weaning

[nallen11]

so i am down to 1 mg of prednisolone and am scared to death to stop taking it!!

i am taking tablets as it is the only form available at this time.

Any words of wisdom????

thanks

[Seacat30]

If the pills are uncoated I would cut them in half and take 0.5mg for at least a month.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Just reduce using slow tapering plan and try 0.5mg initially…plain white tablets can easily be cut.

.. and don’t be scared….

[PMRpro Ambassador]

You can cut plain tablets - doesn't have to be accurate, just less. And there is no reason why you can't use DSNS or DL's taper with zero as the "New dose" and do it very slowly always remembering that even 1/2mg may be enough to manage the inflammation and stop it building up. But if you are watchful - no reason not to go for it and taper further slowly.

OTOH - if the doctor is happy, 1mg isn't doing any harm and you could take it as a talisman.

[yogabonnie]

I am at 1.5 and tried for 1 going slowly slowly. but alas. I felt so bad by day 3 I went back to 2 then down to 1.5 again where I feel okay again. I know I didnt give it enough time to be sure it wasn't prednisone withdrawal..and not a flare. but I couldnt face a flare and feeling crummy was enough for me. If 1 is not hurting .. I would stick with it for a long long long time. maybe 3 months at least before starting DSNS again

[piglette]

When you want to try zero, why not do it for one day then go back to the pred dose. Then try again a few days later and slowly reduce the number of days you take pred and see how it goes, if you have problems just stop the zero bit.

[MamaBeagle]

Good luck. I went down to zero pred this year. I was on 2mg in January. I reduced by ½mg a time, arriving at zero late April. So far so good. Still on zero. Every twinge I felt after that I thought was PMR mind you. It is scary as you are leaving behind your crutch. But then what is the worst that can happen? You know your body, you know what PMR feels like. If you do overshoot then you know to up the dose quickly and slap ot on the head. Safe journey 💝

[nallen11]

so I will stay on 1mg and be thankful that I am doing so good!

Have a tele visit with Rheumatologist this week and think I will ask for liquid prednisolone so I can get an accurate dose going forward.

I have only been on steriods for 6 1/2 months. I have done extremely well! Wonder if Low dose Naltrexone is the reason why???

Thanks for all you input

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to nallen11]

Accuracy doesn't matter - just has to be less than the previous dose. If you are cutting a tablet in half it balances out over the two days.

[Molefosey]

Hi there Just seen your post I have reduced to 4.5mgs of pred after a starting dose of 20mgs in Aug 2020 I aim this week to drop one more mg and soon be where u are now If u have got to 1mg without any side effects i would GUESS that u may well be safe enough to try even 1/2 mg and finally then none! The worst that can happen is that u will feel symptoms again and then its back to 1mg for you but if so ITS NOT SO BAD having to stick to 1mg for maybe the rest of our lives is it?? That is the way i am looking at it anyway Have u had any test to see if your adrenal glands are back working on their own yet? That is worrying me a bit- as mine has been out of action so to speak since Aug 2020 and i know as a former nurse that adrenal function can be tested by a simple blood draw Let me know how u are getting on maureen leathem

[nallen11 in reply to Molefosey]

i am going to have a tele visit with rheumatologist this Thursday and i think i will stay at 1 mg for awhile. I am going to ask hime to switch me to liquid prednisolone so i can then go to 1/2 mg them 1/4 then done.

i am having some mild shoulder pain in the mornings..

and I am also a retired nurse. i practiced for 42 years

Thanks Nella