How do I find the prednisolone taper plans?

[selkie2019]

Came across them once now nowhere to be found!! I looked in the search bar - help!!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi,

This is all of them -

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

Mine - healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

DSNS - healthunlocked.com/lupusuk/...

[ianR]

Hi selkie. I have been on this bumpy road for over 6 years. I have found that the plans are a good starting place. I have found that my gp has helped me reducing with a slow personal plan. Touch wood no flair ups for a long time I am now down to 8.5mg from 60mg with blips on the way. I hope this helps you. All the best Ian.

[selkie2019 in reply to ianR]

Thank you Ian, good to hear you are doing so well. Am a week in to 12.5 and not feeling as well as I would like. Hopefully things will improve.

[Bagshaw]

The best taper plan is the one you devise yourself, depending on what dosage you are currently on. I found some really good advice online, probably in this PMR forum, and adapted it myself in the latter stages.

Above 7mg follow whatever your GP or specialist tells you, in particular never go down by more than ten per cent of the dosage at once, and stabilise on that for a good few weeks before venturing lower.

The real trick is to get past the magical 7mg, the level at which the body is supposed to produce its own cortisone, without relapsing. I did it by first dropping only one mg one day a week, i think it was a Sunday, so each week my total dosage was 48 not 49mg. Two months later I dropped the Wednesday dosage to 6 also, again for a couple of months, so 47mg a week, and so on until I was down to 6mg a day or 42mg a week.you can see that this is really tapering, and took a long time to get to 0mg. But unlike the first time I tried this and thought that I could speed it all up and had a spectacular return of all the symptoms, it worked. Touch wood I had my last prescription for prednisolone three years ago. I am now off all related medication.

So my advice is, take it slow, take it patiently, allow yur body to. Accustom itself to lower dosages of pred, and you will encourage it to restart churlning he stuff out all by itself. I walk a lot, I cycle, pain gone. Good luck.

[selkie2019 in reply to Bagshaw]

Many thanks for your reply, I intend to take things nice and slowly. I already miss how well I felt on 15mg, so will give my body time to adjust.

[Bramble01]

As far as I remember there is no set plan, it is an individual thing, with the help of your GP and specialist aided by blood tests. I started on 20mg - if the pain goes that proves it is PMR, you should stay on that for at least a month. Then reduce by 5mg for 4 weeks, if all ok reduce by 2.5mg for 4 weeks followed by 4 weeks at 10 mg. If still ok now start reducing by 1mg. Blood tests will show if the inflammation is still there. If pain returns at any time don't reduce, either stay at that level until it or settles or revert to previous level. Only reduce when

Ok. In the later stages you can reduce even by half mg (split tabs) or say reduce alternate days.

Don't be pushed into reducing prematurely, doctors may not always appreciate the pain if they haven't had PMR. It took me 2.5 years. Get them to watch out for diabetes 2 which goes hand in glove with prednisone.

Good luck.

I got clear 2.5 years ago and am now 85.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Bramble01]

There are 2 different approaches which Dorset Lady and I used and I developed mine over a period of years on the basis of the original slow approach. Mine is the Dead Slow and Nearly Stop method which is being used in a clinical study by a PMR research group in the north of England. Someone developed an app for using the slow approaches and other quoted reduction plans - that is what was being looked for.

[selkie2019 in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you, I have printed off some of the plans as a guide. My GP practice is leaving it up to me which is good. Recommended 3 weeks on 12.5 down from 15mg but some stiffness has returned and I am more fatigued after being really well. Will give it time to settle down.

[selkie2019 in reply to Bramble01]

Fantastic that you are clear, that is inspiring! Thank you for taking the time to reply to me.

[Rue9]

I wimped out, I am afraid. The markers reduced, slightly. To be perfectly honest, I found the stress surrounding this medication to be far more traumatic than the condition thus far. I had nightmares about it. I literally could not get those tablets in my mouth. I won't dwell on this, but will be back if stuff changes.

I found that lemsip, and a daily hayfever tab eased the pain. The diagnosis was supported by hip and groin pain and bad shoulder pain. My g.p, failed to check out an old torn (rotary cuff) tendon. When I had an ultra sound, last week, discovered four more tears on the ligament. if you detect a sour tone to this reply, forgive me, it's not you, but the complete lack of any cohesive diagnosis and treatment.

[selkie2019 in reply to Rue9]

Hi there, so sorry you are finding this so tough. I am down to 12.5mg now and feeling ok. Nothing else, amitriptiline, co-codamaol, alcohol, tramadol, CBD oil, turmeric, made no difference to the pain and I felt depressed and disabled by the lack of mobility. I was loathe to start taking prednisolone but it has given me my life back. I wish you all the best and hope things improve. Lots of help and advice here, this group has been so supportive.