prednisolone tapering question

[Sandy and Brie]

I am fostering a kitty who is currently on pred for possible allergies. He was on 5mg once a day for 2 weeks and then went to 5mg every other day for about 10 days. I was told to now do 5mg every third day. I'm not sure that I feel comfortable doing the taper this way. I would think one would go to 2.5mg every other day. Does anyone have any thoughts on this.
Thanks Sandy

 

[BJM]

Its a "discuss with vet". The concern with external steroids is the suppression of the adrenal glands. Alternating days is supposed to allow the adrenal glands to continue to function. That said, tapering off gradually can be as much an art, as a science.

Speaking as someone who has done numerous tapers for my asthma, I'd be inclined to think stepping down to 2.5 mg alternate days made sense.

 

[Sandy and Brie]

Thanks for your reply BJM. I'm hoping some others may chime in. I'm just not quite on board with the vet's instructions.

 

[MiloMistyMax]

I would say vets are kind of like doctors on tapering meds. Some doctors tell you that you can get off a med in a week when it really should be done over at least a month. It's like they are blind to side effects. I had a cat on pred and I can't remember the exact dose but I think what you said would be good. I think my vet told me the same thing. In my case I could never actually take my cat off it but it was a different disease.

 

[Sandy and Brie]

Thanks. I posted on a yahoo group and I think it was a vet tech that responded and she said that in their practice they have done it the way I was told.