Advice requested

[HeronNS]

Should I go to 7 or 7.5 prednisone Tuesday (tomorrow) as planned, after a little stress-induced blip when I took 9 a few days ago? Have been at 8 for a couple of weeks otherwise and except for the blip have been well.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

You know me - small is beautiful...

[HeronNS in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks.

[HeronNS]

You think that 7.5 tomorrow would be a safe thing to attempt?

[piglette]

I was told reduce 0.5mg a month when under 10mg and things should go smoothly. If you have been having glitches I would certainly slow down and go to 7.5 mg first not 7mg. It will pay off in the end.

[HeronNS in reply to piglette]

I think that is what I will do - and it will give me a chance to try out the pill cutter the pharmacist gave me

The "glitch" was caused by external event beyond my control, but it did make me realize how vulnerable I am.

[piglette in reply to HeronNS]

Go for it. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.

[HeronNS in reply to piglette]

Thank you! I appreciate the encouragement.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Totally agree with others, go with the 0.5reduction. I've been doing that since I got down to 7mg, now about to start my slow reduction (4 weeks) from 3mg to 2.5mg.

I started at 80 mg in April 2012, with a couple of glitches along the way, so now I'm down so low I'm not going to upset the apple cart by taking bigger steps! I'm wishing myself down to zero, but I'm not going to do anything silly. So don't you either.

[HeronNS]

Now how to use a pill cutter without ending up with half the pill in powder form? ... I did cut a 5 mg instead of 1 mg as the math works out for this particular dose.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to HeronNS]

If your cutter is similar to mine you should be able to get pill so that it fits firmly between plastic runners (for want of a better word) which form a V shape. Then close the cutter firmly but not too quickly on the pill. Works most the time ok.

[HeronNS in reply to DorsetLady]

I expect I'll have lots more opportunity to practice this skill than I really want.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to HeronNS]

Yes - unfortunately!

[Caro12line in reply to DorsetLady]

I thought you could only cut a pill when it was "scored" ? My 5mg are scored (line down the middle) and i used my pill cutter when on 12.5. But the 1mg pills I have are not scored. I read somewhere that scored pills have the active ingredient evenly distributed in the two halves (this is the same for all meds not just Pred) but if the pill is not scored all the active ingredient could be in one half?

[HeronNS in reply to Caro12line]

Well, I hope you are wrong about that. I think the only problem would be with the coated tablets that are designed to dissolve at a specific rate and mine are not that kind. The issue might be that it is so hard to break the tiny pills evenly you might get a bigger dose one day than the other, but by 1 mg pred the dose is so tiny anyway I can't imagine it would be a problem. I just put the nice clean half into a safe place ready for tomorrow, tapped all the remaining fragments and powder into my hand and swallowed the lot.

[Caro12line in reply to HeronNS]

I think possibly with the 1mg any under/overdose is so minimal .........rpharms.com/support-pdfs/ph...

X

[HeronNS in reply to Caro12line]

Well, you do know how to scare a person don't you! What do you say to all the people on this and other forums who for years have been splitting their pred pills as the only way to get the dose that will enable them to successfully wean off the drug? The dose evens out every second day even if each day is a few micrograms off. And it's not as if the dosage is calibrated to my exact weight and metabolism anyway. This whole pred thing is scattershot at the best of times.

Although thanks to this conversation I have looked more closely at my pills and maybe if I line them up so the blade hits the score line I will have a better outcome.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Caro12line]

Hi Caro12line,

News to me re 'scored' and non-scored pills. Only aware that coated tablets cannot be cut. When I bought my cutter the pharmacist knew what tablets I was going to use them on, and didn't advise me not to.

However I do recall my husband was advised once not to cut one of his heart tablets.

But as Heron NS says, at 1mg the impact will be minimal. I shall continue to cut my 1mg as required.