Positivity and I must Admit Fingers Crossed

[Bcol]

My first day of 10mg of Pred. Last time I got this stage I failed miserably and had to go back up to 15mg, but I have cut my walking and exercise back so as help minimise any extra strain and so far so good. Tapering from 11mg - 10mg hoping for around five weeks but if not then for as long as it takes. 😀😀

[PMRpro Ambassador]

All the best!

[Maisiek]

I’ve found the DSNS method on here really good.

[Bcol in reply to Maisiek]

I agree, been following a very slightly adapted one

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Bcol]

Pleased to hear it working......but maybe think about 0,5mg drops from now on.....all under extra stress at moment- winter and “you know what” ....so body needs all the help it can get!

[Bcol in reply to DorsetLady]

Tiz a good idea. Will also be a good test for the pill cutter, which has had a very protected life so far.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Bcol]

Time for a trial run, then! 😉..no point keeping it in the cupboard unused.

[Bcol in reply to DorsetLady]

It's had a trial run on the 5mg's but not on the tiddlers.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Bcol]

You'll be fine . ...just need to concentrate a bit more 🥺

[Bcol in reply to DorsetLady]

🙂

[Thelmarina in reply to Bcol]

One day I couldn’t find my pill cutter so found the groove on the 1mg tablet and cut it with my thumbnail. Two perfect halves!! Now I just do that feeling pioneering and self sufficient. Small triumphs..😅

[HeronNS in reply to Thelmarina]

My 1 mg has no groove. Pill cutter not hugely accurate, but near enough.

[Bcol in reply to HeronNS]

No groove on mine either

[HeronNS in reply to Bcol]

At the end of my ultimately unsuccessful taper to zero I actually did each .5 step twice over (three months for each half mg drop). It took me an entire year to get from 2 mg to zero, with zero as my "new" dose for the final stage. In retrospect I guess I should have stopped at one, but you don't know until you've tried.

[Kendrew]

Haha! Our paths keep crossing! I too are currently trying to get back to 10mg having been down to 2.5mg in Sept and then having to increase after returning to work. Stayed on 10mg for several weeks hoping aches and pains would improve but they got worse and I ended up above 10mg. Currently on 13mg. Good luck Bcol.

[Bcol in reply to Kendrew]

Best of luck to you as well young lady, at least I didn't have to cope with work so not surprised you had to increase. Goal achieved this morning, only met/saw one person the whole time, mind you didn't see much else either as was really misty!!

[Maisiek in reply to Bcol]

Pill cutters are great - does anyone know if you can get 2mg in the U.K. ?

[Bcol in reply to Maisiek]

Hi Maisiek, I don't know the answer to that, I've only ever had 1mg and 5mg's. It may be better on a new post, so that everyone will see it

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Maisiek]

No. Plain pred comes in 1mg and 5mg white tablets and it is also possible to get a 2.5mg version which is pale yellow I think but it isn't common and some doctors don't know it exists. Enteric coated pred comes in 1mg, 2.5mg and 5mg tablets. They must not be cut.

[Maisiek in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you- so 4 1/2 will be a lot of tablets -

Or half a 5 plus 1 plus 1 🤪

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Maisiek]

Yes

[Tawnyowl1 in reply to Maisiek]

That is how I make up the 4 and a half ( half a 5 and two ones) . Just trying a slow taper to 4 at the moment.

[HeronNS in reply to Maisiek]

At that stage in my taper I found cutting 5 mg very useful for quite a lot of doses. It really is too bad there isn't a 2.5 pill

[Helipad in reply to HeronNS]

I have 2.5mg Pred they’re black

[HeronNS in reply to Helipad]

Depends where you live. Pred dispensation seems to vary from country to country. For example, my pred in Canada = prednisone, in the UK pred = prednisolone. Here there is no such thing as enteric coated. I have cut both 5 mg and 1 mg tablets to get what I need, no problems, but a 2.5 mg tablet would have been handy, not available here.

[Bcol in reply to HeronNS]

I have no problem cutting the 5mg, haven't had to try a one yet and planning on staying on 10mg for a whole to make sure it's not a problem this time round.

[HeronNS in reply to Bcol]

I'm going to ask my doctor to prescribe 5 mg for me because I'm going through 1 mg at a great rate - 100x1 was expected to last about 50 days when I received the current prescription. Now I expect to get through them in a couple of weeks, max.. Insurance company already queried latest refill as it was so different from my usual pattern. I'd much rather take half a leftover 5 mg tablet when I'm below 5 mg again than keep on swallowing many 1 mg tablets. I also have had a lot of experience cutting 1 mg tablets!

[Bcol in reply to HeronNS]

If I remember rightly Prednisone is not quite the same as Prednisolone. I think Prednisone gets activated by the enzymes in the Liver which turns it into Prednisolone. So Prednisolone is more readily absorbed into the body. Both do the same job eventually though. Anyway never been offered 2.5mg or enteric ones either.

[HeronNS in reply to Bcol]

Yes pred has to be processed through the liver. I don't know why a country chooses one over the other, although I'd have thought prednisolone would generally speaking be a better choice.

[Bcol in reply to HeronNS]

I agree and have no idea why countries do different, unless it simplyfies things as people with Liver disease need the Prednisolone so that it doesn't have to rely on being processed by something that has a problem.

[Helipad in reply to Bcol]

I actually asked my doctors surgery to prescribe the 2.5 mg as well as the 5 as I got fed up trying to cut the 5s in half as they kept crumbling.

[Bcol in reply to Helipad]

OK, I don't have a problem cutting the 5mg but not tried a 1mg yet

[Lacelady in reply to HeronNS]

I get 2.5 mg from my doctor but they are not enteric coated

[Thelmarina in reply to PMRpro]

I have no trouble in getting 2.5mgs enteric coated here in the UK but I asked for them from the pharmacist when fulfilling my prescription.

[sampete in reply to Maisiek]

I can get 2.5

[HeronNS in reply to sampete]

Plain pred?

[sampete in reply to HeronNS]

Yes

[Rache]

Hi Bicol, I’ve managed to avoid having to cut pills so far, using 2.5 tablets. Your next step could be 5 + 2.5 + 2 for instance 😉

[Bcol in reply to Rache]

Hi Rache, don't have any 2.5's don't seem to get them from my docs. Anyway why take away the fun and excitement, got to have something to look forward to!!!!! But I will ask on next prescription.

[Rache in reply to Bcol]

🤣

[bromley621]

2.5 mg tablets are available -- but the larger chain chemists tend not to stock them. Try a local independent chemist. Also, ask the chemist for flat tablets: they are much easier to cut than the bowed /rounded ones. You can look up details of pills like shape , colour, names of manufacturers etc on the EMC -- the Electronic Medicines Compendium.

[Bcol in reply to bromley621]

Thanks for this. I don't have any problems with cutting the 5's and as our chemist is part of the doctors it is a lot easier to pick up our meds from there.

[Kymandbob]

Hi. I had a flare and went back to 15mg prednisolone. Have been reducing very slowly, literally 0.5mg a month. Now back to 8mg a day. Take care and good luck. 😊

[Bcol in reply to Kymandbob]

Thank you and I hope your downwards success continues.

[Pollynolongerinagony]

good luck!

[Bcol in reply to Pollynolongerinagony]

Thank you

[paulus65]

Same thing happened to me - when I got back to 10mgs I stayed there for about 6 months the restarted taper - down to 6/5.5mgs now with no problems so far.

[Lollybygolly]

For me, getting to 5mgs Prednisolone was tough snd even now some days I take 7mgs and it sorts out serious stiffness, like neck pain, and often that is enough snd I can revert to 5mgs the next day. I try not to get worried about “addiction” or “dependence”. Every good day you have is a battle won and a deposit in the sunshine box. The other days when it’s all not working have to be consigned to the “dreamer days” - I love travel programs on those days! Good luck and God bless you!

[Bcol in reply to Lollybygolly]

Hi, Think I'm many a month away from 5mg and it's not something I worry about. I'll get there when I get there, there is no rush and at the moment I seem to have a doctor who has no problem with that approach. Good luck to you with your continued downwards trend and what withy lockdown, the fact that it is absolutely tiddling (was going to use a different word there) down and the dogs have had their long walk, I have no problem with being indoors and resting.🙂

[Pistachios]

Please don't see it as failure. See it as taking sufficient medication to keep the condition under control. Good luck and don't be eager to taper too soon. I think that is what I did and have had to change my mindset.

[Noosat]

Good Luck ! Don't expect miracles. I am down to 2mg, but it has been hard all the way.

[Scrappy62]

Thanks for this post... I am mid-taper from 11 to 10 and was afraid yesterday, when the hip pain was nearly as bad as pre-diagnosis, that two fairly strenuous hikes (2400 and 2800 feet elevation gain) had left me with a big flare up. This morning is better, so sadly I’m resolving to less-strenuous walking while continuing down to 10 and beyond. I’ve been here twice before and really don’t want to have to start over again! I’m hoping this third time will, as they say, be a charm!

[Bcol in reply to Scrappy62]

Hi Scrappy62, possibly a tad adventurous I suspect, as you say, a bit more patience and 3rd time lucky. Hope it all goes well.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Scrappy62]

Has anyone mentioned trochanteric bursitis? That sort of hill walking would wake mine up good and proper!!!!

[Loyd]

Snap!! I start tomorrow on 10 and a half mg down from 11 today. My second attempt too. I think I’m going to do 6 weeks on 10mg before tying again. Well done and good luck!