Reduce your risk of corticosteroid side effects

To get the most benefit from corticosteroid medications with the least amount of risk:

• Ask your doctor about trying lower doses or intermittent dosing. Newer forms of corticosteroids come in various strengths and lengths of action. Ask your doctor about using low-dose, short-term medications or taking oral corticosteroids every other day instead of daily.
• Talk to your doctor about switching to nonoral forms of corticosteroids. Inhaled corticosteroids for asthma, for example, reach lung surfaces directly, reducing the rest of your body's exposure to them and leading to fewer side effects.
• Ask your doctor if you should take calcium and vitamin D supplements. Long-term corticosteroid therapy may cause thinning bones (osteoporosis). Talk with your doctor about taking calcium and vitamin D supplements to help protect your bones.
• Take care when discontinuing therapy. If you take oral corticosteroids for a long time, your adrenal glands may produce less of their natural steroid hormones. To give your adrenal glands time to recover this function, your doctor may reduce your dosage gradually. If the dosage is reduced too quickly, your adrenal glands may not have time to recover and you may experience fatigue, body aches and lightheadedness.
• Wear a medical alert bracelet. This or similar identification is recommended if you've been using corticosteroids for a long time.
• See your doctor regularly. If you're taking long-term corticosteroid therapy, see your doctor regularly to check for side effects.