Taken twice my dose of steroids

Treatment and medication
1

Hi my grandad is on steroids for a chest infection. He was told to take 8 tablets a day. My uncle gave him today’s dose but my grandad forgot that he had taken them, so my nan give him another 8. Is this dangerous? Many thanks Stacey x

2

Hi Stacey....

I would think there'd be some information about this situation on the sheet in the box.

But I googled the question and on an NHS website it said:

 *Accidentally taking too many steroid tablets is unlikely to be harmful if it's a one-off. Speak to your doctor or a pharmacist if you're worried.*

 

3

Don’t worry too much it is better than forgetting to take them. Some people are given as many as 80mg a day for some illnesses. 8mg is a pretty low dose so doubling up is not too bad.

4

Thank you Janet I tried google but wasn’t giving me a straight answer. But you’ve put me and my family’s mind at rest xx

5

Hi thank you for your reply, but It’s not 8mg. he’s taken 16 tablets n I think they r either 2mg or 5mg  each not too sure xx

6

I was thinking 8 x 5mg? 

7

That is a much larger dose. If you are worried check with the doctor. As I said some people are on 80mg a day so he has not overdosed. He should just carry on as normal from now on though as if nothing had happened. 

8

Hello Stacey

I did that one time and was okay..depends on the mg....however I would give either the doctor a call to let him know or call your pharmacist for their thoughts if you can't get your doctor.

 

9

Not on a one-off case no. Just don't do it again - that was probably 40mg which is a high dose anyway and he took double, 80mg, a dose which is used for some illnesses for a couple of weeks.He'll have been high as kite I expect? 

Go to the chemist and ask for a dosette box for a week's worth of tablets - count out the tablets for each day and then only use that box - you can see if today's dose has already been taken.