How to use this tool
Medication
taper planner.
Track a dose-reduction (tapering) schedule your doctor or pharmacist has already given you. This tool only records and displays that plan so you can see what to take and when — it does not suggest doses, rates, or timings of its own.
Medication tapers are easy to lose track of: the dose keeps changing, the gaps between steps can be days or weeks, and discharge or clinic paperwork is often a single small-print table. This tool exists to make the plan you were already given easier to see, not to create a new one.
Your data stays on your device. Nothing is sent to any server. If you clear your browser or use another device, you will need to enter your plan again.
What this tool does: records the exact steps, doses, and start dates your prescriber gave you; shows which step applies today and when the next change happens; lets you tick off each day’s dose; and can print a one-page summary for yourself or your GP.
What this tool deliberately does not do: suggest a taper schedule, calculate dose reductions, or tell you how fast to go. Those decisions belong to the doctor or pharmacist who prescribed the medicine.
Why some medications are tapered, not stopped
Corticosteroids. Medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone, and dexamethasone suppress the body’s own cortisol production. Taken for more than around three weeks, stopping suddenly can leave the adrenal glands unable to respond, which can be dangerous. Tapering gives the body time to resume its own production. Source: NHS: prednisolone (last checked Nov 2026)
Opioids. Reducing opioid painkillers gradually, rather than stopping abruptly, lowers the risk and severity of withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, sweating, and gastrointestinal upset. Source: healthdirect: medicines (last checked Nov 2026)
Benzodiazepines. Medicines such as diazepam and temazepam can cause serious withdrawal effects, including seizures in rare cases, if stopped suddenly after regular use. A slow, supervised taper is the standard approach. Source: NHS: diazepam (last checked Nov 2026)
Antidepressants. Stopping some antidepressants suddenly can cause discontinuation symptoms (dizziness, irritability, flu-like feelings). A gradual dose reduction, guided by your prescriber, is the usual recommendation. Source: NPS MedicineWise: medicines information (last checked Nov 2026)
Understanding Medication Tapers
A taper is one of the places medication management most commonly goes wrong at home: the steps can span weeks or months, the dose or frequency changes partway through, and the paperwork describing it is easy to misplace. This guide explains the general principles behind why tapers exist and what to watch for — it is compiled from NHS, healthdirect Australia, and NPS MedicineWise consumer medicines guidance, and is not a substitute for the specific plan your prescriber has given you.
Why Gradual Reduction Matters
For some medicines, the body adapts to a steady dose over time. Stopping suddenly does not simply remove the drug's effect — it can also unmask an adaptation the body has made, producing withdrawal symptoms or a return (or worsening) of the condition being treated. A taper spreads that adjustment over days, weeks, or months, in steps small enough for the body to adapt at each stage. The right pace is specific to the person, the drug, the dose, and how long it has been taken — which is exactly why it is set by a prescriber, not estimated from a general rule.
Medicines Commonly Tapered Rather Than Stopped
Corticosteroids (prednisone, prednisolone, dexamethasone) taken for more than a few weeks; opioids (oxycodone, codeine, tramadol, morphine) used regularly for more than a short period; benzodiazepines (diazepam, temazepam, lorazepam) used regularly; many antidepressants (SSRIs and SNRIs); some blood pressure medicines (beta-blockers in particular); anticonvulsants; and long-term proton pump inhibitors in some cases. This list is general — always follow your own prescriber's instructions for your specific medicine.
What To Do If Something Feels Wrong
If you notice new or worsening symptoms after a dose step-down — whether that is physical (sweating, tremor, nausea, palpitations) or psychological (anxiety, low mood, confusion) — contact your prescriber or pharmacist rather than waiting to see if it passes, and rather than adjusting the dose yourself. Severe symptoms, or anything that feels like an emergency, should go to your local emergency number straight away.
Keeping Track Across a Long Taper
Longer tapers (corticosteroids after prolonged use, benzodiazepine or opioid tapers) can run for many weeks, with the dose or frequency changing several times. Writing the plan down once, in one place, and printing or sharing a copy with whoever else is involved in your care, reduces the chance of a missed or doubled step, especially if more than one person is helping with your medicines.
Sources: NHS medicines information · healthdirect.gov.au · NPS MedicineWise consumer medicines information