Lower your risk of corticosteroid side effects

To get the most out of corticosteroid medicines with the least amount of risk:

• Ask your healthcare professional about trying lower doses or taking the medicine every other day, called intermittent dosing. Newer forms of corticosteroids vary in how strong they are and how long they last. Ask about using low-dose, short-term medicines or taking corticosteroids by mouth every other day instead of daily.
• Ask your healthcare professional whether you should take calcium and vitamin D supplements. Long-term corticosteroid therapy may cause thinning bones, called osteoporosis. Ask about taking calcium and vitamin D supplements to help protect your bones.
• Take care when stopping corticosteroids. If you take corticosteroids by mouth for a long time, your adrenal glands may make less of their steroid hormones. To give your adrenal glands time to start making more steroid hormones, your healthcare professional may lower your dose little by little. If you lower too quickly, you may feel tired, lightheaded and achy.
• Wear a medical alert bracelet. Wear this if you've been using corticosteroids for a long time.
• See your healthcare professional regularly. If you're taking long-term corticosteroid therapy, your healthcare professional can watch for side effects.