Yesterday was my first reduction in prednisolone, 15mg down to 12.5mg. My day was normal and fine, this morning I have woken with a slight increase in discomfort through the shoulders, lower back and arm, nothing extraordinary but just a change. I will go with it as I can cope with it, although annoying, but I was wondering what is ‘normal’ while tapering.
My plan is to stay at this dose for 3weeks - 4 weeks which was how long I stayed on the previous dose
Take it slowly. Changing quickly is so difficult. I would take 15mg one day and 12.5 the next for the first week. It helps to smooth out the process
Would say that’s steroid withdrawal (SW) - see this post - and if it is it should go within a few days - healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...
But you should be aware that although 15-12.5mg is a recognised taper from the guidelines it doesn't suit everyone….sometimes it’s too big a step.
Provided it is just SW, I would suggest next taper you take a smaller drop - say 1mg or if you have 2.5mg tablets halve them to give 1.25mg - much nearer the ‘no more than 10% reduction of current dose’ recommendation.
Thank you
Hello and welcome
Others will be along soon, but I would sit it out a few days to see if it is reaction to the taper. Keep a note of how you feel to help you recognise any pattern in the future. If your discomfort increases, it could be that you are not ready for a taper if the the main inflammation is not under control, so then it would be back up for a while. I found it took some time to recognise what the different feelings meant, and after all this time still don't always get it right! Pmr is a perfect example of the body doing it's own thing and often not in sync with the brain.
Lots of help available on here and don't forget the FAQ's!
I used to become a tired achey heap with a headache starting anywhere from day 1 to 4. Usually done from a couple of days or a week if it was a bad one.
I would say that if the discomfort increases it is a sign you aren't ready for 12.5mg just yet - and I would go back to 15mg and reduce by 1mg at a time in future. Pain that starts quickly is more likely to be steroid withdrawal and it will improve over a week or two. Too low a dose will get worse over the time. In time you will learn to recognise what is what - but the easiest differentiator is to reduce in smaller steps.
I woke up with a slight increase in discomfort which has mostly disappeared now as the day has progressed- it’s also a case of working out what is a normal discomfort as opposed to the PMR 🤪
In that case, keep an eye on it- if it stays the same or improves, fine, if it gets worse, not so fine!
Steroid withdrawal can happen in the first day or two. If you have problems in a week or so it means you may have dropped too far and you could get a flare. .
Methods of tapering
side effects of tapering
What tapering feels like.........
Tapering, when will PMR resurface
