Advice needed before Covid booster on Saturday 8 October

[marionofnorwich]

I am due another booster jab on Saturday. I was fine on previous Covid jabs but when I actually got Covid in April it threw me abut good and proper (not the Covid itself). I had just reduced to 4mg when the bug struck. Afterwards couldn't walk due to stiff legs and had to go back to 10mg to level out and start tapering again. I am now at 8mg. Legs still very stiff but manageable. Obviously I am a bit wary and would like any advice in the buildup to Saturday eg should I increase for a few days beforehand, or after, or both and then drop back to 8mg in a week or so? Any thoughts? Thank you

[Seacat30]

Prednisolone can make the vaccine less effective so you should have the dose down as low as is possible for you when you have the jab and keep it down for at least 2 weeks afterwards

[Koalajane]

I have now had 6 Covid vaccines and 5 flu jabs and none of them have caused a flare. I have not raised my steroid dose for any of them

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I'd say paracetamol - I think DorsetLady takes some the day before and the day of and after the jab, not sure esactly. If you can manage without extra pred it is better but for the days around the jab it should not make any difference to the response to the vaccine - that takes several days to develop. But the less pred, the better.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to PMRpro]

marionofnorwich

Yep -24 hours prior to vaccine .then 24- 48 hours after, depending on how I feel.

Never increased Pred when had GCA (flu vaccine though not covid)

[marionofnorwich]

Great, thank you everyone, that is reassuring. As an additional bit of news, as suggested by various people, I have started taking 5mg between 2am and 3am and the rest of my dose at around 10am (as opposed to all of it 10-11am) which seems to be improving things. Early days to be certain but will continue as I am just starting to contemplate drop to 7.5mg

[Bcol]

Morning. I'm on 4.0mg tapering down to 3.5mg and just had both flu and No.5 Covid jabs, flu in right arm and Covid in left and apart from a slightly sore and tender left arm the following day no untoward problems art all. I have taken all my Pred dose around 02:00-03:00 for a long time which has generally got me through the day/night quite happily.

[HeronNS]

For my first covid shot, Pfizer, I was in the midst of a bad flare and resolved to get and keep my dose down to 5 mg for the vaccine and a few days after. It was not a good idea for the PMR to be reducing and I knew that, but was also determined to give the vaccine the best chance to work well. I caved after two days, but I had been in a pretty bad state before the vaccine and can honestly say I don't think the vaccine itself made things any worse. Certainly when I broke down and took an increased dose of pred on the third day after the vaccine PMR pain disappeared as hoped for. I mention this because I needed at the time to be at about 10 mg, although it didn't take too long to go down to around 7-8 for a while before tapering further, so similar to where you are.

[Dizzart]

Hi Ya, ..... I live in Norfolk and my jab is Sat 8th too, I will keep my fingers crossed for you if you do for me , it’s a deal 👍🏻😄

[marionofnorwich in reply to Dizzart]

Haha, might see you at Fishergate?

[Dizzart in reply to marionofnorwich]

I live nr North Walsham... a Country Bumpkin 😄 having both flue and covid 🙁 one in each arm 🙄 everything crossed for both of us 👍🏻👍🏻 Diz

[Mazxstitch]

I had my 5th Covid and my Flu Vaccinations yesterday. I have been on 2.5mg Prednisolone for 4 weeks. No adverse effects so far.

[Golden20 in reply to Mazxstitch]

thanks for your comments. Like you, I’m now on 2.5mg of pred. I’m due to have my 5th Covid jab on Thursday and am going away for few days on Monday. Wasn’t sure if I should postpone in case bad reaction. Everyone reacts differently, I know and also can depend on what combination is in the jab. Fingers crossed all be good. Thanks again. Good luck with continued tapering.

[Gardenbay]

I am on 3 mg a day, I had Covid and flu jabs last Friday, I’ve ached a bit, but I’ve kept going, just be as positive as you can. This was my fifth Covid jab.

[Flivoless]

I had 5th Jab last Saturday (Pfizer). I was due to taper from 7 to 6.5mg but decided to delay it for another week. So far, no dramas at all.

[whitefishbay]

Getting mine on Friday. Fingers crossed for smooth sailing.

[Bobbury]

I've had five covid jabs plus flu jab previously the week before. I didn't reduce and to be honest it's something I personally wouldn't consider doing. I've been fine, no problems at all. I'm on 7mg and have been for a considerable amount of time. However our bodies all react in different ways.