Prednisone Taper

Many patients wonder if they need a prednisone taper after short-term courses of prednisone therapy. In general courses of prednisone use for less than two weeks do not require prednisone taper. Use of prednisone especially at high dosage for longer than 2 to 3 weeks requires a gradual taper off the prednisone medication in order to avoid adrenocortical insufficiency.

When prednisone is used in high dosage for long periods of time the adrenal cortex, the part of the adrenal gland naturally produces cortisol, become suppressed and is unable to respond to demand for cortisol production release. This can lead to a very serious emergency with severe hypotension and cardiovascular collapse. It’s very important if you’ve been on prednisone for more than two weeks to fully physicians directions carefully for prednisone taper in order to avoid an adrenal crisis.

Many patients are accustomed to using a prednisone taper for even very short courses of therapy but in recent years most physicians have changed to using higher dosage and shorter duration courses of prednisone in order to use the need for prednisone taper and reduce the likelihood of adrenocortical insufficiency related problems. This makes use of products like Medrol dose pack less desirable than simply using fixed dose prednisone at a fairly high dosage for only a brief duration. Typical prednisone burst course might be 40 to 60 mg daily for 5 to 7 days.

In summary prednisone taper is necessary for prolonged use but not necessary for short courses of therapy. Read further on our home page about prednisone side effects and share on our prednisone forum.