Down to 7.5 mg prednisone now.

[GazzaF]

After being diagnosed with pmr in April I was initially prescribed 15mg pred which worked well. I've been slowly tapering without any problems. End of October I was rushed into hospital with breathing problems and eventually diagnosed with multiple pulmonary embolism and put on Apixaban blood thinners. Up until this time I didn't seem to have any side effects from the pred but now they appear to be turbo charged by the Apixaban...big weight gains moon face being just two of the things although I feel like I can taper my prednisone even quicker.

[SnazzyD]

Happy Christmas. Sometimes the weight gain from Pred doesn’t seem to happen from the off and certainly I found that the face etc took a few months to really become noticeable. Apixaban doesn’t seem to come with weight gain as a common side effect, though who knows if there is some interaction with the Pred. However, unless you have been cutting carbs consistently from the start, you may well see the effects now Apixaban or not. Also, the time of year isn’t ideal for cutting carbs and for that matter salt. Carbs are the issue with Pred and many of us have had to to cut out potato, rice, pasta, flours, sugar, maize etc. Perhaps a concerted effort in the New Year if you haven’t been doing so already. It’s a pain, I’ll give you that!

Whether you can actually reduce more quickly can’t be known, even if you feel great. You risk a flare or adrenal insufficiency if you go too fast and may have to go back up and higher than where you were. What dose are you on?

[GazzaF in reply to SnazzyD]

Thanks for replying. I'm now on 7.5mg pred.

[GazzaF in reply to SnazzyD]

And as for cutting carbs...ouch..my diet has potatoes in it every day.

[GazzaF in reply to SnazzyD]

I see you also mention adrenal insufficiency. I'm actually on BP meds that stop me producing as much aldosterone. I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

How strange - don't know about Apixaban but my Pradaxa doesn't seem to have that effect. Didn't gain - but didn't lose either,

Like Snazzy, I can only keep weight under control with low carb - very low carb to lose. I need to get my head around it again in the new Year.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Sorry to hear that, but don’t try and taper Pred too quickly…