# Prednisone 5mg Can I stop?



## girlygirl (Feb 14, 2011)

Hi Everyone,

I have CD, and some arthritis problems here and there..

I've been taking Prednisone 5mg since November of this past year.  I'm super fed up with the side effects. I thought i was safe from them.. but apparently not.. it just took them a while to surface. the most noteable is the constant hunger, water retention, weight gain, irritability.. etc..

I got sick w/what felt like the flu the week before last. and I decided that I didn't want to take the Pred anymore.. so i quit mid last week.. I had headaches on Thurs, Fri, Sat.. and I think it may have been from stopping the pred. 

- Is it okay to stop taking altogether after such a low dose?

- how long does it take for the fluid retention to go down?

Note: my labs over the past month have had low Vit D, and B-12 levels.. so I take suppliments for those, and would take water pills.. but am scared of robbing my body of the nutrients it needs.. 

Any opinions, suggestions are welcomed!!

ps.. and i'm also in the process of finding a new GI specialist (he was aweful!).. my Rheumatologist prescribed the pred. 

Thanks guys!!!


----------



## Nytefyre (Feb 14, 2011)

You could take half a pill for a while to let your body adjust to the lower dose. Hopefully after tapering you won't experience any side effects.

I am not sure about the fluid retention though, sorry.

Good luck.  Pred is a necessary evil sometimes.


----------



## girlygirl (Feb 14, 2011)

Thank you for the reply!

i finally took a half (2.5) of the pred a few mins ago.. My concentration has been off today, and I did some strenuous lifting all morning yesterday, so body is hurting.. I suppose 2.5mg is a fair temporary compromise for now. This drug is so terrible though! My CR Surgeon told me last week that it will probably be better for me to take Imuran, or something like that. And that Pred robs your calcium, causes acne, water retention, weight gain, hair problems, and a whole host of others. Those just stick out in my mind because i'm dealing with most of them. To boot i think my Crohns is spreading to my ileum.. so will probably have to do a small bowel followthru to check it out soon. 

thanks again for posting! 
~Mon~


----------



## hainman (Feb 14, 2011)

ive been told on many occations that im not to just stop taking the preds.not sure what the effects of just stopping them are but be carefull.ive been on them on and off for 3 years and ended up with osteopenia so tread carefully on these things.


----------



## littlemissh (Feb 16, 2011)

Probably best to do 2.5mg for a week or 2 then stop rather than just stop. 5mg is a lowish dose but some can still get effects from stopping 5mg straight away.There are 2.5 mg tablets available so you could even get those and go to 1.25mg for a short period. May be worth making sure your rheumatologist is happy with your stopping it though as he may suggest an alternative.


----------



## girlygirl (Feb 16, 2011)

Thanks guys! I'm going to just take 2.5mg for a little bit. The 5mg tabs i have you can break in half. I've already had a really bad headache and nausea for a few days.. so i'm going to take the 2.5 until i get in to see the doc again. I've about had it with the pred though! Even at this low dose.. retaining so much water, amongst other things..


----------



## Lydia (Feb 17, 2011)

I even do 1/4 of a 5 mg pill for a few days to finish the taper off. I have never had a problem stopping pred that way.


----------

