Prednisone tapering | Arthritis Information
Most everyone here knows that I've been on a high dose of prednisone for several months. It started at 100mg daily, then was cut after a few weeks to 75mg, then to 70. I reduced my dose of 50mg daily yesterday to 45mg. Today I woke up nauseated, feeling more muscle weakness, and very fatigued. I also have dizziness but have had this for quite some time and I think it might be from the pred itself. I was told by my rheumatologist that as long as the dose is as high as it is that 5mg every week or two is a perfectly acceptable taper. Everything I can find suggests this is an acceptable taper. Does anyone think maybe I cut too much ?
Thanks
Bob
I can only speak to how hard it is to wean from Prednisone from my own experience at a much lower dose. I started taking Prednisone in September of 2005 (10mg, with occasional bumps to 20), but managed to get down to 5mg by Dec 2007. I then started reducing my dose by 1/2mg a month, with a goal of being totally off of it by Dec 2008. Every time I cut my dose, I'd hit a wall about 10 days later. I had bad joint pain, fever, nausea, loss of appetite, you name it, for a few days, then I felt fine. After a couple of weeks of feeling Ok, I'd cut my dose again. I'm now down to 1/2mg, and for the first time in the weaning process I haven't had any withdrawl symptoms, which my Rheumatologist says is an indication that my adrenal glands have started to fully function again.
Prednisone is powerful stuff, and it's possible that you just might have to fight through the withdrawl symptoms, and wait until you feel better before cutting your dose again.
Are you taking anything else? I was totally unable to get below 7mg of Prednisone until I started taking Humira.
Bob,
Sounds like maybe you are dropping too many mgs too quickly. Are you on a taper schedule from your doc?
I am trying to get off prednisione. I have not started yet, because I was confused after I got my RX. But my RD put me on the right track as of yesterday. I am to go down 1mg every 4 weeks. I am on 10mg of prednisone. So... I am to drop down to 9mg for 4 weeks.
I am going to start that tonight. I might not feel the effects of the taper until the Remicade starts to wear off again. When I first get my Remicade infusion, I feel like I do not need the prednisone no more, but take it anyways, of course. I did not take it last night as I fell asleep and did not wake up until 6am. But will take it tonight.
I remember being told that at the high doses you can drop fairly quickly. Once you get to the 20mg amount, it becomes a much slower process. It's that last 10 that takes the longest.I was told that it's highly unlikely that it's withdrawal by both my rheumatologist and an ER doc that I saw because of ear pain. I have fluid on my eardrums apparently which might explain the being dizzy part. This is what I was lead to believe about tapering pred. When at a dose like I'm at, or a little below....say 40mg, it's alright to go by 5mg at the most every week
20mg you should taper by 2.5mg at a time and 10mg you should go 1mg at a time. This sounds like what you mentioned Rebecca.
I also thought that if it were in fact withdrawal, then it stood to reason that if you added back the amount that was cut it should eliminate the withdrawal. This is the same thing the ER doc said and I told him if that's the case it's definitely not withdrawal because I tried that this morning.
He did lab work and everything, except the white count was good. The white count was 17,000 but he said that could be part from a slight ear infection but mostly from the pred.
Bob
Sounds like you had quite a day Bob! Sorry to hear you are not feeling well but glad you found the source of the problem. Are you on more antibiotics?
Yep. Zithromax...again. He said it was a good one for sinus and ear infections.
Hope the antibiotic works for you, Bob. Feel better soon!Hope I feel better soon joonie. Thanks to everyone
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