Prednisone 10mg Now Have Been On It For Autoimmune For 11 Yr

Hi I have Churg-Strauss Syndrome very rare and had it 11 yrs ago. Have been on prednisone for all these years...10 mgs for past several years. Well now my pulmonologist wants to get me off (I also got Sjogren's 4 yrs ago) and he tapers 1 mg for 3 mos then goes down again..I get into respiratory trouble with asthma usually around 7 or 6 mgs. Is he doing it correctly? And this is important. I hurt so badly with joint arthritis now that will the continual use of prednisone no matter how little make my arthritis worse. Have already had one hip replacement and both knees are shot. And what is this methotrexate? Thank you for any info.

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i have been on 20 mg of prednisone for the past four years so i can breath. steroid dep asthmatic. I also take 15 mg of zolpidem to sleep, anti depresent and pain pill for pains with breathing. i have every neg side affect with prednisone. cant get off because i will suffocate. have accepted that but i am still trying to find anything to offset the irratability sleeplessness and just feeling lousy. do you have any suggestions? i dont drink or use drugs and this all crept up on me four years ago. 50 years old. depressed.

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@Boo,

According to nih.gov, Methotrexate is classified as an antimetabolite. They list this drug as being used to slow the growth of cancer cells; as well as its use in severe treatment resistant psoriasis; and in some cases rheumatoid arthritis.. If these happen to be symptoms associated with Churg-Strauss Syndrome / Sjogren's, that may be where Methotrexate comes into play. Was your doctor the one who recommended it?

Regarding the tapering process, this is something I feel can affect each individual differently despite taking a particular approach to it... So in my opinion it would probably be a good idea to discuss how you feel with your doctor in order to see if certain adjustments can be made to make the respiratory trouble less prominent as you taper down.

I hope this helps!

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Joseph, I wrote the original post. I sympathize with you,,,you're so young. If you can, try to lower your prednisone if nothing else. As for sleeping, try anti-anxiety drugs like klonopin. Not many side effects except all these thing make you constipated. That's why I have IBS-C. Also Tylenol PM has Benadryl in it so it really makes you sleepy! Only drawback is it makes you dry mouth a little. Much luck to you. Hang in there and I have one word, EXERCISE!

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The answer to your question regarding timing of taper is yes, dropping 1 mg every three months is an extremely safe taper. I have been on doses of prednisone as high as 65 mg and have tapered more times than I can count. Usually when we have gotten to 5 mg they have me sit at that dose for 6 months then start a taper of .5 mg every three months. Tapering is hard. Everything the prednisone is treating will flare. But you can get through this.

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