Is a taper necessary for 1 week on 30mg prednisolone

My colitis flared 11 days ago with pain diarrhoea blood and no appetite. My consultant recommended a short course of prednisolone 30mg for 1-2 weeks depending on response and then reducing by 5mg every 3-5 days. Things were under control after about 5 days on steroids and I started the taper today to 25mg after a whole week at 30mg. Just wondered if it is actually necessary to taper prednisolone in this case because I read somewhere that it is ok to abruptly stop taking steroids if you have been on them for a week or less. I am glad they have helped but now i just want to come off them asap! I trust my consultant and will finish the course as she suggested but I am curious how other people would go about this taper.

If you're on the steroids less than a week, you can stop abruptly with little or no risk of cortisol-related problems.

HOWEVER, if you stop them cold turkey after a week or less of taking them, your UC flare might come right back. Less than a week on steroids is hardly ever enough time to really quell a flare.

Are you still on the Humira? If not, why not? Needing steroids again so soon after you were just on them (3-4 months ago at high doses) is a sign that you need better/stronger maintenance meds, not more frequent steroids.

I would not taper after a week, unless you still wanted some steroids on board.
for 1-2 weeks (possibly more) a taper is not necessary
good luck!

beave said...
If you're on the steroids less than a week, you can stop abruptly with little or no risk of cortisol-related problems.

HOWEVER, if you stop them cold turkey after a week or less of taking them, your UC flare might come right back. Less than a week on steroids is hardly ever enough time to really quell a flare.

Are you still on the Humira? If not, why not? Needing steroids again so soon after you were just on them (3-4 months ago at high doses) is a sign that you need better/stronger maintenance meds, not more frequent steroids.

No i'm not on humira any more, my consultant only used it to bridge the gap for azathioprine to start working. She did mention possibly having to increase my azathioprine dose or go back on humira if my symptoms keep returning.

Prednisone stops the immune attack while you're on it and does a pretty good job of masking any bleeding and other uc symptoms. Most of us find quick relief and feel invincible while on Prednisone. However, your body still needs to heal itself, which is a slow, slow process. Is your intestine fully healed from your flare within just 5 days? I'd say not likely unless you encountered only a minor blip. Once you cease the attack will resume as will the symptoms...