Prednisone 10 milligrams is a steroid used to reduce inflammation in diseases ending in “-itis”. It is usually taken in the morning with food and is usually prescribed in a 5-day supply but may also be prescribed for up to 90 days or even longer.

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How to take Prednisone 10 mg

Each day, you’re taking one fewer pill, right? You might be wondering “do I take it five times a day? Or do I take it all at once?” The answer is that you want to take it all at once first thing in the morning. 

Often, a prescription of prednisone 10mg for 5 days could be several options. The first option is you’re given a bottle of 10mg pills and you’re told to take a certain number of pills each day. It usually starts out high and goes lower as time goes on–a prednisone taper. 

Common reasons prednisone 10 mg is used for

As the 22nd most commonly prescribed drug, prednisone is often prescribed for a long list of conditions. Although it has numerous side effects, this medicine can be lifesaving and miraculously relieving for conditions such as pneumonia, organ transplants, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and ITP (immune thrombocytopenic purpura) –which is what I have.

In the medical literature, roughly 100 different conditions are listed on the package insert of ways in which prednisone can be use. In addition to this, there are another fifty in well-respected drug references. Therefore, it is easy to say that prednisone is an all-around problem-solving drug.

Prednisone 10 mg tablet compares to other dosages

Dosages around 10 mg to 20mg are a normal, average dose of prednisone. A typical starting dose of prednisone can range between 5 mg to 60 mg of prednisone. The dose of prednisone should be individualized for each patient.

But when it comes to prednisone dosage, there is no one-size-fits-all way of answering this question. Your dosage really depends on how severe your condition is. At the end of this article you can find typical doses of prednisone for common conditions prednisone is used for.

Side Effects to Expect at Prednisone 10 mg

Though it is considered a moderate dose, it may still cause side effects like moon face, depression, skin thinning, and changes in hair. Tapering off the medication through a slow reduction of dosage is necessary for safe and successful use of the drug and Prednisone taper charts are available to assist with tapering.

Cushing’s Syndrome (Moon Face)

Prednisone causes an unpleasant disfiguration of the face called Moon Face. Fat is deposited on the cheeks and neck making the face appear round like the moon.

For instance, some of them called it hypercortisolism or they could have called it Cushing syndrome or Cushing’s disease or a cushingoid state and appearance.

Cataracts

Low-dose prednisone causes various side effects and those include cataracts, which is a permanent side effect. And it’s a special kind of cataract. It’s not an age-related old person, kind of cataract. It’s a steroid like prednisone steroid-induced cataract called a posterior subcapsular side effect, side effect, cataract, and then there’s glaucoma. And that’s when there’s high PLA pressure in your eyeball and both of these can make it.

This can lead to blindness so for sure be taking precautions getting your eyes checked routinely if you’re on prednisone long-term.

Heart Failure

Another prednisone long-term side effects is cardiovascular diseases. These are prone to those people who are taking prednisone for a long time or taking higher doses.

Hypertension is high blood pressure that leads to downstream complications like heart attacks and strokes and arrhythmias that’s where your heart beats kinda weird which can lead to death.

So, you need to be careful and get your blood pressure checked and just be really paying attention to your heart.

Mood Swings

A lot of patients confirmed that taking prednisone changes their mood and makes them irritable. Prednisone can cause disabling mood swings and emotional changes.

At the beginning of taking prednisone, you might feel euphoria; like this beautiful, wonderful feeling of extra energy, of being able to clean your house of being able to do more than you’ve ever done while suffering your condition.

For some people, prednisone does the opposite and it makes you unnaturally cranky or gives you unnaturally terrible anxiety.

Changes in Skin

Thin skin is reversible, but the timing isn’t sure. It could happen at lower and lower doses, or it might not reverse until after stopping steroids.

The next type of skin side effects at low doses are other things that I don’t consider very common at all, including red dots, just a little red flat dot on your skin called petechiae. It’s not like acne or some rash on top of the skin. It’s under the skin.

A painless red, flat rash is called petechiae. It actually indicates there’s tiny bit of bleeding under the skin, as does the painless bruises, which the fancy word is ecchymoses. Both of those indicate that there’s under-the-skin bleeding.

The painless bruise that is not from injury but from internal bleeding is also called ecchymoses. That’s of no concern, but it can be if you’re like me and you’re taking prednisone for something like a bleeding disorder.

Changes in Hair

Steroids like prednisone can cause hair loss. There are lots of kinds of steroids though. Prednisone is a glucocorticoid type of steroid. That’s different than body builder androgenic steroids used to grow muscle, which is not what this article is about. This article focuses on the steroids used for inflammation.

According to the most respected and comprehensive drug database on the market, Clinical Pharmacology, “alopecia” is a listed side effect of prednisone. Alopecia is the medical term for hair loss or balding. But of the top 5 sources of prednisone side effect data, only Clinical Pharmacology listed hair loss. So it’s not a well-known or common side effect.

Should I Taper Prednisone 10 mg?

If you’re prescribed prednisone for less than 10 to 14 days, then it may be unnecessary to taper. You might be just fine to simply stop when the prescription finishes as your doctor directed. However, never stop taking prednisone suddenly (go “cold turkey”) without consulting with your doctor as it could be fatal.

Often, a prescription of prednisone 10mg for 5 days could be several options. The first option is you’re given a bottle of 10mg pills and you’re told to take a certain number of pills each day. It usually starts out high and goes lower as time goes on–a prednisone taper.