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How do you taper your Prednisone?

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Posted 3/19/2012 6:29 PM (GMT 0)
How do you usually taper your Prednisone and what has worked for you?  I tapered from 15mg to 10mg last Friday morning and wow did I have a bad night Friday and saturday felt like I was hit with a truck when I woke up. Muscle cramps all night and just generally feeling like crap the next day. Nausea and headaches now too (which I haven't had yet while tapering). Also back to semi-loose very small BMs and alot of them a day plus alot of IBS symptoms like bloating and gas. Now finally back to a normal BM in the morning. 

How many of you taper by 5mg all the way till you are done and does this work for anyone? I was on my highest dose - 40mg - for 2 weeks in January and tapering ever since. I know the longer you are on it the worse it is getting off.  This is only the 3rd time in 17 years I've taken Prednisone and I've never taken it for more than 2 months or so, but this seems to be the worst taper.

Does anybody taper by 2.5mg every 5 days, or do you always wait a week?  I'm thinking of going down to 7.5mg instead of 5mg and doing it a few days early as most of my taper effects (other than the headache) seem to have gone away.  I REALLY want to get off this drug but don't want to get back into a flare.   Doc wants me off too so I don't get dependent on it (and I agree).

Posted 3/19/2012 7:09 PM (GMT 0)
Once you get to 15, you should taper more slowly. I would recommend 2.5mg a week until you are done. Sometimes you get a "blip" when tapering and then after a day or so, things return to normal.

If your symptoms return and last for more than a few days, then I would recommend going back up, and trying a slower taper.

Good luck!
Posted 3/19/2012 7:22 PM (GMT 0)
I haven't seen any blood return so far, so as long as I don't see that I'll keep tapering.  I'm already past 15mg down to 10mg so won't go back up from that (unless I see bleeding). Might try going down 2.5mg after 5 days and reducing every 5 days instead of every week.  Definitely don't want to stay on this an extra 2 weeks as I can tell my body is just getting beat up by the steroid.  Does anybody else reduce every 5 days?
Posted 3/19/2012 7:35 PM (GMT 0)
I'm reducing by 5mg/week at the moment, I still have traces of blood and doing FT at the same time. I'm at 15mg now have not really had any major side effects just a bit easier to get grumpy
Posted 3/19/2012 7:58 PM (GMT 0)
I only reduced every 5 days when I was on a short course. Since you've been on it since Jan, I'd recommend the week.

Up to you though. Try it, but be careful. Sometimes tapering too quickly can put you back into a flare and you'd have to increase and start all over again. Might be worth the two extra weeks to take it slower.
Posted 3/19/2012 8:07 PM (GMT 0)
Do you all just taper the way you want or does your GI agree to do what you want. Mine wants me to follow what she says. She is always taper by 5 every 2 wks. I'd like to go slower providing I can get this stuff to work.
Posted 3/19/2012 8:31 PM (GMT 0)
My GI wanted me to taper by 5mg every 5 days, but I did 5mg every week instead.  By the 5th day I was just finally getting over the side effects of tapering, I didn't want to shock my body right away again. That was at the higher doses though, at the lower ones it seems to be alot different tapering at least for me.

I guess I'm trying to listen to what my body is telling me, although at this point its so hard to tell if side effects are just from the length of time on prednisone, tapering itself or from the UC or even just IBS.

Posted 3/19/2012 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
I was at 40mg for 8 weeks and the first taper was to 35mg. I did well but when I got to 30mg after I started vomiting on day 3. I went back up to 40mg and started again. This time I have been tapering by 5mg every 7 days and doing much better. The tough part is when you get past 20mg. My GI says to play it by ear each dose and now I have the hang of it I know if I need to take an extra day or two to get stable before the next taper. When I get down to 10mg I start tapering by 2.5mg and extend it to 10 days or longer.

Today I had terrible aches and pains in my knees and muscles so I took at T3 and feel much better. Not sure if this will be part of the taper. Each day seems to be a little different for me. I think it is important to know your own body. Your GI may want you to follow his/her regime just in case you taper too quickly and have to go back up.
Posted 3/19/2012 9:54 PM (GMT 0)
My naturopath suggests supplementing with licorice root to help with Prednisone tapering
Posted 3/20/2012 2:36 PM (GMT 0)
Please Google Prednisone and Licorice Root. I tried that combo and became VERY sick. I did a little research and realized it was something I never should have done.
Posted 3/20/2012 2:40 PM (GMT 0)
JudyinAZ,

Can you eloborate on what happened? How much and how often did you take Licorice Root?
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