• Welcome to Crohn's Forum, a support group for people with all forms of IBD. While this community is not a substitute for doctor's advice and we cannot treat or diagnose, we find being able to communicate with others who have IBD is invaluable as we navigate our struggles and celebrate our successes. We invite you to join us.

Prednisone taper

Hello all! I'm new here. My 10 year old son was diagnosed with Crohn's just a few months ago and is taking 30mg of Prednisone for the last month and 75mg of Imuran for the last two weeks. His doctor has us tapering the Prednisone by 10mg every two weeks. My son has been complaining of stomach pain since yesterday, which was the first day of his taper down to 20mg. Is this normal to have stomach pain during the taper? He hasn't had diarrhea, but does say his stomach hurts and it feels like he needs to poop. Any insight is greatly appreciated! Thank you!
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
I would ask about a slower taper
Typically it lowers by 5 mg every week so you still go down 10 mg after two weeks but much slower
And some kids need a slower taper than that
While waiting for the 6-mp/Aza to kick in ( that takes 3-4 months )
Let your Gi know
 
His doctor is out for the weekend, but I was going to go ahead and call the doctor on call to see what he or she suggests. I just didn't know if pain was a normal part of the taper or a sign that it's not going well. Thanks for your reply!
 
Agreed, my dd took 3 months to taper.
Going to fast is only going to set the person back.
I hope your child is better soon!
 
His doctor is out for the weekend, but I was going to go ahead and call the doctor on call to see what he or she suggests. I just didn't know if pain was a normal part of the taper or a sign that it's not going well. Thanks for your reply!
Pain is not a part of the taper.
 

Maya142

Moderator
Staff member
If symptoms are coming back, then you probably need to slow down the taper. You could even do it slower - 2.5 mg per week. It takes forever but works well, usually.

However, my daughter does have a day of pain usually on the lowered dose and then her body adjusts. This happens every single time we taper. If it's just one day and then she's fine, then we continue the taper. If she is absolutely miserable and it persists, we go back up to the previous dose and slow down the taper.
 
Our gi did 2.5 every two weeks. Actually, she did that every other day (for example 10 mg to 10 mg one day and 7.5 mg the other, after two weeks 7.5 every day, then 7.5 one day 5 the other etc). Talk about forever!
Did not work for my kid as she's steroid dependent but other parents say it worked great.
 
Top