Guest guest Posted June 1, 2002 Report Share Posted June 1, 2002 Tapering predisone is not anything you should try to do w/o your dr.....depending on dosage and how long you have been on it and then some drs take you off it differently. Also, you may end up having reactions (such as breathing problems) as you taper.....best to really discuss with your dr...I was on it once for 3 months and it took me almost 6 months to get off it......Good luck ...Judy in AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 2, 2002 Report Share Posted June 2, 2002 Barbara, Stopping Prednisone is done by slowly decreasing the number of miligrams over a period of time, ( tapering) until you are no longer taking any. How many miligrams over how much time is a great way to start a " sprited " discussion. > Hello to all, I am new on the list and hoping I could ask a question. I > have to take prednisone but I hate taking it and always worry about > stopping. That is I worry about HOW to stop taking it. I know you can't > just suddenly stop taking it and if I ever get to where I can do without it > I sure would like to know the steps or an exact slow down procedure for how > to gradually withdraw from it. I haven't been able to get much out of my > dr. on this and hoping someone on this list may know about how to do it. > Many Thanks, > Barbara in Texas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 2, 2002 Report Share Posted June 2, 2002 Hi Barbara, I share your fears about Prednisone. My rheumy has put me on it at a rate of 20 mg for 3 days, then reducing by 5 mg every three days. I think that if you've been on it for any period of time, though (over a month maybe?) you should taper no more than 1 mg at a time, and I read every two weeks. Hopefully someone will come along who knows more. Hope you have a pain free day! Carol [ ] Hello and Prednisone Hello to all, I am new on the list and hoping I could ask a question. I have to take prednisone but I hate taking it and always worry about stopping. That is I worry about HOW to stop taking it. I know you can't just suddenly stop taking it and if I ever get to where I can do without it I sure would like to know the steps or an exact slow down procedure for how to gradually withdraw from it. I haven't been able to get much out of my dr. on this and hoping someone on this list may know about how to do it. Many Thanks, Barbara in Texas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 4, 2002 Report Share Posted June 4, 2002 Hi Barbara. Tapering off of prednisone is different for everyone depending on the dose you are taking and how long you have been taking it. When you¹ve been on it for an extended time, your adrenal glands aren¹t producing natural cortisone and they can shrink. So if you stop taking oral steroids, and your body can¹t manufacture it, you can go into steroid withdrawal. This can be very serious, even life threatening. The result can be low blood pressure, vomiting, nausea, stomach ache and dizziness. When doctors start a prednisone taper, they may decrease he dose by 1mg every 2 weeks. That may be hard for some people and they may have to take a slower decrease to avoid steroid withdrawal. Please talk to your doctor and he can devise a schedule that is tailored to your body. I¹m not sure why you can¹t get much out of him, so maybe you¹re one of those people that may have a difficult time with it. I understand why you want to get off of it, but please be very careful. I¹ll post some information about it and hopefully you will be able to talk to your doctor. a On 6/1/02 2:41 PM, " Watkins " <watkins@...> wrote: > Hello to all, I am new on the list and hoping I could ask a question. I > have to take prednisone but I hate taking it and always worry about > stopping. That is I worry about HOW to stop taking it. I know you can't > just suddenly stop taking it and if I ever get to where I can do without it > I sure would like to know the steps or an exact slow down procedure for how > to gradually withdraw from it. I haven't been able to get much out of my > dr. on this and hoping someone on this list may know about how to do it. > Many Thanks, > Barbara in Texas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 4, 2002 Report Share Posted June 4, 2002 I found this conversion calculator for the various steroids. It shows 4 mg of Medrol is the equivalent of 5 mg prednisone. Hope that helps! http://www.globalrph.com/steroid.cgi Hugs, Carol Re: [ ] Hello and Prednisone Barbara, I dont understand why your dr wont give you medrol regularly ...I take a 4 mg tablet daily......I was on the dose pack in Dec and it was a miracle the way I felt ...so they told me to call back when I got to the last pill and let them know how I felt. I did and they ordered me a 4mg pill daily...the pharmacist told me a 4 mg pill of medrol is a lot stronger than a 1mg tab of predisone.....but I dont remember how much. Whatever the other ingredient is in medrol works well for me too.I think because it is a steroid though it is still hard to get off when time comes. Maybe your dr wants to control your pain with a lesser dose of steroids ? JUdyin AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 6, 2002 Report Share Posted June 6, 2002 Hi Barbara , I also understand where you are coming from about the predisone my rhuemy tapered me down a little at a time . We went as low as 2.5 mg but of course more flare ups. I am now back on 5mg. I hate taking it but it does seem to help with the pain. I have gained alot of weigght off of it and other meds combined as I am also bi-polar. I understand though you cannot just quit cold turkey slowlt tapper off and see how you feel . Carol <carol@...> wrote: Hi Barbara, I share your fears about Prednisone. My rheumy has put me on it at a rate of 20 mg for 3 days, then reducing by 5 mg every three days. I think that if you've been on it for any period of time, though (over a month maybe?) you should taper no more than 1 mg at a time, and I read every two weeks. Hopefully someone will come along who knows more. Hope you have a pain free day! Carol [ ] Hello and Prednisone Hello to all, I am new on the list and hoping I could ask a question. I have to take prednisone but I hate taking it and always worry about stopping. That is I worry about HOW to stop taking it. I know you can't just suddenly stop taking it and if I ever get to where I can do without it I sure would like to know the steps or an exact slow down procedure for how to gradually withdraw from it. I haven't been able to get much out of my dr. on this and hoping someone on this list may know about how to do it. Many Thanks, Barbara in Texas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 6, 2002 Report Share Posted June 6, 2002 June, This is really strange. You¹ve been on prednisone for a long time, and should have flared From stopping suddenly. I¹m curious to see what your doctor says. Since you¹re of it with no problems, maybe he will keep you off and use something else for pain. Yes, it is easy to miss one when we take so many. a On 6/6/02 3:46 PM, " june dixon " <juner24@...> wrote: > Hi,I just read the post about Prednisone. This morning I was having a lot of > back pain and wondered if I should take an extra 5mg Prednisone(I have a > friend who does this). Well I went looking for the bottle and couldn't find > it. It ended up I had to phone the pharmacy and ask when I had last filled a > scrip for it. She looked it up and said April 1, 34 pills. It would seem like > I have been without Prednisone for at least 3 weeks if not more. I have an > appt with my GP today at 5:30pm so it will be interesting what he says about > this. I usually line up all my meds and fill those little container thingys > enough for 2 weeks. Obviously I missed the Prednisone and never noticed and > yes this is a very dangerous thing to do. A senior moment I guess. How easy > it is when you are taking so many little pills. > > Hugs > June > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 7, 2002 Report Share Posted June 7, 2002 Hi a,well much to my dismay he wants me back on Prednisone at least until I see the rheum in July. He wants me to start taking 2/5mg for a week then one 5mg per day. He thinks this may have caused some bad flares I have experienced lately and maybe he is right. As you know I have been on Enbrel since mid December but I can't honestly say I am getting great benefit from it although it is hard to say. I know for a fact that when I was on Arava I felt 100% better for the 2 months I was on it and was very disappointed when I had to stop. I am leaving tomorrow to go to a fancy golf club up north to teach a very large group of doctors on Saturday morning. Fortunately all our expenses are covered and the three girls going with me are loads of fun,so it is like a mini holiday. Hugs June Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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