Pred push tapering?

[ellarowan]

Hello I was tapering 2 weeks ago to 5.5 then had big flare unable to function. So, after an abortive attempt to get rid of my symptoms by upping my dose to 7mgs ( on doctor's recommendation) I had no relief. My question is I have upped my dose and been on 20mgs for 4 days most of my symptoms have disappeared, Should ALL my symptoms have disappeared before I go back down to say 10mgs? I would be very grateful for any help? Many thanks

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Difficult to say - were you symptom-free before the flare? I'd think another day at 20mg would be plenty and drop to 10mg for another 5 days before trying 7.5mg.

It is next to impossible to tell any other way whether it is the overshoot that caused the problem or whether the flare is a true flare in the underlying disease activity - and then you don't know how much pred you might need.

[ellarowan in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks for your reply. I guess I was getting a bit achy a week before the flare and I was very busy and a bit stressed!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to ellarowan]

Now why doesn't that surprise me at all?