Weaning Prednisone

[Maz]

For informational purposes only – all patients should consult with their physician prior to making any drug protocol change.

Here is a very helpful article about the effects one might experience while weaning prednisone and some guidelines on how to manage the weaning process – bearing in mind that everyone is unique in response to decreasing prednisone doses and some folks may find they need to go even slower than the suggested guidelines (e.g. .5mg QOD – “every other day” – drops):

http://arthritis.about.com/od/prednisone/f/withdrawaltaper.htm

The doctor who authored this link suggests 1mg drops when a person reaches a dose of 10mg.

“In terms of a taper regimen, the longer one has been taking steroids, the slower the taper. I will typically taper patients:

– by 5 mg increments when they are taking less than 40 mg of prednisone
– by only 2.5 mg when they reach 20 mg of prednisone
– by 1 mg increments once they reach 10 mg”

It’s worth noting, however, that this is just a “guideline” and patient experience can be very individual, requiring even smaller drops in dosage, like .25mg or .5mg. As many have remarked here in the past, the last 5mg of pred weaning can be extremely challenging and require a very slow approach. After having been on prednisone a long time, the adrenals atrophy and no longer produce their own cortisone (cortisol) and it can actually be quite dangerous to suddenly stop those last 5mg, creating an adrenal crisis. So much care and physician oversight is needed to ensure safe weaning.

It’s worth learning about adrenal function and why adrenal health may affect the balance of other endocrines (e.g. thyroid and pancreas). Integrative doctors and naturopaths can assist with re-balancing adrenals as part of one’s overall health regimen.

It would be great to keep this thread going with people posting their pred weaning experiences here so that others who are going through this process can benefit from the vast wealth of experience! 🙂

[JoAnnC68]

I’ve been easing off of Prednisone and at this time I’m down to 1/2 mg every day. I will be going to my Rheumatoid Arthritis Dr. this week, I was wondering, do I need or is there a certain kind of blood test to make sure all is in order? I sure don’t want to have any kind of adrenal crisis.

Diagnosed with RA Jan 2012
Oct 2015- RF has dropped to 19!!! Isn't that Great! ?! I'm feeling wonderful! I'm still taking Mino 2 x daily...if I don't forget!
Oct 2014 RF has dropped to 23.1!! Taking Mino 100mg 2 x daily. No Pains & doing great!!
Oct 2013-RF has dropped to 40.9!!! Feeling Wonderful!!
7-17-2013 I'm going Great!! Still taking mino 100mg twice daily. No pains or Complaints!
5-9-2013 RA Dr said I was doing good, I could stop taking prednisone since I dropped to 1/2 mg...so will

[Anonymous]

I don’t know if this is hepful, but my wife was on 10mg/day prednisone this December and on her blood test results, her DHEA levels were at 0,0. The DHEA measurements were the only hormonal values on the results with the thyroid.

She’s down at 7mg/day, slowly decreasing it, and hopefully her adrenal glands will catch up.

[JoAnnC68]

I don’t know if this is hepful, but my wife was on 10mg/day prednisone this December and on her blood test results, her DHEA levels were at 0,0. The DHEA measurements were the only hormonal values on the results with the thyroid.

She’s down at 7mg/day, slowly decreasing it, and hopefully her adrenal glands will catch up.

Thank you for your reply aoshi_xken, yes, very helpful info….Thank You.

I’m so glad your wife is slowly decreasing her prednisone too. I usually can tell a little different in my body each time
I drop 1 mg., usually there is a little stiffness in the knees for a day or two, then it goes away.
I hope your wife has a easy time easing off the prednisone too, tell her to listen to her body. I hope all is
going well for her!

Take Care!
Jo Ann

Diagnosed with RA Jan 2012
Oct 2015- RF has dropped to 19!!! Isn't that Great! ?! I'm feeling wonderful! I'm still taking Mino 2 x daily...if I don't forget!
Oct 2014 RF has dropped to 23.1!! Taking Mino 100mg 2 x daily. No Pains & doing great!!
Oct 2013-RF has dropped to 40.9!!! Feeling Wonderful!!
7-17-2013 I'm going Great!! Still taking mino 100mg twice daily. No pains or Complaints!
5-9-2013 RA Dr said I was doing good, I could stop taking prednisone since I dropped to 1/2 mg...so will

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