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Not just a disclaimer but my genuine recommendation. Always check that anything you read or consider when making Medical Choices is appropriate for your individual Health and Medicinal Need.
No medication should be stopped without seeking Professional Advice.
New Patients should not begin a Taper of any medication without approval and discussion with your Health Provider.
If you have severe side effects , allergy or intolerance responses , or increasing symptoms despite medication seek Medical Help immediately.
If you have difficulties with Symptoms or Side Effects while on a Drug Reduction Plan approved by your Doctor you should seek their help and discuss a change in the Plan and inform them that you intend to return to the Previous Dose. No big changes to the way you take your Medications or Use Supplements should be done without informing your Care Provider.
Your Doctor or Specialist should prepare your Tapering Plan with you and will give guidelines of both how much they want you to reduce by and how often to do this. This is based on Standard Guidelines and your Individual Health Issues but usually involves no more than a 10% decrease of dose per reduction , unless it is Medically Necessary for you to reduce your dose quicker. Tapers can be weekly at the beginning of your Reduction Plan , and Monthly once you are on a Regular Tapering Plan , but often the choice of Method to Taper can be your decision.
If you wish to use one of the PMR/ GCA Tapering Plans recommended on our forum , and feel it differs from the Current Plan your Doctor has given you , print off a copy and discuss it with your Doctor . It is much better to have approval and support from your Doctor for your Health Choices .
Advice , is just advice , and each Patient needs to take responsibility for their own Choices and take into account their Individual Health Needs and Medications , making sure that advice given is suitable for their Personal Use before following any recommendations .
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To Taper or Not to Taper ? My choice is to decide working with my body .
After over twenty years on some form of Medication , both short courses and long term combinations , for various linked Diseases and Syndromes , I have done a lot of Tapering and seen a lot of Drug Changes.
I only began reading Health Forums about five years ago , and only started contributing a view online since joining this amazing supportive group on PMR/ GCA UK.
I got no help from my Doctor's or Specialists for all those years about Methods of Tapering and learnt what worked for Me for all types of Drugs and Supplements from Trial and Error. So , it was very reassuring to Me when I started using this site , to discover that I was following a Plan virtually the same as DSNS and those endorsed by the experienced and sensible regular advisors on the forum like PMRPRo , Dorset Lady , Mrs Nails and members like Jinasc .
I hope that these real Disease Experience Experts will help me by providing extra information in the replies below , to useful links and Tapering Advice that may help you as well as their own opinions , so that Stress Free Tapering could be a gift you give yourself this Christmas.
What I have learnt from them , and my own experience , is that you should only start a Taper when your body is able to cope with it. If you are struggling to Taper your dose , or have increased symptoms of any of your Chronic Health Issues , an infection , injury or are recovering from a surgery you should not start a new taper or continue a difficult taper until your Health issues are controlled.
There is also agreement that you if you are about to Travel , Go on Holiday , have a Big Family or Work Event or are involved in something which involves a lot of Physical or Mental Activity , or Stress , outside your Everyday Routine it is better not to start a New Taper during this time.
Stress is any Activity that affects your Body or Mind at a level it may not be used to.
Stress can be Negative Activity like Bad Health , Injury , Overwork, Moving House, or Grief.
But , Stress can also be Fun, Positive Activity like Holidays , Nights Out , Exercise Activities and Big Family Occasions.
Weddings , Birthdays , and especially Festivals like Christmas can fall into both Stress categories , and not just on the Day itself but during the weeks of preparation before and extra Parties after them.
So what does Aunty Bee do ?
Well she takes the best advice out there on PMR/ GCA uk , looks at her own Health Issues , and how well her symptoms were managed the Month before . She looks at how much her Activity is going to change in the weeks ahead before she starts any new Taper in her Drugs, especially the ' Biggies' like Steroids and Opioids , then decides on that Months Plan.
I never start a new Taper of two drugs or supplements in the same week , unless it is a Medical Necessity to do so ,and, Never start a new Taper in the first two weeks of taking a new drug . For example , if I got a UTI tomorrow and got a course of antibiotics I would not try a New Taper until a week after that antibiotic course had finished. I find too many chemical changes in the body at once slows down my success.
Over the years I have worked at starting my Steroid Taper at the beginning of the month . This is partly because my Personal Choice is not to be on a New Taper for the two weeks before and during Christmas . Luckily most of my families birthdays are at the end of the month so it means I am never on a new Taper for these things too.
I also choose that my December Tapers for all my drugs are half that I do at other times of year , because with my individual needs , I know a full 10 % Taper may not be successful while I'm doing a lot more activities which may cause more symptoms. For example , if I was due to reduce my Dose in December from 15 mg , I would personally choose to reduce to 14 or 13 mg rather than down to the usual 12.5mg that I might have chosen in any other month .
So when do I Taper ? I do not Taper any drugs or supplements between 12 the Dec and 4th Jan . Any new Taper of a Drug like Steroids or Opioids on my list happens before the 10 th.
This December Method allows Me to return to a previous dose if I struggle with symptoms on a Taper and get my Pain under control well before Christmas itself , or means I am well adjusted to my new dose well before I start a lot more Activities.
But this is what works for Me , it may not suit you and I hope the advice of others ( especially our more knowledgeable advisors ) will help you find a Method over Christmas that suits you too and that you can be 'New Taper Symptom Free' over the Holidays .
So my answer to the question To Taper Not to Taper over Christmas ? Choose the option that works for You . Don't Push on if it isn't working for you.
Take care and always follow advice with Care , prescription of hugs , Aunty Bee x