Reducing Prednisone
Posted , 6 users are following.
am on 2 mg and 3 mg every other day my GP wants me off of pred by Febuary . My problem is that I have a acky body everyday, it goes away in the late afternoon. If I tell my GP about it she said you will have pain and to take some Tylenol. Now she wants me to take an antidepressant she feels that would help with a lot of my problems high blood pressure, diabetes, and PMR. I am always anxious and worry about everything. It is strange but where I was on the higher numbers of prednisone. I lost weight, My sugar numbers were down in the morning, and my blood pressure was down too. Now everything has gone crazy very high sugar numbers in the morning 150 which before was 83 don't understand why when I'm finally withdrawing from prednisone everything has gone the opposite of what it should be. I've gained 10 pounds since I went down to 7 mg and lower. I don't know what's happening to my body. Is this normal from withdrawing from prednisone ?
0 likes, 15 replies
pauline36422 janice01811
Posted
but i am so worrid when i start reducing again in feb. it will get worse. and return,
or will it just get better as time goes on. does thgis mean my body is slowly
making its own cortisol. also another question. how long after finishing pred altogether will the pain go.
EileenH janice01811
Posted
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/pmr-gca-and-other-website-addresses-35316
will take you to a thread where there is a slow reduction programme in posts 4 and 5. That may help with the pain you are having.
I think you need your GP to explain her logic about using antidepressants to combat your problems - or have you misunderstood her?
And no - I haven't come across anyone before whose blood sugars have gone through the roof as pred comes down! That is something new. However, if you LOST weight on pred then it is likely that you will put some back on as you reduce - some people do lose weight on pred although it is less likely than putting weight on.
I think your GP maybe wants to have you pred-free to investigate the other things without complications.
For both of you - if you are going to have problems because your body isn't making its own cortisol it will happen before you finally stop pred, below about 5mg usually, so you are both below that and aren't complaining of those sort of problems.
Generally it is felt that it takes a year for your body to get back to normal after stopping pred and a few ladies who have stopped pred say much the same. However - do not expect to be totally pain-free when you stop taking pred. If you have osteoarthritis, for example, pred does help with that pain to some extent so without pred that may become a problem. I don't know how long you have had PMR but remember you are older than you were before going onto pred - there are going to be some changes just because you are older.
pauline36422 EileenH
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EileenH pauline36422
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I'm at 4mg, had a few niggles at 3mg so went back up. I have NO intention of rushing it - and if anything my GP is even more wary of a fast reduction than I am. She is an angel - definitely should be cloned. I am a (mere) 62, have had PMR for 10 years and been on pred for 5. I really can't imagine I'll feel 52 when I stop pred. It's a nice thought though!!!!
Mrs.Mac-Canada EileenH
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EileenH Mrs.Mac-Canada
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susan07411 EileenH
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pauline36422 janice01811
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susan07411 janice01811
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pauline36422 janice01811
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1.3/4 alternat for 1 week then stay at 1 3/4 for 2 weeks then reuce the same way again. hopeing this will work glad you have achieved a good result
susan07411 pauline36422
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EileenH susan07411
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If you make each drop as small as possible, even spreading it over a few weeks as described in the reduction plans circulating the forums, then any return of pain is more likely to be PMR resurfacing than the body objecting to the pred being removed. And, of course, if you have had pain for some time then you are that bit older - however much we wish it were not so! Pred does help with osteoarthritis pain as well and that often reappears as the pred dose reduces.
pauline36422 janice01811
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if she had her own surgery for pmr lol
EileenH pauline36422
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All I want now is Mastermind, special subject "PMR"
tavidu EileenH
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