Tacrolimus is dosed to a target blood level, so take it at consistent times and keep your blood tests. Grapefruit and many other medications change its level.
Tacrolimus is a calcineurin inhibitor. It calms the T cells that drive the immune attack in myositis. At the Centre it is used as a steroid-sparing medication, and it is a common choice when myositis involves the lungs (interstitial lung disease), often alongside mycophenolate. It is used in myositis based on specialist experience and evidence rather than a formal Canadian myositis indication.
Suppresses the immune attack on muscle and, importantly, on the lungs.
A frequent choice for myositis-related interstitial lung disease, often with mycophenolate.
Lets your doctor lower your prednisone over time.
Taken as a capsule at home, with dosing guided by blood tests.
The dose is tuned precisely to you using blood levels.
Useful when first-line steroid-sparing medicines have not been enough.
Your doctor prescribed this because the expected benefits outweigh the risks for your situation. Here is the honest, full picture.
Tacrolimus is one of the immune-suppressing medicines that can be continued in pregnancy when needed, under specialist supervision, and it is generally considered compatible with breastfeeding. Always tell your doctor if you are pregnant or planning, since your dose and levels are watched more closely.
This guide is for education, not medical advice. Myositis treatment is individual, and many of these medications are used based on specialist experience and evidence rather than a formal Canadian myositis indication. Never start, stop, or change a medication without your own doctor. Your doses and choices are decided with your care team at the Centre.