I have noticed over the years that people take different amounts of Pred for exacerbations and wondered what the maximum effective dose would be.
My son who is 14 has never taken more than 40mg, whether the Gp has prescribed it because he is starting to dip or when he's been in hospital needing IV's. Always the bog standard 40mg. If this is not controlling him he has either had IV hydrocortisone, IM Triamcinolone or more recently IV Methylpred.
Am really interested to see how other people are managed as I am not overly impressed with adding in additional steroids when already taking 40mg, would rather bump this up than be on 2 lots!
I think in some ways the amount of pred a person takes can be so variable so other peoples doses probably shouldnt be any kind of guidance for your son,Plus also doses for children/teens i think are done on their size as much as age i know my daughter who is 13 only gets 30mg when needed as she is vertically challenged! I also think that higher doses of oral steroids may cause stomach problems (ulcers) that maybe your GP maybe trying to avoid with your son.
I personally take 40mg maintainance i cant get below 30mg without a major attack and whe things are bad i can go up to 80mg but any higher wont make any difference to me. I cant have triamcinalone due th the fact i already have serious bone problems due to taking steroids for a number of yrs with no bone protection.
My maintenance dose is 10mg because of adrenal supression.
My usual max dose is 40mg.
At home I will whack it up to 30 or 40 for five days then can drop it back to my maintenance dose or whatever I was on before.
I am currently going down 5mg a week at the mo from 40mg after a bit of a doo!
I also have a boost of IV Hydro when admitted.
I too take Omeprazole for stomach and also Strontium Ranelate for bone maintenance.
Thanks for the responses, I wasn't looking at it for comparison reasons, was just interested to see what others took as I assumed 40 mg was the max dose. Jay has been on pred. Continuously for over 2 years and can't get below 20 mg. He also has regular top ups with triamcinolone which have caused problems with weight gain, appearance and confidence.I just feel having regular additional steroids on top of 40mg pred is alot for a young lads body to cope with and if it's effective would rather have an increase in pred than steroid injections. Sorry just a bit fed up as nothing is working and he is running out of options. X
George (13) is usually put on 30mg but has been on 40mg. I space them out (15mg am, 15mg eve) but chemist said they should be taken all at once first thing. The trouble is he has become almost 'immune' to them if that is possible. Needs more and more and stays on them longer. Same has happened to me. I'm usually on 30-60mg - clears up my exzema wonderfully, but not my asthma...
prednisolone
Hi there, new to this site, really interesting to read and to know that everyone is in the same boat as me. I suffer from severe asthma and bronchiectasus (dont know how you spell it!!
Just wanted some advice on Pred (steriods). I have been on them for 32 years and have never managed to get lower than 10mg. When I reduce them, say to 8mg I start getting all the usual symptons again, and end up at square one, and have to take 30/40mg again. After youve been on 30/40mg can you come down back to your original maintenance dose of 10mg, and can you lose the weight while on steriods, cos Im really getting fed up with the way the steroids have made me look, especially the bloating tummy, and buffalo hump. It would be nice to hear from anybody who has been on steroids for a long time, and have managed to completely reduced them or even come off them.
Hi koolkat
My prednisolone varies from not being on it at all (rarely) to being on up to 80mg if very ill.
Most of the time i am on 5mg. When i have a minor off time i go to 20mg. When i have a major off time i go to 40mg and when i go into hospital i go up to 80mg.
So far this year i have only managed january and another random 10 days off them! So i am not doing great at staying off it!
But saying this my control has not been too bad i only had one 12 day admission this year. The rest of the time i have managed to stay at home.
I think it is all about self managing with help of your medical team.
It is interesting to read what other people do though and to know you are not alone.
Plumie
Boylie
The answer to your question re losing weight on steroids is YES!!! I am always on 30 mg or above of pred(usually 40mg) last year i lost 3 1/2 stone and i have lost another 1/2 stone this year. Admittedly it does seem harder but i think now that helps my determination!!! You need really not to be in a bad phase when you start though as that does make it alot harder.
Best of luck if you give it ago feel free to pm me if u want some advice.support
Mine's the same as Kate's although if I have to increase it it's for seven days. Sometimes the different amounts / lengths of course do seem a bit random - are there guidelines or do they make it up based on what seems to work for each individual?
koolcat,
Im usualy on 30 0r 40mg for 5 days or 2/3 weeks.
xxx
i take 30mg everyday and when i get ill it goes up to 60-70mg. xxxx
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