Prednisone: Tapering problems

I was able to taper my dosage of prednisone from 12.5mg to 10mg so easily that I became foolish.   When given the ok by my doctor about 6 weeks ago to taper from 10mg to 7.5mg, I used the same schedule as I did with the previous taper:  a few cycles of every 4^th day taking 7.5, then every 3^rd day, then every other day, 7.5 and 10, for about five days, then every 3^rd day taking 10 for a few cycles, then every 4^th take 10 for a few cycles, then declare myself at 7.5mg.

 

Unfortunately, in the midst of this tapering schedule, we had yet another family crisis which increased my stress level considerably; stress can really mess with the body’s need for cortisol, and therefore a slower taper was warranted.  But I didn’t want to slow things down – DUMB ME!  I very foolishly ignored the return of arteritis symptoms, initially very mild, on the 4^th day of my straight 7.5mg dosage.  By the 8^th day of straight 7.5mg dosage (last night), my scalp pain was at a 5-6 on a 10 point scale, and I had little sleep.  I will now have to go back to 10mg for several days until symptoms (hopefully) subside.  Then I will have to start the taper all over again. 

I will only be able to get off this evil medication if I pay attention to my body’s signals, and I have only made things worse by ignoring them.   A lesson learned, and not easily.