Pred Taper? My turn to ask a question lol | Arthritis Information
Ok, been on pred between 5mg and 10mg for almost 3 years now (sigh).
Doctors always want me to come down on it and get off it if i find the right meds to replace it. I would like to try and get off it to see how much of a difference it makes.
Every time i try to go down 1/4 a pill (pill is 5mg) i flair.
Is this a side effect. I know tons about this drug, except what happens when you try to get off it. I know i flaired when i had to a year ago, but i was getting off arava, celebrex etc. all at the same time.
So.... a bit scared here, but want to try because it is believed that the prednisone is causing my Bacterial Vaginosis to stay with me.
Thanks in advance.
My situation was similar to yours. After I'd been on Prednisone for two years, I started trying to taper, but every time I got below 7mg I flared horribly. Then, last February, my doctor put me on Humira. It made me feel so good that after I'd been on it for six months, I figured I'd take another shot at getting off of Prednisone. I reduced my dose by 1mg a month until I reached 5mg, at which point I started reducing by 1/2mg a month. I'm down to 3mg now with no flaring, and am feeling confident that I'll be able to totally get off Prednisone by this fall.
My sister has RA too. Like me, she was also hooked on Prednisone. Once she started taking Enbrel, she was able to slowly wean off of the evil Pred. She started experiencing mild flares when she got below 3mg, but they were tolerable and always went away after a couple of weeks on the lower dose. She's completely off Prednisone now with no discomfort.
Perhaps adding a biologic is what your body needs to allow your adrenal glands to start functioning properly again without needing a Prednisone boost.
If the pred is the only thing keeping the inflammation at bay then you will flare as you come off of it. But if you really want to try due to the length of time you've been on pred you may have to go even slower than others. One rule of thumb is that it should take a week to wean for every month you've been on pred. So you could be looking at about 36 or so to get off of it.
You might start off by cycling your dose alternating the 5 and 4.75 for a week. Then the next week go to 4.75 for 2 days and 5mg for one. Add one day per cylce each week until you are at 4.75 for a week then start over by cycling the 4.75 and 4.5 and so forth...
What Buckeye has suggested is really the easiest way to taper. I've tapered from 35mg to 7.5 mg in the last 14 months. I did it by alternating doses. It's a very long process but believe me worth it. I flared but I persisted on tapering and they got better, I'd stabilize for a few weeks then taper again. The process was long but I feel so much better overall since I've tapered. I had several incentives to get off Pred. - steroid induced cataracts, bil., and a blood sugar that was started to rise. Since I've tapered my blood sugar has stabilized, I've lost a few pounds, I sleep through the night, I'm not anxious and more stress free. LindyThanks everyone, i will try this. I believe my pred causes my BV and want to get off it as soon as possible, even if it is months down the road.My first few days of a cut is always the worst, while my body adjusts. Then it usually gets better.
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