GCA, now mononucleosis, bump in prednisone - PMRGCAuk

PMRGCAuk

21,031 members39,713 posts

GCA, now mononucleosis, bump in prednisone

Lucy2013 profile image
10 Replies

Diagnosed with GCA & PMR 3 years ago. Have tapered down to a 1.5 mg prednisone dose. Mononucleosis (wow am I lucky) just evolved and I have upped the prednisone dose to 15 mg for a few days to facilitate breathing. Can I return to 1.5 mg in a few days without a tapering schedule? How many days at 15 mg can I go before I have to taper?

Written by
Lucy2013 profile image
Lucy2013
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
10 Replies
SheffieldJane profile image
SheffieldJane

That’s a question that I would take to my doctor, instinct says it would probably work though.

PMRpro profile image
PMRproAmbassador

I think about 10 days is the maximum to just drop back to the original dose - but at the very start of pred I was given 6 weeks of pred, 2 weeks each of 15/10/5 and stop and that is fairly standard. If you felt you needed a bit longer you could do a week each of the doses - at 1.5mg you must be doing fairly well (apart form the mono!) . Just don;t let someone tell you to drop to zero because they haven't noticed your baseline is a bit higher!

Lucy2013 profile image
Lucy2013 in reply to PMRpro

Thanks for everyone's response. Doing fairly well with the GCA, i.e. the inflammation markers are stable and within normal limits and I still work a full-time job. However 2-days on pred, my knees and back issues are greatly improved. So it is possible I am a bit low on the pred, but the knees do need a new model upgrade and I did fracture a vertebrae about 25 yrs ago that left me with some discomfort. BTW, I never heard of an almost 70-year old person getting mono. Want to blame my GCA and a recent cortisone shot to the knee for lowering my immune system.

Slosh profile image
Slosh in reply to Lucy2013

It may have just re-activated the Epstein Barr virus. Take extra care nutritionally and rest a lot.

PMRpro profile image
PMRproAmbassador in reply to Slosh

I was reading an article the other day that reckoned well over 90% of us have had EBV at some point although many of us didn't know it at the time.

Slosh profile image
Slosh in reply to PMRpro

Very likely. I had it at 19. Took a while to diagnose. I told my doc that Ithought I was a hypochondriac because I felt sick everyday and rand a low grade fever ever evening. I had no swollen glands. I often have atypical symptoms with things.

Feel like I’ve had it again post Covid. Same symptoms but just twinges in glands. But could be anything I suppose.

PMRpro profile image
PMRproAmbassador in reply to Slosh

I had something like that in my mid-20s but EBV was negative - in retrospect, it did fit the start of ME though, which was still "yuppy flu" at that time, though it was at the short end of the spectrum, it resolved in about 6 months. I know several PMR people with a similar history - which always intrigues me.

Luciejc profile image
Luciejc in reply to Lucy2013

Did you recently get a COVID booster?

Ronzy profile image
Ronzy in reply to PMRpro

Yes I feel they won’t let you rest a while give pred it’s time to really help things, yes at least 6week .but I’m just a nobody really. Last time with pmr had a fantastic doctor,Every time I saw him he would say ho you must never be without these meaning Prednisone and give me lots more ,I had a rite old stash 😊

For mounts I felt absolutely fantastic Hiking like a trogon ,badminton, table tennis

But I must stress I feel very lucky to have been able to keep myself quiet fit after retirement 18 years ago when I reached 75. Yes so I am now 83 still playing a little

Badminton and table tennis at what we call the owls

My philosophy is to do what I can while I can .

Sorry I’m rambling on a bit

But is pred really as bad as Doctors make out I don’t think so , hope not

Is there masses of people getting Diabetes cos on pred ,that’s the big one they try and scare us with.

That’s my little rant folks.

Wishing you all the very best

🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

PMRpro profile image
PMRproAmbassador in reply to Ronzy

Not really as many cases of steroid induced diabetes as they seem to think. It helps to cut the amounts of carbs you eat - lots of stories on the forum about getting the Hba1c test back to normal sort of levels by doing that. MrsNails has a really good story about being pre-diabetic and getting it back to a good level as well as losing weight.

Not what you're looking for?

You may also like...

GCA questions

Have been experiencing headaches for the past few days (but no other symptoms) and am wondering if...

Stopping prednisone?

68/m, PMR diagnosed 7 moths ago, started prednisone 20-25 mg 7 mths ago, now at 2.5 mg prednisone...

Prednisone

In August 2022 i had several blisters under both feet i was diagnosed with autoimmune imbalance. I...

Prednisone Reduction

My labs came back good. My Rhematologist wants to reduce my Prednisone from 20 mg to 15 mg . I...

Prednisone doses

Hi. I was wondering if it is considered to take the 15 mg of prednisone as 3 separate doses...