Nearly there on 2mg

[Annodomini]

I'm so nearly there! I was doing well on 2.5mg and had a lovely week in France being taken around Haute Savoie by a friend who lives there. A couple of shortish walks did me no harm and I was feeling pretty lively. So I went down to 2mg a week ago and am now feeling more tired and achey again, though this doesn't amount to a full scale flare-up. I know it takes time to adjust to a drop and this one has been 20% which is quite a lot. Perhaps I just need to be patient. Should I have gone from 2 and 3 on alternate days to taking 3 every three days? That's hindsight for you.

[steph1]

Well done thats good news, i had got down to 8mg then hospital put me back up to 15mg and my bloods this week ESR gone up again so im bit fed up

once again im glad for you how long have you been on preg?

[Annodomini]

Hi Steph. On pred for two years next week. I was hoping to be free of it by the summer but since that's taking a long time to arrive, it gives me a bit more time!

I hope your 'blip' resolves itself soon. I had a bit of a setback after about 6 months and had to go back to 15 but it didn't take too long to get back down again. Never lose hope

[Annodomini]

I have taken my own advice and am now taking 3mg every three days and 2mg in between. I have made myself a more gradual reduction schedule and will have a blood test next week.

[Hidden]

You are doing well. Like you I am nearly there but having some problems though rather different to yours. My GP just says that the body gets used to the pred and it takes a while to adjust to a new dose.

On the last threee drops I have managed to catch a cold. On the last drop I got a very nasty coughing bug. Once I had cleared that I had the worst attack of hay fever in years followed worryingly by what appeared to be a flare for a couple of days which then passed off and finally finished up with a urinary tract infection at which point I felt really low having been ill non stop for 5 weeks. I then phoned my GP. She has put me on a hefty dose of antibiotics which appear to be doing the trick and has forbidden another drop until I have been well for at least 2 weeks.

If you can have a more gradual reduction scheme and phase in the new dose then I'm sure that it will help. I just wish I could but my stomach refuses to tolerate the 1mg uncoated pred. The good news is that I am on 2.5mg alternating with nothing and coping so I hope that I will get there in the end.

Thank goodness I am retired! Hope you are better soon.

[Annodomini]

I echo your last sentence, PatM. If I hadn't been retired when this hit me, I would have been by now! I take plenty of other things (Omeprazole, Ranitidine, Gaviscon Advance) to protect my stomach so I have had no trouble with uncoated pred. Good luck with the alternating days on 2.5. I hope that we both manage to get rid of the pred quite soon.