Tapering Problem

[craighead72]

I have been reducing my Pred by 1mg a day every 2 weeks starting from 14mg a day. I reached 11mg ten days ago and have been waking around 4.30-5am feeling very tired and weak. Should I be going back up in my dose for a while.? My blood/oxygen level on waking is around 95 and increases slowly to 97-98 in an hour or two.

[123-go]

Hello craighead72. If you look back at the advice you received 5 months ago you will be reminded that 0.5mg reduction per month is the best/safest method:

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk

You will see that you have been tapering by too much and too quickly. The experts will be along to recommend what you should do now regarding increasing your dose.

Your blood oxygen readings are acceptable: 96% or more ( Reading taken at home: 95% )

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

I would be staying at 11mg for another couple of weeks and see if it improves, you don’t mention any particular PMR symptoms so hopefully not beginnings of a flare …but as 123-go advises you should be reducing more slowly from now on.

Monthly rather than every 2 weeks…and obviously if you start to get PMR symptoms you may need to increase dose.

[RunRabbitRun]

I would go back to the dose where you felt good. My biggest regret when I look back on my taper journey was trying to stick it out on a dose that left me feeling bad.

You deserve to feel well. It’s a slow journey, not a race. Good luck.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

1mg every 2 weeks is quite fast - slow down. You would probably find that if you consciously breathed more deeply for a a few breaths you could raise your oxygen level - not that there is much to worry about at 95%, mine is permanently about that.

[PMRnewbie2017]

Slow down, your body will thank you for it. Yo-yoing of Pred doses plays havoc in PMR and every time we flare it often becomes necessary to go up a step in dose in order to get relief. There really is no point in pushing the boundaries. I tried it in the early days and after 6 years I'm still here!!

[craighead72 in reply to PMRnewbie2017]

Good advice. Thankyou.