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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
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Pharmacy and Medications |
Prednisone taper04/11/2006 11:38AM |
My recent asthma and URI is being Rx with Prednisone over 2 weeks. I am a Type II diabetic and my Chem BG`s are running in the 300`s at the end of the day and I start with 150`s. My dose for Glucophage is 2000mgm/day w/Glyburide 5mgm/day. Prednisone is 60x3days, then 40x3days, etc until 20x 3 days then stop. Can I taper down faster? Should I take more glyburide?
Glyburide and Metformin are medicines used to lower blood glucose. They are used to treat patients with type II diabetes. Prednisone is a steroid used primarily for its ability to reduce inflammation. It can be used in many disease states in which inflammation is a component. Short term therapy with steroids (a few days to a few weeks) is usually well tolerated, but longer term therapy can cause a number of adverse reactions. For this reason, steroids like prednisone are normally used at the lowest possible dose and for the shortest possible time to minimize the risk of side effects. Stopping too soon or tapering too quickly can result in a recurrence of the disease related inflammatory effects.The taper your doctor has prescribed seems appropriate. We would not recommend any change in the taper. The prednisone could be increasing your blood glucose, but it is not appropriate for you to increase the dose of your glyburide on your own. If your blood glucose was under control before you got sick, control should return as the illness passes.
It makes most sense to take all of your medicines just as your doctor prescribed them. If your blood glucose continues to be difficult to control once the prednisone taper is complete it may be necessary for your doctor to adjust the doses of your diabetes medicines. It is never appropriate to adjust the doses of prescription medicines without the involvement of your PMD.
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Robert James Goetz, PharmD, DABAT Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice Drug and Poison Information Center Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center University of Cincinnati |
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