Diarrhea after tapering pred?

[minnietoty]

diarrhea after tapering pred?

Hi,
I started tapering pred from 40mg. Now, i'm on 10. I noticed that diarrhea has returned again. Is this normal? I have been suffering from unexplained constipation and some of the members, thankfully, told me that it was because of pred. Did anyone experience this before (diarrhea sfter tapering pred)? Should I return back to Lomotil? The main question now is: 5 months ago, i was put on pred because I had nonstop diarrhea. At that time, it was controlled. Now, after tapering it, diarrhea returned. Does this mean i'm flaring (i have been in a flare ever since)again or does it mean that pred was not the right med for my condition. I statred tapering pred as it's not working any more. Now, i'm on 175 mg azathioprine and 3 g salofalk. Another question: Should I reduce my fiber intake? I was keeping it to a minimal but my doctor told me to eat normal crohn's food. I'm really confused and don't want to increase the pred dose again. It's really frustrating and this moon face is really depressing me. Thanx

 

[Domsmom]

This happens every time I taper. For me it usually comes along with joint pain. I would go to your GI. He might suggest going back up and then tapering more slowly. I know that it's depressing and you just want to get off, but going more slowly might help you get off healthier. The problem with Prednisone is that it just masks the problem by decreasing inflammation, so when you go off of it, if you are still in a flare of sorts, your symptoms will return. Hope you can figure it out.

 

[minnietoty]

Thanx a mil, Kirsten,
You are right. Things got worse. I took Lomotil but the diarrhea won't stop. So, reluctanlty, I called my doctor and he upped the dose to 15 mg but didn't tell me for how long. I guess I'll keep it 15 mg for 2 weeks and then lower it to 10. Hope it works this time.

 

[Domsmom]

if it seems too fast ask for 1 mg tablets and you can go down by 1 mg a week or something...another thing I do is cut them in 1/2.

 

[minnietoty]

Thank you very much. 15 mgs with 4 g salofalk started to work. The problem is fatigue and sleeping a lot but I'm trying to cope. Take care.