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What is a typical Pred taper?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 8/16/2011 9:02 PM (GMT 0)
40 x two weeks, 30 x two weeks, 20 x two weeks...etc??? Doc said pred isn't working as fast has he had hoped and wants me on 40 for a month, then start to taper? The good thing is, I haven't had any side effects yet, I just don't want to increase the possibility
Posted 8/16/2011 9:28 PM (GMT 0)
I think that is reasonable, to taper only when there is adequate progress.

I think instead of sticking to a schedule it is best to monitor symptoms, progress. If I tell my doc I am not improving much she would keep me on a higher dose longer.
I have sometimes been tempted to taper down too soon because of side effects, then I just have to go up again and my healing is probably delayed.
Posted 8/16/2011 11:46 PM (GMT 0)
My GI recommended the same taper for me, but be careful around 20mg. If you start to see symptoms returning as you taper, you most likely will need something else to help you taper. You might even want to slow it down a bit to decrement by 5mg at a time. It's a tough game because you don't want to stay on Prednisone too long for fears of becoming dependent, but then the side effects of tapering too quickly also wish to be avoided.
Posted 8/16/2011 11:52 PM (GMT 0)
My first taper, which I think is probably pretty typical, was 10mg a week from 40mg to 0mg. It would have taken 1-2 months if it had worked properly. I went from 40 to 30 to 20 to 10 to 5 to 2.5, then I relapsed and had to start over. Some don't go to 5mg, they go from 10mg to 0mg and do alright. I was already feeling rocky at 10mg, if I had gone down to 0mg from 10mg, I deifnitely would have flared up. I agree with Peety, for me, it seems ot work better when I monitor my progress and only reduce the dose when I am feeling stable.

Not to be a downer but I didn't have side effects in the beginning either. Looking back, I did but they were minor. I ended up having a very difficult time tapering off prednisone and I gained a lot of weight by the end of the course. I recommend trying to stay active and not overeating. My problem was that I was always hungry on prednisone. I hope you don't get any side effects.
Posted 8/17/2011 3:34 AM (GMT 0)
I've been on 40 mg for 5 weeks and will now start tapering by 5 mg per week. I also go by my symptoms, not by a set schedule. Then again, symptoms-wise, I should probably be at 40 mg awhile longer, but I just can't do it.

Last time I did 40 mg for 4 weeks, 30 mg for a week, 20 for a week, then tapered by 5 mg per week.
Posted 8/17/2011 3:11 PM (GMT 0)
it is highly, highly individual. Your body will tell you what is too fast by symptoms re-appearing. By the way, if you cut way back on salt you can minimize moonface at least. It sneaks up on you slowly but take a while to shed. I had a love hate relationship with pred, but it was ultimately my only severe flare stopper.
Posted 8/17/2011 4:22 PM (GMT 0)
My one and only course of oral steroids had me start at 60 mg. I stayed there for 3 weeks and then tapered pretty fast. I think my total time on oral steroids was 3 months, with the last month being a taper from 20 to zero. I've seen a lot of posts recently where the DR recommends starting at 40 and no higher, and then the patients are not getting into remission quickly (or ever). This is beginning to worry me!
Posted 8/17/2011 6:24 PM (GMT 0)
I always tapered by 5mg every week and it has worked well so far, I never flared while tapering off.
First time, my GI prescribed me pred enema with oral to use for first 2 weeks (with 30 and 25mg of oral)
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