High doses of decadron are used in hospice palliative care.  When
patient no longer able to take medications last few days of life, is
withdrawal of steroids a problem?

Prednisone withdrawal
http://www.mtio.com/lupus/docmess/1357.html

Symptoms of withdrawal
http://lungspecialist.com/steroid.htm

Long Term Steroid Withdrawal Symptoms
http://www.cheshire-med.com/programs/pulrehab/forum/messages2/54759.html



Steroid Medicines: How to Stop Safely 
http://familydoctor.org/handouts/102.html

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Clarification of Answer by kinglouie-ga on 14 Oct 2002 04:59 PDT

Sorry, Lets try this again...


As you probably know, your body naturally makes steroids all by
itself. The problem is that when you use Decadron or any other form of
steroid medication, your body may stop making its own steroids.
Abruptly stopping the medication may cause such problems as abdominal
pain, nausea, vomiting, generalized weakness, dizziness, and lethargy.

It is recommended that dosages be reduced gradually thru a weaning
process called tapering. Your doctor should give you a schedule to
follow for doing this and you should report any adverse symptoms
promptly.

The good news is that unless medically indicated the patient will not
have to stop taking Decadron because it is available in intramuscular
and intravenous forms. This makes it possible for the treatment to
continue even though the patient may not be able to swallow the
medicine.

Modern techniques of IV therapy exist where relatively painless
catheters can be inserted. These catheters and ports are
semi-permanent and do not require needle sticks every few days like
the old fashioned IV’s do. I’ve taken care of many cancer patients and
they generally love these advances because they provide access for
pain medicine and essential therapies without needles!

References: 

Prednisone withdrawal
http://www.mtio.com/lupus/docmess/1357.html

Symptoms of withdrawal
http://lungspecialist.com/steroid.htm

Long Term Steroid Withdrawal Symptoms
http://www.cheshire-med.com/programs/pulrehab/forum/messages2/54759.html

Steroid Medicines: How to Stop Safely 
http://familydoctor.org/handouts/102.html


Search Terms: Steroid withdrawal
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I do hope that this information has been helpful to you.


Kindest Regards 

Kinglouie-ga