What is the recommended dosage for starting prednisone for ra?

Weight?: This answer depends upon yout weight; as the proper dose of Prednisone should be calculated on how much you weigh in kilograms. Discuss this with your rheumatologist and he/she will help you calculate it out.

Controversial topic: There is not complete agreement among rheumatologists to this question. Some try not to use any Prednisone at all, others use mild to moderate doses (10-20mg) short-term while waiting for dmard therapies to kick in and others start with high doses (60mg) and titrate down. There is literature to support all these plans. Personally, i typically start with 10-15mg/day.

None specific: There is no specific starting dosage of Prednisone for ra. Each patient has unique needs. We always attempt to use the lowest effective dose, generally in the range of 5-10mg daily.

Varies: We do use Prednisone quite a bit in early ra. I try to use as low a dose of Prednisone such as 5 to 10 mg a day to keep side effects to a minimum but still get control of the disease. On the rare occassion of very severe ra, we may use high oral dose steroids for example greater then 20 mg or more a day, intramuscular steroids and at times intravenous steroids in the most severe cases.

I agree!: I usually start at 2.5mg and for most patients end at 5mg. Occasionally will use 7.5. Combined with mtx, dr. Moreland at pitt showed equal efficacy as compared with Enbrel (etanercept) or humira.