Tapering off prednisone while on Xolair

[runcyclexcski]

Hi all --

I've been on prednisone 10 mg daily for a year, and I've been on Xolair for 5 months. My consultant suggests that I start tapering the pred off by alternating 5 and 10 mg daily. I wonder what I may face if the taper does not go smoothly -- return of asthma symptoms? Any shared experiences would be great to know.

I can't say Xolair was a true miracle in my case: it made the bad attacks go away, and made me able to cope with work. But the chest discomfort, chest tightness and difficulty sleeping are still present, and I still wear a respirator at all times when I am outside of my HEPA-filtered chamber at home. When I have to talk/give presentations I wear an FFP3 mask which makes my speech audible.

So I am quite nervous about giving up pred. I am still on 500/50 Seretide and montelucast.

[Gwalltarian]

Perhaps a chat with an Asthma UK nurse would be helpful. Your ‘nick name’ suggests that at one time you were very fit and active. I don’t know how long you’ve been taking the medications you list above or what reactions/improvements you have experienced through using them. I don’t suppose you’d be on Xolair if the seretide and Montelukast resolved your issues, let alone the prednisone. I think it would probably be an excellent idea to slowly wean yourself off the additional medications and if your consultant advocates reducing prednisone initially, it would probably be advisable to do so.