Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...

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lowering prednisone

altoclef
altoclef
I've been on a low dose of prednisone for almost a year- currently at 5 mg. a day. My new doctor and I decided to try to get me off it. I cut down to 4 mg. two days ago. Frankly, I feel pretty awful. Much more pain, stiffness worse, and so on. Is this typical? It seems like it's such a small reduction.
deleted_user
deleted_user
it happened to me too. i was on 40 mg for 3 days, 20 mg for 3 days, 10 mg for 3 days in february. my pain got terrible after that. i went to doc. he increased the dose 60 mg for 3 days, 40 mg for 3 days, 20 mg for 3 days. i finished this course on wednesday and my pain is back. unbearable. i am going to doc again on tuesday to see if he can give me something else for my pain.

talk to your doctor and update us what he said. it is good to not to be on prednisone for a longterm use. it is good to switch to something else while tapering prednisone. you should talk to your doctor and find out what combination works for you. i am going to ask for DMARDs this time. i hate to be on prednisone,
deleted_user
deleted_user
I've been on prednisone for 8 years. I've never been able to get below 5 mg. I've tried lowering even by 1/4 of a mg and I can feel it, it is amazing that such a teeny tiny amount can make such a difference. Yes it's typical.
WarriorGal
WarriorGal
Weaning off it is important, but you need to wean ONTO soemtbing lese to replace it, or to BE on something else - prefrably a biological & methatrexate.
lycesq
lycesq
I recently went down to two pills (10 mg). Not enough. I've increased to l5 mg and that works for me.
me2012
me2012
Hi Altoclef, I feel your pain, literally. I too was on low dose, 2.5mg, for a year. Then flared big time and on a high dose for 2 months. I slowly tapered off as I started a new biologic. I have been off pred for about a month now and feel awful. I want to see if the mtx and remicade work better than mtx, orencia, and pred. I guess it does to some extent since I feel the same as before but without the pred. I agree you need something to help alleviate your pain. I am using Tramadol and heat/ice packs. They help to some extent. Good luck, hope you feel better soon!