What To Do About My Prednisone Taper

i'll preface this by saying my GI mishandled my prednisone treatment this time around. we started at 20, then 30 then 40 and finally i said screw it we're going to full 60 and see if that helps. it didn't, still flared badly, lost 30 pounds in 5 weeks. fast forward to now, on remicade and *knock on wood* feeling the best I have since August 2011 (once month prior to getting sick).

right now we've been tapering prednisone 10MG per week and I am at 30mg currently. Last week my GI wanted me to slow the taper down to 5mg a week. I personally am against this and would like to drop it to 20mg this Friday. I'll then agree to the 5mg taper AFTER getting to 20mg. My line of thinking is a) i want off this drug, b) i am steroid refractory and prednisone wasn't doing anything at 60mg, why would the taper hurt me now? c) i want to be prednisone free when I graduate with my MBA in may and if we slow the taper down, that won't happen.

Thoughts, opinions, any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to risk getting sick again because of a stupid decision in regards to a prednisone taper but at the same time, i don't see how it's even feasible....

is 10mg every 7 days considered a fast taper though?

even when we know i am steroid refractory when it comes to uc? is the reason the slowdown in the taper not really UC related at all?

Pred can be safely tapered very fast in a healthy individual up to 10 mg, that is true. For example, after my colectomy I was tapered from 40 mg to 10 mg in three days (after that it took six weeks to taper from 10 to 0). However, whether your UC is steroid refractory or not, you are still risking a flare up or worsening systems by going faster as every drop in dose is going to cause some uptick in systemic inflammation. Again, it's one week so I don't see the point of arguing.

I'm trying to get off prednisone sooner than my GI wants me to. Of course, asking him how to do so though. I'm going to talk to my family doctor who helped me with my pred taper last year when I got on prednisone from another GI. Prednisone makes me anxious as all hell, I'm shaky, nervous, always feeling like I could drop or just blow up in energy. I'm also steroid refractory as far as I can tell, 45mgs of pred didn't do much other than add more things to worry about! I'm on 30mgs tapering 5mgs per week and stopping at 10mgs for two months... I'll need to do something.

My GI had me taper by 10 mg every two weeks...started at 40 mg.

10mg a week is a pretty fast taper; the standard is to start at 40mg and taper by 5mg a week.

I've been on Pred for yonks, so I'm tapering 1mg a week at the moment. Nothing to do with Crohn's, which is gone for now after a colectomy. I'm just hoping by going ultra-slowly for the last few weeks, my adrenal glands will be forced into starting working again sooner than they would otherwise.

jac91584 said...
i'll preface this by saying my GI mishandled my prednisone treatment this time around. we started at 20, then 30 then 40 and finally i said screw it we're going to full 60 and see if that helps. it didn't, still flared badly, lost 30 pounds in 5 weeks. fast forward to now, on remicade and *knock on wood* feeling the best I have since August 2011 (once month prior to getting sick).

right now we've been tapering prednisone 10MG per week and I am at 30mg currently. Last week my GI wanted me to slow the taper down to 5mg a week. I personally am against this and would like to drop it to 20mg this Friday. I'll then agree to the 5mg taper AFTER getting to 20mg. My line of thinking is a) i want off this drug, b) i am steroid refractory and prednisone wasn't doing anything at 60mg, why would the taper hurt me now? c) i want to be prednisone free when I graduate with my MBA in may and if we slow the taper down, that won't happen.

Thoughts, opinions, any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to risk getting sick again because of a stupid decision in regards to a prednisone taper but at the same time, i don't see how it's even feasible....

I just tapered off after having difficulty. I used Raw Adrenals twice daily, RS diet and tapered rapidly the second time, once off I used licorice root for 10 days until it gave me headaches. Off everything and still on RS diet. Yohimbine gave me energy during this time, might have helped, did not hinder the taper.

I have questions related to Prednisone, and when advisors
here, might think I'll be all over the effects.
(Background of what I'm seeing, is below, here is core.
I understand everyone may be unique in responses to a drug,
but some trends are likely true for the vast majority.)

I'm a white male age 65, in overall quite good physical
condition. I get a lot of my "joy of life" / "quality of life feeling"
from my participation in a sporting activity, that is only possible 9
weekends each year (and I'd really like to defend my 2012
annual championship!!)
Yes, clarity of thought, and emotions are very important.

On April 5, I was coughing up blood.
On April 9 I started a prescription of Prednisone
(20mg tablets, 2 a day 4-9 through 4-13, 1 a day 4-14
through 4-18, and now I'm schedulled for 1/2 a day until 4-22.)
So meanwhile, the antibiotic for a presumed bacterial
lung infection seems to have worked good, and the bronscopy
on 4-16 showed all is now fine.

But, I am mentially/psychologicly right now
feeling a tad bit off (presumably from the Prednisone).
(Unknown if from Prednisone, or from withdrawal?)
Not feeling real good in clarity of thought, and emotions.
I'm making many more mistakes than normal each day.
Am I likely to be all fine by 4-27?

OK, I see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prednisone
selected
"Side-effects ----
(#2) Difficulty controlling emotion
(#3) Difficulty in maintaining train of thought
(#7 - 11) Depression, mania, psychosis, or other psychiatric symptoms
Unusual fatigue or weakness
Mental confusion / indecisiveness
Blurred vision
(lower) Insomnia
Anxiety
& also Nervousness
Yeah!!!

page 1 of discussion,
"How long does it take for prednisone to clear your system?"
then
https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=17&m=1125597&p=3

Posted 4/5/2013 7:28 PM (GMT -6)
Welcome to Healing Well, Arya! You posted on quite an old thread so
many might see your post. Feel free to start a new topic and tell us about
yourself or ask any questions you might have.
Moderator Crohn's disease, --------
and
Posted 4/5/2013 7:29 PM (GMT -6)
Locking this thread because it has exceeded the total post numbers.
Moderator Crohn's disease ---

I see on a new thread,
"What To Do about My Prednisone Taper"
dontscopeme Regular Member
Posted Yesterday 5:41 PM (on 4-18 said)
I'm trying to get off prednisone ---
Prednisone makes me anxious as all hell, I'm shaky, nervous,
always feeling like I could drop or just blow up in energy.
----??-- add more things to worry about!

i use temazepam for the insomnia. still only manage 4-5 hours at best per night. hoping once I get to to the 15mg range i can sleep more.

i decided to to just reduce to just 25mg. while i really do believe i'd be fine at 20, i agree it's just not worth the argument. i'll be a good little soldier, especially since i am feeling so much better (because of remicade, prednisone gets 0 credit. in fact it gets negative points)