Ending Prednisone

[Citation]

Firstly i would like to thank all the awesome people on this site that offer guidance and education to all of us experiencing GCA and PMR. I would also like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Canada.

I was diagnosed in February 2020 with PMR and was prescribed 20 mg of prednisone. I have managed to get to .5 mg and am hesitant on how to proceed from here. I am having no issues so thinking of staying on .5 for 3 weeks then either going to .25 or “0”. I have been getting blood work once every month and there has been no inflammation for quite some time. My Rheumatologist has told me I’m doing well and no more blood tests are required. He also said that I don’t need to see him anymore and passed me back to my GP.

My question is, “Should I, after I do the 3 weeks on .5 mg, just go to 0 and not bother with .25 mg”?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

You could try 0.25mg, but another option is to introduce a slower tapering regime -for example

One day in first week on zero, rest on 0.5mg, See his that goes, if okay , then next week add in another day on zero (but not consecutive days).

Continue adding in an extra day per week until you get zero every day.

But just be aware at such low doses, 0.5mg can really make a big difference, so if at any time you don’t feel happy then just repeat previous weeks regime.

0.5mg may be sufficient to control inflammation markers… but you cannot be sure your PMR has gone into remission until you’ve been off Pred for a few months and are symptom free.

Good luck

[Citation in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you. That makes sense to me so will definitely try that.

[SnazzyD]

I messed about with fractions of 1mg for a year before going to zero. No idea if it was needed or not but it felt like it.

[Citation in reply to SnazzyD]

Thank you.

[piglette]

I would try going to 0 for a day then back to 0.5 for a few days, then try 0 again if it worked the first time. Then back to 0.5 for less time etc etc. then 0 forever!!

[Citation in reply to piglette]

thank you, definitely sounds like a solid plan.

[LemonZest11]

We're all so different but my experience has shown me that I need the consistency, so I'd go to 0.25. About to do it myself, in fact. But I'm no expert here, just what has worked for me. My Rheumatologist cannot believe that such a low amount can make a difference but hey, it does. Good luck 👍

[Citation in reply to LemonZest11]

Thank you.

[MamaBeagle]

Good luck! I did the same journey down ending last April. I did the 3 or 4 weeks at ,5mg then went straight to zero over 6 weeks adding a zero day each week. It just felt right to do it that way and thankfully it worked!

[Citation in reply to MamaBeagle]

Thank you.