Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Pred taper question

Out of curiosity, how much Prednisone do you take when you do a taper? And how long, etc. I was talking to an MSer friend and she told me the pred taper for her MS flare began at 1,200 mg/day and I'm thinking . . . whoa . . . no wonder Pred doesn't do much for me, if I'm only starting with 60! Just curious how much everybody takes.
Bridge

1200????????????

IS she sure she doesn't mean 120???

I'd say 50-60 mg/day was an average starting dose, then weaning down by halves every few days to 12, then 10, 8, 5 and stop - that's the usual sort of course over a couple of weeks, I'd say (IME)

The dose varies for the type of steroid is dosed. Prednisone and methylprednisolone are different and have different doses. Medrol dose-pak is the latter and mine starts with 6 4mg tabs the first day (spread out over the day) and then drops by one tab each day. I think there is another one that starts higher or goes longer (or both).

For me, this is enough to break the flare most of the time, but a few symptoms make it in the back door soon after finishing---never lasts more than a couple of weeks. But it saved my sanity last week! From pain levels at 8-9 on Thursday to 2-3 on Friday without narcotics.

****I'm not recommending this, but the first time I used a Medrol pak, I took it as directed, at breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime. Didn't do much for me. About 2 yrs later, my rheumy put me on one to see what happened. I didn't pay close attention to the directions and took all 6 pills at once! (Didn't sleep much that night, either.) It worked great! The next time, I did it according to directions and got nothing. I went back to taking all the pills in the morning and it worked again. I consider that scientific proof that it works for me. YMMV. I figured I just needed more pred to make a difference.

A dose of 1200mg would be something given to an organ transplant patient to prevent rejection (600mg and 600mg, different times)....a MAJOR suppression of immune system. BTDT.

This is a good link to check steroid equivalencies.

Hope you feel better soon, Bridgett!

The two times I have had steroids for MS it has been with an IV once a day for three days. They give me solumedrol, and no taper just 3 days of IV.

so far i've only taken the medrol pak that rumble described. while on it, it helped my feet enough to stand on a kneeling pad while i couldn't sit and had to get work done, but only while on it, no lasting effects.

I usually start on 40mg and then taper down to 30-20-10-5 and stop. When I am on it to treat my UC, they keep me on each step for a week to 10 days, for my arthritis, it just a few days at each step.

I started at 60 mg a couple of times.

And drat of all drats.....took the last dose today of a taper that stopped a flare in its tracks. And my heels are already hurting again.

Yea I am so not thinking 1200 a day not sure what that would do to a person...but I have been on 80 to 100mgs a day and usually what I do is after the Doc says about the initial dose and I start feeling better I go down 5 to 10mgs a day until Im done.

If you are taking a low dose then adjust accordingly just remember to DO taper so it does not throw the adrenal glands into a fit.

Hugs!

I just got off of a pred taper a few weeks ago to know down a UC flare and now the UC is trying to come back. The last thing I want is another bout of pred. I finally got the AS pains all settled down from hurting every time I drop the dose. Now I have to call GI and report in. It will have to wait for tomorrow cause I just have too much to do today, I won't be home enough to answer the phone. Thank God for Immodium.