Reducing prednisone

[Iamseeingstars]

What levels are realistic for reducing steroids? Doctors are saying different amounts but when I get to 10mg, is it best to reduce 1mg a week or 2.5mg.

Had severe reaction in the past because they initially dropped levels too quickly so now want to go slow, but interested to hear from anyone with experience of what is realistic

Hi I have just stopped taking a course of prednisolone & my Dr told me to reduce by 5mg each week & then stop. I reduced from 40mg in 8 weeks so after 10mg went to 5mg & then none. I had a few mild withdrawal symptoms - headache, tiredness etc but they went after a couple of days. Good luck.

My worst symptons are sore joints and wasted muscles which they say are caused by steroid myopathy.

I was told when you get to 5 drop by 1 a week.
I'm stuck on 20 at the moment :(

I'm currently reducing from 8 tabs a day, which I was on for a couple of months.
I'm reducing by one a week.

I was told to eat a lot of protein when I took them last. They need this to work apparently and will attack your muscles if you don't eat enough chicken/meat. It did help to reduce the muscle wastage.

Ooops. This week I went from 20mg > 10mg > 0 over 7 days.

I have had headaches - is that related to the steroid reduction?

It depends, usually they affect mood. Headaches can be a sign of anaemia though.

Everyone is different - go at your pace.

Some people withdraw with almost no problems, other people really struggle with slow withdrawal.
Be led by your symptoms but a degree of 'struggling' is normal and the benefits of being without the steroids will make it worthwhile on the long run.

Interesting reading. Didn't know about the muscle wastage. Ds goes cold turkey - from 40mg eod to zero - but we've done plenty of different tapers in the past. Are you on eod doses? They are supposed to reduce side effects

Interesting reading. Didn't know about the muscle wastage. Ds goes cold turkey - from 40mg eod to zero - but we've done plenty of different tapers in the past. Are you on eod doses? They are supposed to reduce side effects

Depends on how you react, but usual from a 40mg dose is 5mg per week with a slowdown if needed below 10mg. I was warned I may need this slowdown as some people find them difficult to come off, but tbh most of my issues were at high doses.

I have taken a lot of steroids and I react very badly - will appear cushingoid in a matter of weeks - which gets me down.

My consultant knows this so last time agreed to a taper of 10mg a week (still 5mg a time, but moving down every 3/4 days) with the caveat that I needed to slow down / come back if it wasn't working. I had no issues that I hadn't had with a pred taper in general and missed the mental weight gain and big baw face, so it worked for me.

Do you have a specialist you can speak to / email?

Oh and didn't expressly answer your question, but I would say 2.5mg is realistic (I did it much quicker, but you've already stated you want to go slow). I hate the phrase 'listen to your body' but in this case it seems apt.

You already presumably know what happens when you go too fast, so if you have a schedule you and your specialist are comfortable with I'd just go with it and watch out for any reactions.