Can I taper prednisone on my own?

Side effects worse than a flare??!! Thats got to be pretty intense.

Of course you should never mess with your meds without your doctors consent... and guidance... and I dont suggest it...

....by I totally did. But my prednisone was doing nothing for me. Not helping flare or giving side effects. So it was pointless for me to be on it.

I dont know about tapering when you are actually getting benefits from it.
and if your side effects are SO terrible... it might be time to visit another doctor in your doctors practice ... or your GP or something...

I started Simponi last week, and other than that just vitamins and probiotics. My flare symptoms are gone. I'm having horrible body and muscle aches everywhere. The worst is my upper back where I can't sit against anything, lay down, touch the tops of my shoulders, or move my arms without being in extreme pain. My vision seems to be getting worse, I'm having really bad headaches, I'm dizzy every time I move, and to say extremely nauseous would be an understatement. I called his office to talk to his nurse, but it'll probably be a few days before I hear back.

AbigailRose-- I have been on prednisone- higher doses than yours- and while I had some of the side effects you are experiencing I am wondering if these are side effects from simponi? Can you get a real live person at your doctor's office on the phone to talk about this? It just doesn't seem right to me and you are suffering terribly....please see if you can talk to someone at your clinic about this.

You might be having a reaction to the simponi rather than pred. I haven't heard of those things you cite as pred side effects. Where I have heard those side effects is on the warnings for simponi:

"Also call your doctor immediately if you have any of these symptoms during or after your treatment: excessive tiredness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, muscle aches, dark urine, clay-colored bowel movements, fever, chills, stomach pain, or rash." Dizziness and vision changes are also listed as potential side effects. Source:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a610010.html

We're not drs here, but I would recommend calling yours just to be sure. Better to be safe.

I would be cautious and wait for a medical professionals advice. Tapering off prednisone was a slow and hard process for me personally. It took about 2 months total and I felt worse side effects coming off it than being on it

Have you consulted the druggist at the pharm about the side effects ? I would . I also agree to contact the doc's office . Jim

AbigailRose- how are you doing? Hopefully you are doing better than you were yesterday.....

If your GI is out of town for weeks, there has got to be someone filling in that you can call. That's ridiculous for him/her to leave you with out anyone to contact in this type of situation. I am with the others on those side effects. I was on pred for quite some time and I didn't develop the muscle aches and joint pains until after months of being on it.

Well I got into contact with the Dr's office, but they said it's nothing to worry about. I'm feeling a little better, but I'm still in so much pain. So much that I've taken Tylenol every 6 hours from 3 days, on the dot. I'm ready to go start taking morphine at this point because I can't move without being in extreme pain in my muscles and joints. But not only that my skin hurts to be touched. Almost like a really really bad sunburn.

i had flu/cold symptoms and LOTS of dizziness and nausea when i was tapering pred but had just started simponi. i had to delay my next shot because i was so sick. i think it could definitely be from simponi.

come to think of it, i had to start seeing a chiropractor about 4 weeks ago because my back has been so sore. it almost feel like my upper body is disconnected from my core if that makes sense.

Hi there, im new to healingwell! I was on 60 mg prednisone for around 3 weeks while being hospitalized. I had severe side effects as well. I went 3 days without sleeping, so I basically begged my doctor to allow me to do a fast taper. First the suggested every week lowering by 10 mgs, then I asked for faster so they allowed me to lower by 10 every 3 days. At that time I had just begun remicade and it pulled me out of a flare that had me near death. Unfortunately, around the time I got down to 30 mgs I begin to flare again and have been flaring since :( (although I did have other problems which effected it). M u doctor told me it would be dangerous to do it any faster the 3 days because it could cause renal failure.

quick tapers are def dangerous. Another new poster just posted about his withdrawals from stopping cold turkey without a proper taper.

Be safe! :)