Been on Predinosone for little over six months. Varying dosage. Need help with tapering it off carefully so adrenal glands take over the immune response

I have gone through this, tapering off prednisone after being on it for months. The final 10 - 15mg and below was a bitch to get off and you have my sympathy.

There are real dangers to your health if your adrenals are compromised and you are actually steroid dependent and then quit steroids. It can be life threatening. My doctor actually had me wear a MedicAlert bracelet in case of some accident, so responders would know. Please keep that in mind and check with your doctor so they are onside with your plans to get off prednisone.

Anyway, what finally worked for me was alternating the dose day by day, like 10mg / 7.5 / 10 for a while, then tapering down to 7.5 / 5 / 7.5, etc. I don't know if there is any science behind this, maybe it was all in my head but it seemed to soften the blow of tapering all at once, if that makes sense. I also tried to sleep well, exercise, eat well... basically remove any CD triggers that I could. It took me a while and I am now very wary of prednisone for any length of time, having experienced how dependent you can get on it.

I know you said Remicade is not for you, but I have taken it for ~15 years since the very early days, and it has been a miracle drug for me. I would consider that route carefully, b/c prednisone is a dirty drug with nasty side effects of it's own, even beyond the adrenal issues, and Remicade might be your ticket back to good health.

Whatever you decide, I wish you best of luck. I got off prednisone and you can too. Definitely work with your doctor though so she / he can monitor your adrenal function if that is necessary and make sure you're not putting yourself in danger. Take care.

/r/CrohnsDisease Thread