How long before Pred to work

[DJmusic]

I have been on pred 20mg for a week now And I am still very stiff and painful in the morning if I don’t take ibuprofen it takes me until lunchtime to move properly just wondering how long for the pred to stop the pain Or should I upped the dose

[SheffieldJane]

Give it a few more days but one would expect a fairly dramatic improvement in pain and stiffness if your diagnosis is correct within 2 weeks certainly. Good luck!

[Constance13]

It took 6 hours for me to be pain free. I thought it was a miracle jug. It didn't last long before I found out it was good, but I'd need it a lot longer.

Read many posts by tipping the avatars and reading about people's experience. Don't despair but take things very very slowly and learn as much as you can.

💐🍀🍀

[Charlie1boy]

I was started on 20mg seven years ago, and after three days my GP upped the dose to 30mg, where I stayed for over three weeks until the inflammation had cleared up, and I was basically pain free.Of course we all react differently, and it may well be that by staying where you are for another week or two, your situation might well improve.

30mg is generally considered to be above the usual starting dose, so, if you do feel the need to increase, then I guess you’d be best to consult with your GP, which is what I did.

Good luck

Paddy

[PMRpro Ambassador]

What time are you taking the pred? The nature of PMR is that a new batch of inflammatory substances is shed in the body every morning about 4am and starts creating the basis for symptoms, The sooner after that you take the pred the less inflammation it must work on and the sooner you get relief. Ideal is 2-3am - then the pred is present in the body BEFORE the inflammation is created and it never gets hold. In some people the antiinflammatory effect of pred doesn't last the full 24 hours until the next dose is due - it can be anything from 12-36 hours - and then you have a bad morning until the pred works.

If ibuprofen is helping it does make me wonder if the pain is all due to PMR since ibuprofen rarely helps. It is also not recommended to take it regularly alongside pred - both can irritate the stomach and cause bleeding. You also have to do your part and adjust your lifestyle - being on pred is not a signal you can go back to normal activity levels. You need to rest and avoid the activities that make your symptoms worse.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Sorry to hear this, we did discuss things in previous post, but now see you are a farmer which means you are probably (through necessity) trying to do to much for the dose to be effective. If that's the situation then you will struggle with pain.

As stated before you shouldn't be talking NSAIDs (ibruprofen etc) regularly with Pred, but if they are helping then as stated by PMRpro, maybe its not all PMR.

Rather than just up your dose which you shouldn't do without medical approval you need to discuss with GP, but I would give it a bit longer to work...not everyone gets a miraculous instant response.

[Sharitone]

As you are only a week in, I would be expecting your GP to be monitoring the situation. Are you not having blood tests in the near future? My GP phoned me after 12 days (after a blood test) to tell me to increase the dose. I hope it works for you soon.

[piglette]

As PMRPro says if you are taking Ibuprofen and it works it is quite possible it is not PMR. NSAIDs such as Ibuprofen have pretty well zilch affect on PMR. I would have thought you should have had that magic moment on 20mg of steroids by now, but I may be wrong particularly if you are trying to carry on as normal. PMR is life changing and unforgiving if you overdo things.

[tangocharlie]

Some people need a higher starting dose, it'd be worth asking. I had to go up to 40 a year ago when I had a big flare and inflammation had built up, it did the trick. When I originally started with PMR, the steroids were miraculous and worked in about 24 hours. In fact, my GP said the good esponse to steroids was part of the diagnosis to confirm PMR. In France I'm told they prescribe a starting dose of 1/2mg per kilo body weight (up to a max presumably) yet in the UK drs are more cautious and start on 15-20

[Nextoneplease]

Hi, I was started on 15mg and it took about three weeks to have a really positive effect. In fact, I seem to remember that the GP was beginning to query the diagnosis, when suddenly it all clicked and I was so much better, it was unmistakable.

Looking back, I think I needed 20mg at the start. Given your active lifestyle, I think it would be a good idea to ask whether you should have a slightly higher starting dose. (Interesting to hear from tangocharlie how they calculate this in France!)

All the best and do take things as easy as you can 😊