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Posted 5/5/2010 12:14 AM (GMT 0)
I might not have been clear on my question previosly about prednisone taper,
DOC put me on 40mg, take 2 10 mg tablets in morning 2 at night, it was for about 10 days, i askehim about tapering, he said taper down to 20 mg a day for a few days, then 10 mg for a few days,
but everything i read, and previous post on forum every one tapers 5 milligrams a week,
i am confused because i dont want a relapse, it just seems dropping from 40 to 20mg
is alot,
need some sugestions quick, i took upon myself to take 3 1/2 10 MG TABLETS TODAY,
PLANNED TO DO THAT TOMOOROW, THEN GO DOWN T0 3 10 MIILGRAM TABLETS FOR 2 DAYS
AND THEN WORK MY WAY TO 2.5 AND SO ON.
THANX FOR LISTENING
TIGER
Posted 5/5/2010 12:21 AM (GMT 0)
it depends on the amount of taper to the amount flareing. I take pred and I can't ever take mine at night, how do you sleep? I have cd in my small bowel and esophogus and my throat and cankersores with leasions on my tongue, so pred is the only thing that controls the flare of my mouth issues and then, I was on imuran, but it didn't work on my throat area, so my gi appt. is thursday and he said something like remicade, we'll see.

Posted 5/5/2010 12:25 AM (GMT 0)
Slowest taper possible is a always a good idea. 5 mg by 5 days, keep in mind that 40 - 35 is merely 13 % drop, were as from 10 - 5 it's now a 50% drop.

You can have a lot of issues, besides cd returning by titrating down too fast. Slow is best... And then a month after your off, ask to have your adrenal function checked.

Good luck.
Posted 5/5/2010 1:42 AM (GMT 0)
Tapering is always a good idea, but the speed depends on the doc. I recently talked to my neighbor pediatrician and she told me in non-IBD cases she's seen docs prescribe 60mg for a 5 day period with no taper at all. Some will go up to two weeks on pred with no taper. Personally, I don't think that is a good idea, but what do I know.
Posted 5/5/2010 6:31 AM (GMT 0)
I agree with everyone else's posts about the taper depends on the doc, dose, and individual's disease. I personally prefer the 10 taper because it gets me off that dang medication faster. Even though it is a lifesaver when you are flaring, I would much rather be on it for the shortest time amount possible due to the side effects. Tiger, I have noticed that in many of your posts you seem to be expressing a huge amount of anxiety and I am a little worried about that. Not that it is not completely normal to be stressed or having anxiety with this disease but just to make sure that you take a deep breath and know everything will be ok. This disease thrives off of anxiety and anxiety is probably one of the biggest triggers in starting on worsening a flare. The best thing you can do is to just realize that you can't take this disease away but you can make many of the triggers nonexistent. There are not a lot of things that you can control but 4 things you can are diet, exercise, regular medication, and reducing stress in your life. This won't heal the disease but it will help with relapsing in the future.
Posted 5/5/2010 6:47 AM (GMT 0)
I think how long your on prednisone directly relates to how fast you can taper. The question should be, what dose over what period will stop your adrenal glands from functioning. Once that point is reached then your taper must be very slow. In a bad patrial or total bockage I'll take 40 mg for 2-3 days then taper 10 per day til done without any trouble. I tried this then told my Dr.( not the best procedure but was a weekend Dr. not avaliable). and he agrees as long as it's no longer than 3 days and then begin tapering. Anything more and I need to clear it with him first.
Posted 5/5/2010 2:43 PM (GMT 0)
I am on prednisone. I started at 40mg (once per day) for 2 weeks then down 5mg each week, until I hit 10 mg, then I have to cute by 2.5mg/day. This seems like a very slow taper. I agree that it would depend on a lot of factors. The best thing to do if you are so worried is talk about this with your dr. Mention your concerns and let him explain his reasoning. Good luck.
Posted 5/5/2010 4:53 PM (GMT 0)
I agree that it depends on the dose you have been on, how long you have been on it and the individual patient.  When I was on higher doses early on, we would decrease by larger amounts.  Once I got down to 5 mg (after almost a year), the rheumy said we would have to do it by 1 mg each day or else I might really notice, and I did.  

And now I'm back up to 10 mg again...don't know that I'll ever get off of it, as it's already been 16 mos. 

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