Question about prednisone/imuran

first post here

I always hear you shouldn't be on prednisone for too long. How long is this too long? And does it depend on how much you are taking daily?

Also, how long does it take for imuran to start working? My doc said a month but I've read up to 4 months online.

Diagnosed with UC on January 17th 2015.

Started 2 caps of Asacol daily, 40mgs of prednisone, tapering down 5mgs a week.

I've had about two periods of 2 to 3 weeks in the last 6 months where I actually felt great, no pains, formed bms and only once or twice daily bms. But every time I get below 15mgs(we've done this a few times now) with my taper, all symptoms come back(flare).

May 17th, my doctor started me on imuran and bumped my prednisone back up to 15mg, tapering every 10 days. Felt great for about 16 days. Supposed to be down to 5mgs of prednisone right now but decided to bump it back up to 15mg since I don't see my doc until next week and seeing as I know what works, why not. Supposedly the imuran should be working by then, then maybe I can taper off prednisone again.

I wouldn't worry about it until the Imuran has a chance to kick in, say after being on it a good three months. But, you don't want to be on pred several months per year all the time.

been on prednisone 6 months now. Tapered numerous times. Thinking it is probably getting to the point where it isn't good to be on it much longer.

Long-term use of steroids, such as prednisone, is bad, regardless of the dosage taken (the odds of permanent side effects persist at both low and high dosages). The phrase "long-term" is rather subjective, and as such you'll get many different answers. I was on prednisone for a continuous 1 year period at varying dosages (no permanent side effects that I know of), I most certainly wouldn't recommend being on steroids any longer than that. You want to use prednisone for as short of a time is possible.

As you're currently ramping up for Imuran, I'd say it'll take a minimum of 2 months to reach therapeutic levels in your body and plan to be steroids at least that long while you wait for Imuran to work for you. It could take up to 3-4 months for the full effect of Imuran to be noticeable.