Steroid Drug Withdrawal

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Medical Author:

David S. Kaminstein, MD

David S. Kaminstein, MD

Doctor Kaminstein is a Board Certified Gastroenterologist, who is presently not in active medical practice due to disability. Before disability, Dr. Kaminstein practiced Gastroenterology/Hepatology in West Chester, PA for over 15 years.

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Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Research conducted by Edward Calvin Kendall at the Mayo Clinic in the medical use of cortisone lead to a Nobel Prize in 1950. The drug simulated cortisol, a naturally occurring, anti-inflammatory hormone produced by the adrenal glands. Such corticosteroid drugs (prednisone, prednisolone, and others) have since benefited many, and are commonly used to treat many conditions including allergic reactions, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease. But they are not without serious drawbacks. The two major problems related to continuous steroid treatment are drug side effects and symptoms due to changes in the balance of normal hormone secretion. The latter typically results from taking doses greater than our body's natural production (about 7.5 mg of prednisone per day). Thus, steroids are typically given for the shortest possible time possible. Once we begin to decrease or discontinue the dose, however, withdrawal symptoms may occur.