Due to his condition last week my farther was prescribed 50mg of pred which he started taking on Monday.
The effect of this has seen an improvement during the day no doubt, however he remains extremely poorly when he wakes up early hours 9/10 10/10 pain. At this point he has pain killers and it eventually eases after three to four hours of trauma
He has his pred at 06.00 in one go, has anyone ever staggered the pred or do they need to be taken in one go? Also is there a recommended time for taking the ped
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Sonofjimmy
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First thing in the morning and in one dose is the usually recommended way to use pred in GCA. This achieves the highest blood level and antiinflammatory effect which is important in GCA. A very few people find the effect doesn't last the full 24 hours and taking most in the morning and a bit more later in the day to carry them over to the next morning may work better for them. It isn't generally recommended though.
The idea of the single dose is to combat the inflammation most efficiently - but obviously he is developing a fair amount of inflammation before he is given it in the morning so I'm a bit surprised they haven't considered an even higher dose to see if that helps. It may still improve though.
The 50mg was a result of his condition last week and our plea with the specialist. He informed us that they are still dealing with the R/A and that is the main problem with my farther. With the 50mg in him now for five days, yesterday afternoon was the best I have seen him in weeks, however the eppersod that he has of a night is not good for him or my mum who supports him during this time. Maybe we will hold back on 5 mg and have it prior to going to bed and nite to the r/a nurses that they are working but not lasting the day
I am so sorry to hear of your Father's distress and pain. It is unusual for doctor's and/or Rheumatologists to prescribe Prednosolone for RA, although if a person has it for PMR then the pain of RA is often masked by the Pred. There are other very effective medications for RA (other than the one he does get at night, which I don't know) which would then leave the Pred to do it's job on his PMR.
Being in the UK, our meds have different names for the same thing, so I would really suggest a good look on Google, the Mayo clinic is good, because forewarned is forearmed, and you can speak to your medics with more knowledge under your belt.
It annoys me that in the year 2017, people seem to be left to suffer. There are at least 4 other drugs for RA, some of which do not cause the discomfort ( vomiting?) that your Father experiences.
I have started taking cherry capsules for the inflammation of RA! It seems to be good so far!
I wish you and your Father all the best. Be strong and tell them you are not happy! 🌺
He didn't mention GCA here. But even if it does include GCA, what I said still applies. I have all three as you know and it is very difficult to discern between RA and PMR symptoms when reducing Pred or when having a flare. The symptoms of GCA stand alone and it is easier to tell from the others. As you know. There is no suggestion of "just" RA. It is, however, more difficult to separate RA pain and PMR pain as they are so similar.
I only have GCA. Since Nov 2016. After trying splitting the Pred dose, and taking it at different times, I settled on taking it all in one go around midnight. With some plain Greek yoghurt. For me, this seems to work best.
I can then take other medications after food in the morning, during the day, etc.
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Still on 50 mg coz no rheumy. 
Should I increase Pred. to 15 mg on my own?
Split dose tapering below 6 mg pred
on 10 mg pred since june 8 2017
Down to 1 mg Pred and how to let go?!
