Just a bit of advice

[Hunter134]

I managed to get to 8 mg the last 2 week's but iam feeling the inflammation building up again.I just wanted to know if iam correct to go up to 9 mg where I was stable.If so for a week? Thanks for your expert input.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

No - probably for longer. You aren't heading relentlessly for zero, you are looking for the lowest effective dose and that is probably 9mg if you were fine there but symptoms are returning. Nothing will get you below that lowest effective dose, however slowly you go but you will get lower, just not yet.

You could try going back to 9mg and see if that is enough, it may be if you catch it quickly enough. Otherwise, the way to deal with this sort of flare is to add 5mg to where the flare happened - so go to 13mg - for a week until all the symptoms are gone and then drop straight back to 9mg. Then you could try just tapering to 8.5mg and see if that is enough. Some people only manage 1/2mg at a time under 10mg.

[Hunter134 in reply to PMRpro]

I was tapering 1/2 mg for a month but iam guessing I needed more longer.Thanks PMRpro.Been 4 years and it's been relentless.My urologist told me the prednisone is inflaming my bladder so it gets painful.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hunter134]

Intrigued how he reckons the pred is inflaming your bladder since it is a powerful antiinflammatory - I presume he means it is causing irritable bladder syndrome which it can. There is medication to calm that down.

So you have been at 8,5mg before?

[Hunter134 in reply to PMRpro]

Yes I started to taper down from 10 mg.I was ok til I got to 8 MG's.Honestly I find specialists never explain anything.I had 2 biopsies done that were normal.He came in the room to say it's nothing and he discussed with other urologists and they say it's from prednisone.Never said what I had.I should ask for a report.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hunter134]

It might be worth trying D-mannose - might not work but nothing ventured and all that.

I have had problems - they do a urethral stretch and that solves things for about 10 years.

[Hunter134 in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you!! I will try the D-mannose.Hoping it helps♥️