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How Long Does Prednisone Stay In The Body?
Question: Hi I had a 60 mg dose of prednisone to fight a viral infection and I feel like I've spent the last 24 hours in a gym! How long until it washes out?
Brief Answer:
Half life and other factors:
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
First, I must say that it is very unusual for a doctor to prescribe prednisone for a viral infection and also unusual to give just one dose and a large dose. I am not sure what the indications were for this, but I'll give you some pharmacological information.
Prednisone has a half life of 3-4 hours. That means that at 3-4 hours, half of it is gone from your body. In general, it usually takes 5-6 half lives for a medication to be washed out of your body.
However the effects of prednisone can endure even after the medicine itself is gone.
Prednisone is a form of the stress hormone cortisol, and so, similar to when you have a sudden high stress situation, you can feel very energized but then feel trashed after it.
A large dose of prednisone, assuming you don't have Addison's disease, does not help fight an infection but can make you feel better in that it turns down the inflammatory response by turning down your immune system. It can also give you temporary energy by releasing glucose into your system. But it messes with a lot of things - sodium and potassium levels, etc, and after you aren't on the medicine, people sometimes feel exhausted for awhile. That isn't from the medicine itself but from it's effects.
Given that you just had one dose, your body may start to correct within a few days. But it is hard to say how long the symptoms might endure. The effects of 1 dose are not at all as significant or deleterious as ongoing treatment with corticosteroids, which can tell your brain to tell your adrenal glands to turn down their natural production because there is enough cortisol around. The effects of that can last for months. But I think given that you just had one dose, you should be feeling quite well within a couple weeks, and possibly sooner.
Half life and other factors:
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
First, I must say that it is very unusual for a doctor to prescribe prednisone for a viral infection and also unusual to give just one dose and a large dose. I am not sure what the indications were for this, but I'll give you some pharmacological information.
Prednisone has a half life of 3-4 hours. That means that at 3-4 hours, half of it is gone from your body. In general, it usually takes 5-6 half lives for a medication to be washed out of your body.
However the effects of prednisone can endure even after the medicine itself is gone.
Prednisone is a form of the stress hormone cortisol, and so, similar to when you have a sudden high stress situation, you can feel very energized but then feel trashed after it.
A large dose of prednisone, assuming you don't have Addison's disease, does not help fight an infection but can make you feel better in that it turns down the inflammatory response by turning down your immune system. It can also give you temporary energy by releasing glucose into your system. But it messes with a lot of things - sodium and potassium levels, etc, and after you aren't on the medicine, people sometimes feel exhausted for awhile. That isn't from the medicine itself but from it's effects.
Given that you just had one dose, your body may start to correct within a few days. But it is hard to say how long the symptoms might endure. The effects of 1 dose are not at all as significant or deleterious as ongoing treatment with corticosteroids, which can tell your brain to tell your adrenal glands to turn down their natural production because there is enough cortisol around. The effects of that can last for months. But I think given that you just had one dose, you should be feeling quite well within a couple weeks, and possibly sooner.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
I believe she said the prednisone was to reduce inflammation of my sore throat. I was having trouble staying hydrated because it hurt to swallow
Brief Answer:
This is reasonable if you weren't able to swallow.
Detailed Answer:
That makes sense then, if your throat was limiting your ability to take in enough fluids. I've done this for patients who were getting dehydrated from throat swelling too although it doesn't happen very often.
I hope you are feeling better soon. Please let me know if I can provide further information.
This is reasonable if you weren't able to swallow.
Detailed Answer:
That makes sense then, if your throat was limiting your ability to take in enough fluids. I've done this for patients who were getting dehydrated from throat swelling too although it doesn't happen very often.
I hope you are feeling better soon. Please let me know if I can provide further information.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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