Hi. I'm new to this message board and think I posted wrong yesterday, so am trying again. I was diagnosed with PMR/GCA over three years ago. I have been on prednisone almost from the beginning, starting at 60 mgs and tapering fairly quickly down to 15 mgs, where I stayed for two years. Have recently been tapering by ones and am now down to 7 mgs, but for the first time in my taper I am feeling some achiness, from my shoulders to my fingertips. My question is this: Am I encountering PMR, or is there simply some achiness associated with the withdrawal of prednisone?? My doctor is not helpful on this subject, but instead takes the clinical approach, that is, if it hurts go back up on pred. Any experiences or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks!
There is definitely achiness associated with prednisone withdrawal, too. It should clear up within a week or two if it's due to the prednisone withdrawal. (Not only achiness, but also there can be depression and fatigue, and probably other things that I can't recall at the moment.)
If the pain is worse after 2 weeks, then it is quite possibly the PMR still. Either way, if it is too uncomfortable , you can always try alternating days e.g. 7 mg/ 8 mg/ 7 mg/ then 7 mg/ 7 mg/ 8 mg/ 7 mg, etc. to soften the withdrawal. That's what I do, and it's worked very well from 15 down to 10 mg in the past 2 months.
Good luck!
I responded to you yesterday on your initial post