I have been on prednisone about five times and am on it now (currently down from 50 to 38.5). The first couple of times I just followed the doctor's weaning recommendations (drop 5mg each week.) I never had any issues with the flare returning but I did have an increase in anxiety and sleep issues in the days surrounding each drop. Anyway, the last two times I've made more of my own schedule, dropping 2.5mg every 2-3 days to be more gradual. That seems to help. My husband came up with the idea of being even more gradual and dropping 1mg every 1-2 days (I have 1mg pills available.) this makes a lot of sense to me. I don't really understand why doctors don't suggest this though. Is there some risk to dropping a tiny bit each day versus a bigger amount once a week? I don't see what the risk would be, but it also amazes me that nobody suggests it and makes me wonder if there would be some sort of issue with it. Anyone have any ideas?
Prednisone weaning schedule
- Thread starter Elizajp
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Different docs have different weaning schedules
Depends on dose
The disease
And the person
If your having trouble with the original scheduled wean your doctor can advise you on a slower wean .
At one point ds was weaning 1 mg every two weeks but it worked
Depends on dose
The disease
And the person
If your having trouble with the original scheduled wean your doctor can advise you on a slower wean .
At one point ds was weaning 1 mg every two weeks but it worked
You probably know that the reason for tapering, apart from the effect on a flare up of the disease, is to allow your adrenal glad to resume its normal function.
As my little penguin says though, the tapering schedule depends on a number of things..the dose and duration of use, the disease being treated, and other medical considerations.
If it was me, I'd speak to my doctor and see what he thinks.
Bunty x
As my little penguin says though, the tapering schedule depends on a number of things..the dose and duration of use, the disease being treated, and other medical considerations.
If it was me, I'd speak to my doctor and see what he thinks.
Bunty x
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I agree
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I also agree with Bunty up above. The reason for the weaning is to get your adrenal glands working properly again and weaning too fast may cause some issues. However, if you feel that you found a different weaning schedule that works for you; talking to your physician about it sounds like a good idea. From my experience: I know my body better than anyone else and if I find something that works for me I take note of that. I hope our input helps a bit. Enjoy your day! 
I think the tapering depends on the person and also the dosage. My understanding is that they wanted me off of the steroids asap so they tried tapering me 5mg a week however this is too fast for me so am trying 5mg every two weeks. I haven't been given the option of 2.5mg but I think maybe I will discuss this with my doctor next. I do fine until i get to 20mg and below. The main thing I was told is to let them know if the symptoms came back and not to just put up with discomfort. It sounds like you are sensible and listening to your body.
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I've never had an issue weaning from Prednisone but I'd call the doctor. I was on 50mg Prednisone for a month then a pill cam found ulcers so they started weaning pretty fast. My GI said the 3 no nos for Crohn's are Steroids, Smoking and Pain meds. I'm on Entocort now and loving it compared to prednisone.
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I usually did 5mg/week until I hit down to 10. At that point I did 2.5/week.
But that was only after I was on it for 8 months. Times I was only on it a month or 2 I did 5mg/week the whole time.
But that was only after I was on it for 8 months. Times I was only on it a month or 2 I did 5mg/week the whole time.
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It's harder when you're on it for longer periods ugh :-( I was on 50 mg 2 times a day when my lupus was super bad. The longest stretch was 6 months. I got tired of all the meds and went cold turkey-I don't suggest anyone do that. Honestlyif my husband wasn't a pilot and gone a lot I'd probably be divorced after going cold turkey after 6 months on the beast.
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Wow that is a lot of prednisone. After a week of even 30 I'm a crazy person. 100, I can't even imagine.
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We had to adjust schedule for my son so he never dropped more than 2.5mg a week after he got to 20. Otherwise he flared. I don't know if there are studies or what protocol is but he had such hard time Drs put him on Half EN and then full EEN to prevent a flare as he approached zero. It worked after a nightmare taper experience.
