Prednisone Taper Questions

[Christianmom]

My son was just put on a 30-day prednisone taper. The tablets are 20 mg. and he is taking 4 per day the first week, 3 the second, 2 the third, and one the fourth. He is 16 years old, 5' 5" and weighs 112 lbs. Does 80 mg. seem high to anyone with a similar age or weight child? He is also on Clarithromycin prophylactic. Also, I was wondering if I should start pursuing IVIG/PEX now in case the prenisone doesn't work or if I should just wait. How long should I wait until I see some results and when will I know if the results are permanent? He did extremely well with the 5-day prednisone burst--seemed almost back to normal for 2 days.

[Phasmid]

If he can stay on the clarithromycin, and he hasn't had too many relapses, I would wait and see. The 30 day taper was great for my son.

 

 

 

[T_Mom]

I would personally give it time--healing and resetting takes time (I am telling myself this at the same time as I write it here!) It can take a number of weeks for the steroids to kick in and settle.