Flare at 1mg

[Skier321]

Hi folks I was doing well after 3.5 years was tapering down from 1 mg to .5 mg with DSNS, 5 week program. Unfortunately because of the slow tapper the inflammation built up slowly. I thought it was just old age aches and pains masked by the prednisone. But no it became a flare. I don’t have any arthritis at 75 so I can’t blame that. I am back to 6mg now. Should I stay there for 7 or 14 days? I then plan to go back down to 1.5 where I felt ok. Should I stay there for a month and not start the taper right away. Funny but my left groin hurt which is where I got my first pmr symptom. I guess I wont t be over this until that spot burns out. Thought I would be over this by January. Just like a game of snakes and ladders, I just caught another snake. As Monty Python say “ always look on the bright side of life. Thank you in advance for your wise council

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Up to 14 days you should be able to drop back to the lower dose without problems. I would make sure you have had a good clear out of the inflammation before you drop - but only you can tell if only 7 days is enough. See how you feel.

However, if you are only using a 5 week taper, I'd try slowing right down now on this last mg or so. Even these really low doses are still doing something and I would stick at each new dose for a couple of months before trying the next one to be absolutely sure it is still enough. At these doses there really is no hurry and it is quite possible that if you had stayed at 1mg longer you might have felt a return of the pain.

[Billiebobdog]

oh my word, you’ve just told my story and here I am back up to a high dose because the discomfort was getting silly

The only difference was that I got bored at 1 mg, ignored the discomfort and stopped taking the tablets so 31/2 years and back to the beginning. I am younger than you but my body just couldn’t deal with the inflammation and pain and I’d been so careful to,taper really slowly

Hey ho, such is an auto immune disease - has a mind of its own

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi, usual advice for dealing with a flare is in this link -.

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

And lengthen the taper thereafter -you can repeat each stage/week as many times as required….

[WeAreAllMutants]

My personal experience/experiment with a flair & subsequent higher dose plus tapering follows.

At 4mg prednisone I was feeling OK, not great, but I was bored and wanted to go lower. By the chart you can see I tried 3.5, back to 4, 3.75, back to 4, and then after trying 3.5 again I was feeling so bad I jumped to 10. Dropping by .5 MG every two days got me to 5, where I stayed for four days and now I've been at 4.5 for three weeks. It was an easy taper that did not give my body a single twinge of regret. Now ready to try it back at 4 mgs.

Note: I split pred 1/2 morning, 1/2 evening.

Chart of gradual taper.

[Chiqui1950]

Hello Skier,

It is great that you have been able to get to .5 with the DSNS. it also has worked for me. I agree with the wise advice shared about your post. The lesson for me right now is to listen to my body and not rush it. All the best as you continue on your healing path!