Myasthenia Gravis Support Group

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular disease leading to fluctuating muscle weakness and fatiguability. The hallmark of myasthenia gravis is muscle weakness that increases during periods of activity and improves after periods of rest. Although myasthenia gravis may affect any voluntary muscle, muscles that control eye and eyelid movement, facial expression, and...

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Prednisone tapering

Annie128
Annie128
This is a question for all those prednisone professionals out there. :)

I am tapering my prednisone again from 60mgs to 50mgs.
it seems a lot of you on here do tapering every other day as a way to make the tapering process less drastic. however I've had a neurologist (not my own, a different neuro) tell me that tapering every other day would be more erratic and would not allow your body to adjust properly to the lower dose.

why has your neuros suggested every other day rather than just a smaller cut every day?
I am just trying to explore my options for tapering to find the method that will make me least likely to have another set back.

Thanks for your help
Annie
deleted_user
deleted_user
Some people take two doses alternating between a smaller and larger one, but this is not tapering. I personally would never taper every day. I drop 2.5 a week for two weeks and so forth. Hope this helps. :)
annkemp
annkemp
i was having difficulties with my taper. My body liked the alternating day better.
Now I am at 6/7/6/7
The alternating day schedule just worked better for me. I don't really know why. Maybe you will do fine with what your doc recommended.
bweeds
bweeds
Unless there is some reason for a rapid taper, usually the slower the better. It gives your adrenals a chance to adjust. The body is efficient and doesn't make what it doesn't need, unless it is sick. As we taper steroids, the adrenals have to kick back in and do their job.

Alternate day dosing may help stimulate the body's own production with falling levels. But like many other things MG we are different in the way we handle tapering--for some it goes smoothly, other have to inch it down and some just do not tolerate the larger swings of every other day dosing.

My doc's recommendation is no more than 10% at a time and no more often than every two weeks. I have needed to taper even more slowly and this summer didn't taper at all given the heat and extra exertion. Trying to taper when you are not stable or improving is not likely to be successful and may land you back where you started or on an even higher dose.

Good luck however you and your doctor decide to do it, but do protest if you feel a drop is too much or too soon. b.
Barbel
Barbel
It took my body about 8 weeks to adjust to a 2.5 taper. I guess when you start feeling better, that's how you know? Anyway, I tried 1 mg and that didn't work so now I am on 1/2 mg drops, but I am taking 11 mg. my highest dose was 20mg. Good luck.
sunev1961
sunev1961
My highest dose was 75 mg. June last year I started to taper. It's been slow and usually a drop has only occurred every month. I always feel the fatigue and weakness in the first 2 weeks. My neuro says it takes your body 4 weeks to know if the drop has been right for you. I am down to 6 mg after 15 months. I'm glad I've done it slowly but everyone is different. Good luck! Gez

Ps alternative days never worked for me.