For the last year, I’ve been tapering off of prednisone. Last Friday was my check-up appointment, having been completely off for a month. It turns out that not taking prednisone is not in the cards for me.

I began 2024 at 5 mg of prednisone and was down to 2 mg with stable appointments. And, I can honestly say, I don’t experience side effects of which I am aware, even at 5 mg. It’s just that it would have been really nice to take two fewer pills. It’s the remembering, the refilling, the planning ahead, and the packing pills for vacations.

I’ve been on prednisone in one dose or another for over 13 years now. I started at a very high dose and have been able to take less over the years due to other treatments and medications. Looking back, I was on 20 mg of prednisone + CellCept (in higher dose than current) when we introduced Humira. So, I guess I’ve come a long way.

I was hesitant to even attempt to taper. I started and stopped many times, thinking there was something wrong. Every time I went into the Retina Center, things were stable. I began to think of prednisone as my sort of anti-placebo. Instead of taking a drug that was actually nothing, I thought I needed a drug, but I didn’t. It seemed to be my crutch in tiny pill form.

However, corticosteroids are not known to be something one wants to continue for long periods of time (See Prednisone: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Part 1 and 2), especially during cold and flu season, and especially as a female in her 40’s (i.e. bone density risk). So, I kept tapering.

My eyes felt super good this morning; not dry, and my vision seemed clear (for me). This is one of the things that I hate the most about having posterior uveitis… if something is starting up, often I am unaware. The change was subtle, and if not for the fundus photography (See Into the Eyes of the Beholder) and the fact that my doctor knows my eyes so well, it likely would have gone undetected. She and I know not to give this disease an inch, so I will do a small pulse of prednisone, and resume my 2 mg/day. Re-check is in two months.

My appointment was on Friday the 13th, but I’m not superstitious. I believe you make your own luck. Maybe I pushed mine, but I had to try. Now I know that I need a low dose to keep my eyes stable. I will count myself lucky that I have access to medicine.

To counteract the prednisone, there are things that I will continue to do: take care of my health, my immune system (sleep, supplements, diet), and my bone density (exercise). In that way, I will make my own luck.