The dose of prednisolone you'll take depends on your health problem and whether you are taking it as a short course or for longer. The usual dose varies between 5mg and 60mg daily but occasionally higher doses may be prescribed. The strength of tablets range from 1mg to 25mg.
The starting dose of prednisone may be between 5 mg to 60 mg per day. A dose above 40 mg per day may be considered a high dose.
It's best to take prednisone as a single dose once a day straight after breakfast. For example if your dose is 30mg daily, it's usual to take 6 tablets (6 x 5mg) all at the same time after breakfast.
Prednisone is used to treat conditions such as arthritis, blood disorders, breathing problems, severe allergies, skin diseases, cancer, eye problems, and immune system disorders.
This depends on your health problem or condition. You may only need a short course of prednisolone for up to 1 week. You may need to take it for longer, even for many years or the rest of your life.
Talk to your doctor right away if you have more than one of these symptoms while you are using this medicine: blurred vision, dizziness or fainting, a fast, irregular, or pounding heartbeat, increased thirst or urination, irritability, or unusual tiredness or weakness.
Long-term use of prednisone may lead to bone loss and osteoporosis. It can cause changes in the distribution of body fat which together with fluid retention and weight gain may give your face a moon-like appearance. Stretch marks, skin thinning, and excessive facial hair growth are also not uncommon.
For most people, they're only given for a very short period of time without refills to try to limit serious side effects. People who do take long-term oral corticosteroids typically have severe conditions that cannot be treated well with other medications. So for them, the benefits usually outweigh the risks.
This involves gradually reducing the dose over days, weeks, or months. Some typical recommendations for prednisone tapering include: Dosages above 40 milligrams (mg) per day: Decrease by 5 mg at a time until you reach 20 mg per day. Dosages of 20 mg: Decrease in 2.5-mg increments until you reach 10 mg per day.
Side effects of corticosteroids taken by mouth
A buildup of fluid, causing swelling in your lower legs. High blood pressure. Problems with mood swings, memory, behavior, and other psychological effects, such as confusion or delirium. Upset stomach.
Official answer. Prednisone does not usually cause sleepiness but may make you feel dizzy, irritable with mood swings, or cause you to have trouble sleeping (insomnia). If your dose is stopped too quickly or if you take prednisone for a long period of time you may feel severely fatigued.
It is known and has been repeatedly demonstrated that low doses of prednisone or prednisolone (10 mg daily or 5 mg bid) will control most of the inflammatory features of early polyarticular rheumatoid arthritis (Table 2).
Serious side effects associated with higher doses and long-term use (greater than 1 month) are impaired wound healing, decreased growth (in children), decreased muscle production, fat deposits, stomach ulcers or bleeding, vision problems, higher risk for infection, and in rare cases life-threatening allergic reactions.
Occurrence is often associated with dose and duration of therapy; long-term effects include HPA suppression, Cushingoid appearance, cataracts and increased intraocular pressure/glaucoma, osteoporosis and vertebral compression fractures.
Your symptoms may be a return of inflammation, not withdrawal. Tapering too quickly can cause a flare to happen. If your disease flares, you may need to go back to a higher steroid dose for a short time to get the inflammation under control.
Continue to take prednisone tablets regularly until your doctor tells you otherwise. You may need to take them for several months, or even longer. Stopping suddenly can cause problems and your doctor may want you to reduce your dose gradually if this is necessary.
Prednisone is used to treat conditions such as arthritis, blood disorders, breathing problems, severe allergies, skin diseases, cancer, eye problems, and immune system disorders. Prednisone belongs to a class of drugs known as corticosteroids.
Topical steroids
The fear of using corticosteroids is so common that it has its own name: corticophobia. For topical steroids, this fear stems from well-known and severe adverse effects like Cushing syndrome and permanent skin atrophy.
“Most patients benefit from short-term prednisone treatment, while others require low-dose maintenance therapy with medical supervision and routine lab work,” Tomaka said. “Depending on the condition treated, the benefit of using prednisone may outweigh the risks.”
Steroids should ideally only be used for a short period of time to get over a flare-up or while long term treatments, such as azathioprine, become established. If you are starting a course of steroids, then you should complete the full reducing course, which is generally prescribed for eight weeks.
Prednisone has many side effects. You're more likely to experience these side effects with higher doses and longer courses of treatment. Common short-term side effects include changes in appetite, mood, energy, and sleep. Long-term prednisone treatment can lead to weight gain, osteoporosis, and cataracts.
The most serious prednisone side effects usually include allergic reactions, infections, gastrointestinal issues and elevated blood sugar. These may occur when people take larger doses or take the medication for long-term treatment.
Because prednisone suppresses the body's immune system, it can also increase the risk of infection. Therefore, some precautions need to be taken. Before taking prednisone, talk to your healthcare provider about the following: If you have a history of allergies to prednisone or other steroid drugs.