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prednisolone

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carol57369
carol57369

i have been taking 5mg per  day of prednisolone  not a high dose but i have been feeling so hot and not to good since taking it also i seem to ache all over i have been tempted now to stop taking them but on such a low dose do i have to be weaned off them i started taking them last september and i i still need to take painkillers for my joints thanks for reading carol

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Light
    Light carol57369

    Posted

    I don't know the official level of 'weaning' but it's my guess you should wean yourself slowly from any dose of preds.

    Try three days on, one day off for a few weeks and then expand till you're taking one 5mg every other day and so on. But slowly. And then your body will have time to adjust to the reduction.

  • EileenH
    EileenH carol57369

    Posted

    It is recommended to taper the dose slowly even when you were only on 5mg when you have been on it for more than about 3 weeks - and you have. If you are on a higher dose it is fine to taper quickly down to about 7.5mg but after that a slower taper is needed. That is the sort of amount that your body would make naturally in the form of cortisol. 

    I think you should ask your doctor - although often GPs aren't aware of the risks of stopping even low dose pred quickly. You will need to have 1mg tablets and reduce just 1mg or, even better, 1/2mg at a time to avoid steroid withdrawal discomfort. The pharmacy should be able to sell you a pill cutter. I've looked all over the place but can't find a suggested taper I can access. On my own forum we emphasise doing it really slowly - but that is also because of the possibility of the symptoms returning as pred is the only medication for our sort of arthritis. You may be able to do it 1/2mg every couple of weeks but it does depend on the person. You may feel very fatigued as the dose goes down - that is if your body doesn't start making cortisol itself and the slower you go the more likely it is you'll be OK.

    Watch out for the signs of adrenal insufficiency (fatigue, nausea, dizziness, feeling ill) and go to your doctor if you notice anything like that. Some doctors like to use a different sort of steroid called hydrocortisone to wean patients off pred - it does the same but is shorter-acting and that encourages the adrenals to work better. 

    But do be sure you really want to stop it - you may be surprised how much it has been helping when you try managing with even less. Are you sure it is the pred that is making you feel achy? Maybe a bit more pred might save the pain-killers as they have unpleasant side effects too. REally it needs to be discussed with your rheumy.

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