Pred taper 40-30-20-10-20-20-10-10-0 per week

the ability to taper 10 to 0 in one step depends on whether the inflammation is truly tames, and how long you were on steroids. 8 weeks is not very long, but it is longer than usual 4-week taper.

would not hurt to have a week at 5mg.

if you have been on for months and months, then you need to go down by 1, but you have not been on that long.

Thank you both. I will ask her on Monday about the Hydrocortisone. Right now I'm steady on 20 but Prednisone makes my GERD so much worse. Right now everything I eat leaves me feeling like I just ate ground glass.

I'm relieved I am not risking the ability to produce Cortisol. Thanks!

Did your doctor prescribe any anti-reflux meds to take daily while on pred? Pred kills the lining of the stomach. You should be on something to combat that (omeprozole or something similar). Since you are complaining of GERD & its not in your signature, I'm assuming you aren't on any acid reducing rx's. I also hope you are taking calcium with vit D while on pred.

Regarding taper, we are all so different. You may have to go slow or you may need to add another maintenance med to your regimen if that doesn't work.

I don't necessarily believe that your maint drugs aren't working z girl - it is possible, but I wouldn't assume that just yet -

a slower taper hopefully will do the trick -

sorry, i don't keep up as much as I should, so I probably missed it ....... but have you considered adding some sort of smoking/nicotine back into your plan ?

I am also on a pred taper at the moment. I am currently on 30mg pred and am doing ok. Looking to taper down to 25 tomorrow and by 5mg the way after and so on. I shall also have been on pred for two months once I finish the course. For me the pred took two weeks at 40mg to kick in but once it did it was good. MY bowel movements resumed to normal.

However, I have been suffering from awful haemorrhoids because of the food poisoning infection/diaherea/flare that I suffered a few weeks back. They are that bad that I may need treatment on them/surgery and are really painful. I think they are causing me to get some mild inflammation back right in my butt as it is probably aggravating my rectum a little. But I can't even use enemas/suppositories right now as I can't physically get them up there because of the haemorrhoids!

My stools have been good so far but today I have noticed they are a little looser and more yellow in colour. Still no tummy noises, no bad gas, no blood, tiny bit of mucus on tissue paper and no mucus smell. When I flare, poops smell like mucus and not like stool if you know what I mean (sorry tmi)

I, like you, are worried about tapering tomorrow but I suppose we have to try. My symptoms are still ok I think and I also know when its time to taper when I start feeling a little constipated. I am not sure this time. I will see how my stool is next time and base it on that.

If you see a noticeable difference in symptoms I reckon you should stay on 20mg for a while but if it looks ok, then it may be that you just take the plunge and taper. We can't stay on these steroids forever.

Btw everytime I have flared in the past, I have been on pred for two months. Its a normal taper for a flare up really. I have never had problems afterwards with my adrenal glands for this length of time.

zen,

I also started this most recent flare after quitting smoking. Started vaping, hoping it would curb the flare. Like you, it hasn't done a thing for my symptoms. I even tried smoking a few cigarettes a day. It was terrible!

Every day I question my decision on quitting and whether I should start again. It's the "what if smoking gets me back to remission"
What is the lesser of two evils, I guess...