Your Thoughts

[drz]

Prednisone dosage needed can vary greatly just like our symptoms of GPA over time as well as from person to person. After my initial diagnosis in 2010 I was able to taper my pred down to 10 without too much trouble over a period of several months. Above 50 I could drop 10 mg every two weeks. After 50 I dropped 5 every two weeks till I got to 10. I did have to back up a few times but did get to 10 after some months. From 10 to 5 I dropped .5 every two or three weeks. I would wait till the symptoms from the drop disappeared for around five-seven days and then start the next one. It took some work and I had to have various sizes and cut tablets to do it but eventually got to five with no significant problems where I stayed for years.

Some times when my residual GPA symptoms increased they would boost my pred up to 20 with a taper back down by 2.5 every week to return to 5. This summer though it has not worked for me and I am currently at 10 and might have to increase it if my nose bleeds persist or if joint pain increases. I have to hold my AZA too right now to treat my pneumonia and sinus infection and bronchitis. I got IV antibiotics for several days in the hospital for sepsis but am now home on oral meds for next ten days. I was at 7.5 pred when i went to hospital but they upped it to 10. I will resume my maintenance AZA when I finish my antibiotics if the pneumonia and other infections are gone.

Some people like to taper fast and tough it out through the symptoms of the decrease. This works fine it you do not have a flare that requires RTX or an increase in your immu-suppressants. Others like to go slow to minimize this risk. Tapering pred works best if you and doctor have the same preference on how is best for you. But like every thing else there is no one size fits all.

[Alysia]

Prednisone dosage needed can vary greatly just like our symptoms of GPA over time as well as from person to person. After my initial diagnosis in 2010 I was able to taper my pred down to 10 without too much trouble over a period of several months. Above 50 I could drop 10 mg every two weeks. After 50 I dropped 5 every two weeks till I got to 10. I did have to back up a few times but did get to 10 after some months. From 10 to 5 I dropped .5 every two or three weeks. I would wait till the symptoms from the drop disappeared for around five-seven days and then start the next one. It took some work and I had to have various sizes and cut tablets to do it but eventually got to five with no significant problems where I stayed for years.

Some times when my residual GPA symptoms increased they would boost my pred up to 20 with a taper back down by 2.5 every week to return to 5. This summer though it has not worked for me and I am currently at 10 and might have to increase it if my nose bleeds persist or if joint pain increases. I have to hold my AZA too right now to treat my pneumonia and sinus infection and bronchitis. I got IV antibiotics for several days in the hospital for sepsis but am now home on oral meds for next ten days. I was at 7.5 pred when i went to hospital but they upped it to 10. I will resume my maintenance AZA when I finish my antibiotics if the pneumonia and other infections are gone.

Some people like to taper fast and tough it out through the symptoms of the decrease. This works fine it you do not have a flare that requires RTX or an increase in your immu-suppressants. Others like to go slow to minimize this risk. Tapering pred works best if you and doctor have the same preference on how is best for you. But like every thing else there is no one size fits all.

Sorry you had to be addmitted because of sepsis. Sounds tough. Thank God you are back home.