How long does it take for prednisone to clear your system?

How long after your last dose should it take. Im wondering when I should expect to have a problem while weaning, If I do have a problem..

Ooh - that's a good question. I'm tapering off my very first round of Pred myself. I'd like to know the answer to this question, too!

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Diagnosed in October, 2004 at age 33.

36/F/SC

Currently taking Colazal, Nexium, Ferrous Sulfate, One-A-Day multivitamin, Omega-3 Fish Oil, Vitamin D, Vitamin A

Secondary conditions: mouth ulcers, joint pain, extreme fatigue

Hmmmmm. I read that prednisone has the half life of 1 hour. I would think it would be fairly quick for you body to metabloize it.

So basically If I went from 25mg to 20 mg today. I would only be under the influence of 20mg in about 3 days. Then of course my body would need time to catch up to the reduced dose.

I am waening of pred at the moment also. I started at 30 and every 2 weeks go down 5 or there abouts. I am now on 7.5 and tomorrow go to 5 then 2.5 then 0 woohoo. Every 2 weeks when I decrease I feel a difference in the stomach and also routine of going to the toilet. I though as I was decreasing I was feeling symptoms of the Crohns coming back but by the sounds of it I could be readjusting.

Lady G also good to know it took about 3 weeks to shift some weight. Did you diet or do anything special. I really would like to lose a little weight as since being on the pred I have gained quite a bit and feel horrible alot of the time.

I understand that our own body makes about 7 gms of cortisone a day. When our taper gets close to that amount, we need to taper v e r y slowly so our body has a chance to start producing again. It seems that taking prednisone, for more than a short taper, causes our adrenals to stop making our own cortisone and the adrenals need to kick in again to start making the normal 7 gms. I hope your tapers go well!! Blessings! In His Grip AlwaysRosie              " We can't control the waves, but we can learn how to surf!! " Psalms 139 Co-Moderator - Lupus Forum UCTD, Inflammatory Arthritis, Diverticulosis, (recent dx - Sjogrens, Crohn’s 4/08) Clickable Links:   Lupus Resources     Lupous.Org    Lupus Criteria (4 of 11)    Lupus Chapter Locator

AlwaysRosie, I think you meant 7 milli-grams, not 7 grams.

Actually, it's not the same for everybody, and even for an individual, it varies from day to day, depending on health, stress, sleep, diet, etc.  I think a reasonable range is something like 6 to 15 mg's per day of natural steroid production by the adrenal glands.

So I'm taking 3 20MG tablets a day of prednisone for only three days so I have 3 questions

1) what's the deal with drinking alcohol while being on prednisone?
2) what would happen if I stopped taking the last dose?
3) how long would that amount of prednisone stay in my system

I have a big party this weekend so I have to know if I can drink or not haha

My new Doc started me on 40mg yesterday. My old Doc would prescribe a taper, right on the bottle it would have me starting with a higher dose then tapering every 2 weeks... I liked that but this doc is different... I guess time to update my medical alert card again. I have a bracelet but it broke so I have my Med ID on my key-chain. And a card in my wallet. Maybe I should get a new bracelet? I did make some of my own also but they keep breaking. Karen  ... Karen (Karendee) Diagnosed w/ Crohn’s Disease   March 2007 Started Humira June 2008 (have been on other cd meds) Diagnosed w/  Fibromyalgia May 2007 on Soma and Lyrica    

I had my worst depression when weaning down from 40mg. I thought 5mg wasn't anything to really affect me. Boy was I wrong. I haven't been on it since so I am a little nervous. I think I may get some soon as I'm possible flaring now. Most of the times I was on 20mg and didn't have any problems. My very first time on it after getting diagnosed was the hardest to wean off of as far as getting my symptoms to quiet. It took months and I kept doing this roller coaster thing with my dosage. They finally cut me off at a very low dose and I did fine.

I am currently on 5 mg..I was up to 40 mg at one time..I felt the best I would say at 20mg, but the doctor wanted to taper off..He wanted me on 5 mg for 4 months..I started the predisone around the beginning of January..I had some real side effects, but my CD symptoms improved drastically..I had sweats, mood swings, insomnia..  I noticed a weight shift to my upper body and felt swollen but not a real difference in weight..  My gastro-intestinal inflammation and joint pain improved drastically.  I have been suffering from continual UTIs before and after..I was never told about a medical alert bracelet or having any issues..

Cindy

Hey Rose Immortal and welcome to Healingwell. You should be okay with that weaning schedule, it doesn't sound too fast to me. You may have some joint pains for a couple of days afterwards but it should get better pretty quickly. Good luck!

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Gail*Nanners* Co-Moderator for Crohns Disease & Anxiety/Panic

Crohn's Disease for over 34 years. Currently on Asacol, Prilosec, Estrace, Prinivil, Diltiazem, Percoset prn for pain, Zofran, Phenergan, Probiotics, Calcium, Vit D, and Xanax prn. Resections in 2002 & 2005. Also diagnosed w/ Fibromyalgia, Osteoarthritis, & Anxiety. Currently my Crohns is in remission, but my joints are going crazy!

*Every tomorrow has two handles.  We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of faith"*

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I was taking Prednisone 10mg for an unknown sudden severe allergic reaction that I had. Possibly iodine poison from seafood although never been allergic to seafood. Anyhow, my dosage instructions were as followed: 3 tablets 2x/day- 2 days, 2 tablets 2x/day- 3 days, 2 tablets twice/day 3 days, 1 tablet /day- 3 days. I ended up back in the ER twice due to the prednisone. I experienced almost every side-effect there is. I loss feeling in my arms and legs last thurs 2/24/10 while at work, couldn't walk, couldn't feel my tongue and had to be taken away by ambulance. The headaches are like no other. I have to take 3 exedrine extra strength and acid reflux, upset stomach, weight gain, slow movement, blurred vision everything has dam near weakened me. I can't sleep and I experience lightheadedness. The blurred vision is really scary. I had to stop taking the medicine before the last 3 days. Too many effects on me. I wasn't able to use the bathroom for about 5 days.