Steroid Dependency: A Serious Conversation I Think I Might Be Having Soon

Prednisone is a steroid used to treat everything from asthma to colitis. It's also used frequently in chemo regimens because it depresses immune system responses thus allowing for the cytotoxins (chemo drugs) to do their job without interference. A typical dose is between 5mg and 20mg, taken on and off at regular intervals. And put simply, it makes you feel like could clean your entire neighborhood in one day. Now imagine that, while in the hospital, I'm on 240mg of the stuff EACH DAY! Oh my god, my family. At the very least, they've eaten well, because I've been inspired to make some off-the-wall down-right-gourmet meals while on this stuff. But for all the benefits prendisone offers, it is similar to nearly every other prescription-only drug in that you run a high-risk of developing dependence on it.

If you are on prednisone for longer than a week or so, as I am, your body begins to shut down production of its own natural corticosteroids, and if you stop taking prednisone suddenly, you can develop serious kidney problems. This is why you are usually tapered off the steroid over the course of several days. But because prednisone introduces such a rush of corticosteroids into the body, eventually your body might just stop producing them anyway, leading to steroid dependency. If you taper off the drug while you are steroid dependent, get ready for a bumpy ride. On top of it, because I have colitis at the moment (and perhaps permanently), I almost always get a flare-up on the last day or two of the taper, and afterwards I basically have no digestive comfort until I go back on the prednisone. If it turns out, after my chemo is completed, that I still have colitis, I will likely be on prednisone on and off for the rest of my life. But if not, I'm a bit worried at the moment about how I'm going to manage getting permanently off of it. Thus, I will be having a serious conversation with my doctor soon, and if you begin to notice symptom development around the time of your own taper, I'd suggest you consider having this conversation too.