!  Just got back from seeing my gp (whom I love); good news:  I'm gonna live!  Bad news:  I'm gonna live!  On a serious note, I asked him his opinion on split dose prednisone, expecting him to say no way but to my surprise he said he just got back from a conference with rheumatologists who said they are now recommending split doses for their prednisone patients!  They said their success rate is much greater for all the reasons mentioned here on this forum.  

My gp said I can try either a small dose in the evening and a larger dose in the morning, or half and half,,,he said to experiment.  Which of course I have read about here on this forum--so helpful!  So glad I found this site!  Just thought you would want to know that rheumatologists at least here are saying split dose is preferable....I'm starting tonight....

4 likes, 32 replies

32 Replies

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  • EileenH
    EileenH Twopies

    Posted

    Yet again - the rheumies are catching up with the forums!!!!
  • stevep63
    stevep63 Twopies

    Posted

    Hi Twopies. It definitely works best for me. I generally split the dose equally, but if I have an uneven dosage say 13mg I sometimes take 6mg in the morning and the larger dose of 7mg at night. You will need to experiment and keep a written record of what you do. It's easy(In my case) to forget or get confused about what you have tried and your reactions to it! Good luck. :-)

    • Twopies
      Twopies stevep63

      Posted

      ok, I will.  Couldn't sleep again last night.  So you split your dose half and half--I have been doing 5 in the a,m, and 1.5 at night...I right now am taking the 5 mg pill in the morning and the 1 1/2 at night.  Would need to use just my 1 mg pills to split the dose half and half...just thinking all this through...and my pill supply.  

       

    • Anhaga
      Anhaga Twopies

      Posted

      Splitting a 5 mg gives you lots of possibilities without having to use up all your 1 mg.
    • Anhaga
      Anhaga

      Posted

      Provided it's not enteric coated, of course.

    • Twopies
      Twopies stevep63

      Posted

      Last night I took 1 1/2 mg of pred at 7:45 pm, this was my second night to do the split dose.  Took my remaining 5 mg at 7:00 this morning.  To my utter amazement I had little or no groin pain this morning, for the second day in a row.  Didn’t need to walk like a duck when I got up.  Will try again with same split tonight.  Trouble sleeping last night—awake from 1:00 to 3:00.  May have to play with times and doses—hard because I loathe eating anything after dinner or in the middle of the night.
    • EileenH
      EileenH Twopies

      Posted

      A glass of milk or a yoghurt is usually enough. 
  • stuartother
    stuartother Twopies

    Posted

    hi, I’ve been recently diagnosed with PMR and have worked down to a prednisone dose of 10 mg when I awaken and 3 mg about eight in the evening. I arrived at this after some experimenting. I’ve noticed that the discussion points were made 4 years ago.

    I’d be interested in hearing any updates or tips from others working their way through PMR.

    • Anhaga
      Anhaga stuartother

      Posted

      As you can see this is a very old post in a moribund forum. Try asking your questions in HealthUnlocked forum. You'll have to google it as I'm not allowed to post the link. You'll want the PMRGCAuk community. You'll find a very active PMR and GCA community over there, including many who have done as you are, splitting their dose. 😃

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