Flare or not?

[Esmeruth7]

I have been reducing pred by 1mg per month. Reduced to 7mg on 1st August and 6mg on 1st Sept. I had a nasty virus a few weeks ago and have felt really bad since i.e.usual pain and stiffness at onset of PMR. To top it all last week was told I am not able to drive again because my eyesight has declined so much since last Dec. (Hasten to add I do have Dry Macular Degeneration but this was well controlled until I had to go on steroids).

Advice would be very much appreciatedwhether I should increase steroids.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

This link gives general advice on dealing with a flare - healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

..but honestly if you’ve felt unwell for a few weeks you really shouldn’t have attempted a reduction on 1 Sept….

…once you get things back under control with extra Pred then reduce to 7mg, NOT 6mg, and maybe try 0,5mg reductions p in future, you are getting into the realms of your adrenals needing to reawaken, and that’s sometimes difficult, so the slower tapers the better.

Sorry about your driving……

[Esmeruth7 in reply to DorsetLady]

Thankyou so much for your advice..

[Smithie49]

Good luck with your tapering and thank you, Dorsetlady for your reply. I am also on a 1mg per month reduction but struggle below 7mg . I have been on 6 for a few weeks but the neck and more recently the groin stiffness is back. I've been exerting myself too - probably overdone it with camping and (minor) hiking trips. I don't want to accept that being over 70 should make me sensible but maybe I should take heed of the advice I've read on here and go slower now I've got PMR. Grrrrr!!!!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Smithie49]

And don't forget you aren't heading relentlessly to zero - you are looking for the lowest effective dose for YOU. Not the same thing at all. It doesn't mean you won't get lower - just not yet ...

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Smithie49]

Being sensible in 70s? Couldn’t possibly comment-😂🤣…

But do try 0.5mg in future-once you’ve got everything settled down - doing what you need to achieve that….

[Pippah45]

I have had to reduce by .25 since I got to 7 pred. Even .5 was too tough but fingers crossed I get to 6 next week.