Down to 5 mg pred and hurting. | Arthritis Information

I have been doing pretty good on 7.5 mg pred.  In an effort to get off this med or get it down further, I dropped down to 5 mg a couple of days ago.  I am pretty miserable at this time.  I feel like I have the flu, my face feels warm and has a redness to it.  I have a sore spot between my shoulders that hurts when I move or try to turn my head.  I am achy from the waist up.  Is this pretty much what to expect when we get down too low on pred?  I was trying to hold out to see if I get better with time but I think I'm going to have to go back up to 7.5 mg.  One reason I'm trying hard to reduce the pred is I had a bone scan recently and it shows some thinning of my bones.  I am taking calcium with Vitamin D and my doctor has now started me on a weekly dose of Alendronate to try to counteract the bone loss.dalton, yes, that certainly sounds familiar, what you might try is swede's method of tapering, do a search on what he does successfully.  i have toughed it out with nonsteroids,  but yes you will feel the difference.  he alternates with new dose, old dose, makes sense entirely to trick body into accepting new dose. do not try to change too soon to a lower dose, also, your body is not accepting the lower.  keep at a dose that you can tolerate for a longer period of time before tapering.   just what has worked for me, but evryone is a little different. Welcome Dalton     at least this is a great site!