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Prednisone taper rate

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 2/11/2014 8:49 PM (GMT -5)
Hi All, My 14-year old son is on prednisone (dx UC Aug 2013) since mid-Nov. Started on 30 mg for 2 weeks, then 20 mg for a week. Had a flare, hospitalized with diarhea, prednisone was upped to 60 mg for 2 weeks, then 50 mg for 10 days, then 40 mg for 10 days, then 30 for 10 days. Flare coming back, was put to 40 mg for another 2 weeks and switched from Apriso (not working) to Remicade. After Remicade 2nd treatment in 2 weeks tapered to 35 mg for 5 days, then 30 mg for 5 days, then 25 mg for 5 days and now has been on 20 likely for a week. It will be 3 months on prednisone by end of this week. I am eager to see him of prednisone because I have serious concerns about his growth stunting. Is 3 months on these doses enough to curb his height growth, or am I over stressing and another few weeks of slow tapering from here won't impact height more than it already has? Any insight would be very helpful, especially coming from your experience or medical knowledge. Thanks!

BV
Posted 2/11/2014 8:54 PM (GMT -5)
I wouldn't think so.....I was on prednisone a long time between 15-18 years of age and I'm 6'8"
Posted 2/12/2014 6:13 PM (GMT -5)
nightside of eden, care to elaborate? you have UC for 17 years? please tell me about your steroid usage... highest dose, for how long... how long you taper, advice for a good taper...

cheers!
Posted 2/12/2014 6:24 PM (GMT -5)
When I taper my prednisone, I don't exclusively follow what the bottle says. Here's what worked for me to get off prednisone as quickly as possible without flaring. I'll start on 40mg, and once I have solid bm and zero blood, I'll go down to 35mg for 5 days. If by 5 days bm's are still solid and there is no cramping, blood or mucous, I'll go down another 5mg to 30mg. Keep dropping the dose by 5 my every 5 days. If you see blood, go back up by 5mg for 5 more days. If there is just mucous and urgency, stay at your lowered dose until things settle down.
Posted 2/12/2014 7:41 PM (GMT -5)
I have been up and down prednisone since 2011 and it is definitely not meant for long term use, and I always flare back up when I get down to low doses. I am still on it now and this time around I started on 60 mg and my doctor did a taper of down by 5 mg every 2 weeks until I got to 20 mg and now I am going down by 2.5 every 2 weeks and he plans to slow it even more when I get to 10 mg. Other doctors I have talked to have said that this taper is very slow, but I have also been told by many doctors that if a taper is too fast, it might not be effective. You could talk to your sons doctor about doing a slower taper, but it is also a possibility that he is steroid dependent like me..Has the remicade been working for him? I really doubt 3 months is long enough to do significant damage like that, many people are left on it much longer than that.

I hope I could help!

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