Hi Alison,
I don't have any specific advice for the swollen fingers and toes other than possibly taking some extra NSAIDs just to tide you over the pred reduction adjustment time.
I think the main thing with "should I just put up with it?" is how long it goes on. We get too used to feeling bad and symptoms creeping up, and it is difficult to be objective.
I was tapering pred a while back and the rheumy warned me that I would have bad patches with each reduction while my body adjusted. She said that they'd last about two weeks. In reality, I found that it was more like three or even four. The problem with that was that when it went on and on with the last reduction, I didn't realise that it shouldn't be going on and on and didn't call her soon enough. That brought on a bad flare which I am still suffering from and, because my flare involved problems breathing, my pred was pushed back up to almost where it was before I started tapering.
Katharine
I don't have any specific advice for the swollen fingers and toes other than possibly taking some extra NSAIDs just to tide you over the pred reduction adjustment time.
I think the main thing with "should I just put up with it?" is how long it goes on. We get too used to feeling bad and symptoms creeping up, and it is difficult to be objective.
I was tapering pred a while back and the rheumy warned me that I would have bad patches with each reduction while my body adjusted. She said that they'd last about two weeks. In reality, I found that it was more like three or even four. The problem with that was that when it went on and on with the last reduction, I didn't realise that it shouldn't be going on and on and didn't call her soon enough. That brought on a bad flare which I am still suffering from and, because my flare involved problems breathing, my pred was pushed back up to almost where it was before I started tapering.
Katharine
