I reduced from 11mg Prednisolone to 10mg last Saturday. Last night my left shoulder from base of skull and my left hip were very painful.
My question is:. Do you think think these symptoms are caused by withdrawal effects of the Pred reduction or is it that I still need the 11mg to keep the PMR under control. I felt very well on 11mg.
I hope your input can help me?
Pat
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PatB1948
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What method are you using for your taper? It certainly sounds like you would do better at 0.5 each month. If you think back, have you done anything that could injure the one side that is giving you pain? This is a long time for withdrawal pains to last, but it doesn’t sound flare like to me. Maybe up by 0.5 to see if it helps?
I think you are right SJ, I'll going up to 10.5mg. A s far as shoulder is concerned, I had a bad fall several years ago and broke my humerus in two places, also injured my shoulder. It has not really bothered me until I started with PMR/GCA when it became sore again but this is the worst it's been. I am not aware of doing anything to my hip but it feels like original. PMR pain but on left side only. Thanks for your reply.
I broke my left shoulder 10 years ago and my body definitely remembers the wrenched tendons. I wonder if a physio could be of any use? Mine knew all about PMR which was reassuring in itself.
I'd love her back!!! Although she was annoying, and kept me up all hours of the night and made me totally hyper and CRAZY, she was my muse... I was a much better person with her than without her!
Please SheffieldJane... if you have her, can you ask her to please come back... I have all those "Faces of PMR/GCA Christmas Masks," to finish! : o
Ohhhh, I found a purple marker and used that along with a leather cleaner and conditioner.. I can still see scratches but Hubby will never notice!!!! Thank God!!! ; ) Thanks for asking...
Missing in action presumed dead. Said in a quiet whisper, so it doesn’t hear. 🐲👈
Now I have read the post that says you want her because she is a creative muse and you are presumably happy to put up with her waywardness ( is that even a word?)
So scrub all that and get your art materials out, that’ll tempt her back.
Not necessarily dead, she may have gotten bored with me... I have been sleeping 9 hours a night (if you can believe that!!!) and struggle trying to get a creative thought, let alone the energy to actually be productive creatively! She just seemed to disappear. I have only two masks at the painting stage.. with 4-5 more to make and paint.... she really needs to come home!
"Don't it always seem to go... That you don't know what you've got til its gone"
Nine hours a night at your stage of the game is nothing short of miraculous. What a clever body you have. I expect you are building up to another creative burst, helped by a chastened little monster.
I experience wicked withdrawal symptoms (they are worse than disease symptoms!) but they have only ever lasted 3-4 (maybe 5 days) before I started to feel better...
If you dropped from 11to 10 in one big step maybe you came down too much, too quickly. When we get down to the lower doses it is usually better to reduce using the dead slow method and 0.5mg but as SJ says what else have you been doing? I’m sure the “aunties “ will be here soon with their advice. All good wishes.
My withdrawal symptoms came on virtually straight away, so yours could be just not enough Pred if it’s taken 5 days or more.
If it were me I’d go back 11mg for a couple of weeks, and then try again. Maybe 0.5mg a time or slower plan that takes weeks rather than overnight - see below
I actually tried about six weeks ago to reduce from 11mg to 10mg but got bilateral pain in shoulders, hips etc. so I went back to 11mg and have been okay on this dose. The pain feels different this time and is only on left side, perhaps a visit to the GP is called for. Meanwhile I'll try your simple taper going from 11mg to 10.5mg and see how it goes. Maybe I'm in too much of a hurry, I've come down from 40mg last May to the 11mg in Mar/April this year. I got to 20mg no bother but had blips getting to 15mg and then was okay getting to 11mg.
Thanks for your advice, I'll let you know how I get on.
Withdrawal pain usually happens within 24-48 hours and then gets worse. When it takes some days to appear it is more likely to be accumulating inflammation.
I'd say you need the 11mg - but maybe if you wait a month it will work. It isn't a race.
Thanks for your input, PMRpro, I didn't realise that withdrawal symptoms appeared so quickly, I'll bear that in mind for next time. As I said to DL, I'll try her simple/slower taper to 10.5mg and see how it goes. I'll let you know.
(This is the second time I've written this post, lost the first one, don't know where it went so if it turns up, you know I'm not going mad, just a senior moment!)
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