How much prednisone

[Dwigbon]

Assuming my CRP and sed rate are normal, how much prednisone do I need? Enough to be able to tolerate mild discomfort, or enough for no pain at all? (Am tapering down from 20mg, now at 6mg)

[Mary63]

Your pain / discomfort level needs to be similar to what it was on higher doses. If it is more than it was at 20mg, then you are on too low a dose.

What I have learned on this forum is then to go up to the last dose where you felt as good as at the beginning. Stay on that dose for at least a month and then try reducing using a slow taper. Hope this helps.

[Mary63]

Also bloods tend to lag behind symptoms. Symptoms are key.

[Dwigbon in reply to Mary63]

Thanks so much. My CRP was only slightly elevated at the start and has been normal ever since. Will be patient and stay at 6mg for a month.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Whatever the result you achieved with the starting dose is your guide later: you need the lowest dose that gives the same degree of relief. You should feel no worse at the end of each tapering step than you did at the start of it.

And at this stage you need to be slower rather than faster - your adrenal function needs to catch up too!

[alvertta]

Isn’t your doctor monitoring and giving you advice. I do a Blood test every two weeks then my doctor gives me a number. So far Reduced from 60 to 35 over 3 months.

[Dwigbon]

Yes, but it seems to be more of an art than a science. My bloodwork is done only every 3 months. Prednisone has gone from 20 to 6 in 9 months. All based on my symptoms.