Neck pain

Hi all, Ibeen on 11mg since monday tapering down 1mg every 3 wks and feel good more bit of stiffness but no pain except for my neck which doesn't seem to be any different than it always been, is this normal when all other pain has gone?

[piglette]

If the pain gets worse than when you first started steroids it is a good idea to STOP reducing to ensure that the PMR is under control. When you get down to 10mg it may be sensible to reduce every four weeks.

[SheffieldJane]

Has your neck pain been diagnosed? Mine is cervical Spondylosis and unfortunately Pred has no real positive impact. It’s not constant though. Pause your taper if you think the stiffness is getting worse. Let it settle.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

If it was always the same it is probably something else.

[kulina]

I can only advise you from my own experience so I dropped to 3 mg Pred from 3.25 mg. Yes, I can only reduce very slowly and even then I ran into problems. The first time I tried to reduce the pains came back starting with my neck, then shoulders, etc. It was obviously a flair so I increased the dose and tried to reduce again. This time it was only my neck that hurt. I then considered my pillow and the position in which I was sleeping. I changed my pillow to a thinner one and now my neck pain is 90% gone. I'm not saying to ignore the more serious issues but sometimes it's easy to blame PMR and the lower dose of Prednisone on our aches and pains. I'd say, if it's only your neck, it might not be PMR related but simply the way you sleep. BTW, I was never able to reduce by 1 mg, only .50 or .25 at lower doses and I always divided my dose in the am and pm. Let us know how you make out. Good luck!