<P> I've been on dexamethasone for 7 to 8 weeks following spinal fusion for metastatic bone cancer, which is also in lungs . Prescribed 8mg daily which went on for several weeks, then dropped to 6mg immediately followed by sudden chest infection and extreme loss of energy . Prescribed antiobiotics and dexamethasone increased back to 8mg until antiobiotic course complete . Have decreased dexamethasone by 1mg dosage over period of weeks to a 2mg daily dosage . Today 10Nov decreased by 2mg so now dosage is 2mg . I gained 10kilos in 8 weeks and now taking appetite suppresant prescribed by doctor . I am also taking sleeping tablets at night so I don't stare at the ceiling for hours on end . If my dexamethasone dosage reduction goes to plan I should be dosage free in a week ie 17Nov . What I want to know is how long this drug stays in the body . Does it depend on how long I've been taking it and how much I have had? Or, is it a case of you stop taking the drug one day and the next day it is out of one's system? </P> <Dl> <Dd>--Preceding unsigned comment added by Lynne Mee (talk contribs) 20: 46, 9 November 2006 </Dd> </Dl> <Dd>--Preceding unsigned comment added by Lynne Mee (talk contribs) 20: 46, 9 November 2006 </Dd> <Dl> <Dd> As the article already indicates, the half - life of the drug in the body is 36 - 54 hours . So 1 / 2 the amount remains in the body at around 2 days, 1 / 4 by about 4 days, and by 1 week under 10% left . However remember that this tail - off level will be from the final very low dosage that you take . Secondly is the issue of steroid action on you body - this does not in fact tail - off to zero (one hopes). High doses of steroids suppress the natural production of the body's own cortisone and a large part of having to slowly reduce oral steroid medication is to allow the body's own production to restart . Hence patients on high dose steroids are warned not to stop their medication abruptly else they risk having no corticosteroid activity in their body, which may result in the medical emergency of Addisonian crisis . So once the dose & effectiveness of dexamethasone is slowly dropped below a minimum level, you own body restarts making its own weaker low - potency steroid necessary for normal health . Hence at the point that you finally discontinue the dexamethasone, its dosage and hence effectiveness will already have been dropped below the suppressive physiological level and your body will be making up the difference . The practical short answer to you question is therefore that at the point you stop the dexamethasone, it will already be at an insignificant dose as your body's own normal steroid production will be back in operation . </Dd> </Dl>

How long do the effects of dexamethasone last