Hello again friends,
Im sure this topic has come up many times before. But could someone help me out with this one just one more time?
Im currently weaning off of prednisone and Im down to 3mgs per day.
Just wanted to know when Im completely off of this am I going to have a flare from you know what??? Im getting a little worried. I hate prednisone but it is definitely a wonder drug. I dont want to have to give in to it again. My 100 mgs of Enbrel seems to be working along with the vicoden and the daypro. I was on Arava but it seemed to have quit working. Do I necessarily need to take Arava?
Does anyone have information on the new RA forum? The web address?
Thanks!
momof3
If your RD hasn't taken you off the Arava - I wouldn't stop it. Even though it doesn't seem like it's doing anything....you don't realize how much it WAS doing until your off of it.....that happened to me when I got off plaquenil... I did have a big flare when I came down off the the pred...but, I don't know if that's common.
The new forum's address is: www.arthritisforums.iforumer.com
Another nice group is www.rheumamisfits.com
Good luck!
Momofthree, I am weaning off of pred also. I am down to 12.5 mg a day. I was wondering what you were started on and how long it has taken you to get to 3mg. This has been really difficult for me because the RA went into my lungs very quickly. I was DX this April. I take 50mg. of Enbrel and 20mg. of Arava along with several other meds for breathing. I appreciate any imput, I was doing extremely well, until I went below 3 mg. Then it was worse than the flare up I had experienced. The research I have done said it gets very hard under 5 mg. I have now been stuck at 3 mg. since July. Will be starting MTX in a week or so and have been told to stay on the 3 mg. of Pred. Yuk!
[QUOTE=h2osign]Momofthree, I am weaning off of pred also. I am down to 12.5 mg a day. I was wondering what you were started on and how long it has taken you to get to 3mg. This has been really difficult for me because the RA went into my lungs very quickly. I was DX this April. I take 50mg. of Enbrel and 20mg. of Arava along with several other meds for breathing. I appreciate any imput, [/QUOTE]
I had been up to 10 mgs for months and my RD finally decided to start weaning me down. I was at 10 back in June and have been weaning off every since. I havent been feeling bad from it but I just need to know if Im going to all of a sudden shut down after Im off of it.
If you have been ok as you are going down on the pred, I think you should be ok when you get off. I would do the 3mg every other day for a bit, then every 3rd day, then off. I was on 5mg for 6 months and that is how I weened myself off. I felt it but it was no big flare just increased stiffness.Great I will do it that way.