A 2mg drop in one swoop at those lower levels is a lot. It is also somewhere around there that your adrenal glands should start to kick in and fill in the gap the lack of Prednisone may leave behind.

I experienced significant fatigue. It lasted for a week or two. I napped lots and let my body dictate what I did. If it has been longer than that, you should check with your doctor that is managing your taper.

Your taper might be too fast or too big of steps. But if not, it might just take a little time to adjust to the lower dose.

Hang in there.

Hi Amber. I agree with lexis. 2mgs at this level is a lot. I did 1mgs a month when I reached 10mgs and continued at 1mgs until finished. I also felt very tired fir about 7-10 days with sometimes joint pain, then it would all pass as my body adjusted until the next taper. You will get there Amber, it's just not easy when you have been on this stuff a while. Its great when you are finally off, no more tapering. Six months after finishing the steriod I am beginning to return to my normal self. The disease has left a bit of damage but I know the steriods probably saved my life. Best wishes. Autumm

Hi lexisgirl and autumn - sorry, I didn't word that question very well - I meant I have tapered from 9mg to 8mg over a month and then 8mg to 7mg the next month which I am on now. Hopefully another two weeks and I shall try 6mg for a while. Bit afraid of how low I can go in case symptoms come back??

Hi Amber. Down to 7mgs is fantastic. You will be clear by Christmas. You may still get tired as you taper but you recover in about a week, our body just adjusts. The trick is to know the taper feeling from a flare feeling. I would be surprised if you had a flare now, I would imagine your MTX is well in now and helping you off the steriods. Won't it be great when you get there. Autumm

Hi - I can't wait until that magic day when I will not have to take any steroid - like the rest of us. I tried the taper that Shawna recommended and the first time it didn't work but now thankfully third time lucky. I had tried other ways of tapering but everyone is different and what suits one does not suit another. Wouldn't it be good if we could all write comments in one book on our experiences of this PM/DM - I imagine there would be many pages in it. It certainly is a long old journey. Take care.

Hi Amberhere, Congratulations on a successful taper so far! Keep hydrated with water because that will help. I like Gatoraid for tapering.

Best wishes at the 5mg and below area. We will keep our fingers crossed for no flares. Check blood work for liver enzyme levels before going below 5mg.

Fatigue is a big part of tapering. Heavy legs and arms is also a taper feeling.

You are doing well. Stay positive and Keep us posted.

Hi Trpt. All of us in the UK have blood work every five weeks on DMARDs. They are checking full blood counts, liver and kidney function tests. Hope you are keeping well and so is Mr. Turtle. Autumm

Glad your taper is going okay and you aren't trying to go 2 mg at once. There are some levels I stayed at for 3 months before I tried going down 1 mg. I also moved to an every other day dose which seemed to help in a weird way.

You are right that everyone is different. Follow close what your doctor recommends and let your doctor know any funny things going on especially if they around more than 2 weeks.

I am always tired, but I am tampering 5mgs per week and as much as I am afraid of the additional pain, I plan to get off everything asap. I am just wondering if I will have any strength and be able to stand and even walk once I am off prednisone totally, which is my goal.

Like lexisgirl, I nap a lot, in fact too much for me, but what else do I have to do now that I am no longer working. I say do whatever your body tells you to do to help it heal. I hope this helps.

Thank you everyone for your replies - I am keeping an eye on things at the moment - bit hard to define some slight pain but I guess the idea is to plod on and keep fingers crossed. I have just found out when asking for my bloodwork results that if my Doctor is on holiday they don't get looked at!! I was asked by receptionist if I wanted the results looked at before my Dr comes back!! I said that would be a good idea!! Needless to say I have rectified that problem quickly. (Angry but bit my tongue)

Hi Amber. Even if your doctor is on holiday if the blood work does not look good the lab will contact the surgery, then someone from there will be in touch, the doctor must have left a locum in charge, it's the law, he can't just abandon the patients. I am sure all will be well. Autumm

unfortunately Autumn, that is not always the case... I always ask at my appts if doc has any vacations planned... or trips away. Helps me know when to call and when to tough it out.
shawna

Hi Shawna. It works differently here in the UK. If there is no doctor the health Service will put one in his/her place.,there is always a doctor in the practice.,best wishes. Autumm