Should I increase pred

[Buenavista]

Hi guys,

Hope you are all well.

I need some help on my change of dosage. I have been on 12.5mg per week of pred for 4 months. Then changed to 11.25mg per week last Friday. The problem I had was that I should have started on 2.5mg and didn't realise that I was having 3 days of 1.25mg. On the 3rd day, I had pain in my right knee and slight twinge in the left. And the pain isn't going away.

Two questions, should I up the pred for a few days. If so, how much? If it's not the above, I am on heart tablets after heart attack 2 years ago, can I take anti inflammatory medication or is it a trip to the physio?

Best regards,

Buenavista

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi

Bit confused- if you’ve been on 12.5mg per week - what have you been taking on a daily basis? 4 days at 1.25/3 at 2.5 alternating maybe?

If that’s the case and you’ve been okay at that - I would return to that.

But if you’ve had problems so quickly are you sure it’s not withdrawal symptoms because you’ve substituted one dose of 2.5 for 1.25? It might not sound much but it is 50% difference.

Personally at such a low daily level ( if my reading of your post is correct) I wouldn’t be in any rush to reduce.

[Buenavista in reply to DorsetLady]

Hi,

I was doing one day 2.5mg and then 1.25mg alternatively. Then reduced and I'm doing one day 2.5mg and two days 1.25mg. Hope that makes sense. The dosage changes each week, so it wasn't an accurate quote on how many mg's I'm taking.

Best regards,

Buenavista

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Buenavista]

Well as i said if you were okay at previous dosage then why not go back to that for a little while longer and see if it settles down.

You are on such a relatively low dose it’s doing you no harm, but even a 0.5mg difference at low doses really does sometimes be the difference in being okay and being in pain!

No point in suffering for such a small dose!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I agree with DL - just go back to where you were OK and wait for things to settle. Maybe a few days of a higher dose would settle it quicker.

[Buenavista in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks for the advice, I think I'm going to go back to the dosage I was on before and see how things go from there.

Kind regards,

Buenavista

[Buenavista]

Hi guys,

Re DorsetLady, I have gone back to the last dose of pred which I was comfortable at. One day 2.5mg and one day 1.25mg alternatively. I had been on that dose for about 16 weeks. The reason I stayed so long on that dosage was because our summer temperature is 30 to 40 degrees. The drop wasn't a lot, one day 2.5mg and two days 1.25mg. Unfortunately going back to the last dosage didn't make any difference to my knee. So I guess it's off to the physio. If you are wondering about the strange dose, it's because the smallest mg of pred is 2.5mg here in Spain.

Best regards,

Buenavista