Medicines and prescriptions
What Does Taper Mean? Lowering a Medicine Dose Slowly
Taper · say it: TAY-perAlso written: tapering, dose taper, tapering off, weaning, titrate down
Short answer
To taper a medicine means to lower the dose slowly over time, instead of stopping it all at once.
What it means
Tapering means reducing the dose of a medicine step by step over days, weeks or months, rather than stopping suddenly. It gives the body time to adjust. A taper plan is usually written by the prescriber and may be slowed down if symptoms appear.
Labels say 'taper' or 'do not stop abruptly' for medicines where sudden stopping can cause withdrawal symptoms or a return of the condition. Examples include corticosteroids, beta-blockers, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, opioids and anti-seizure medicines. With corticosteroids, a taper also gives the body's own steroid production time to restart.
A taper is the opposite of titrating up, which means slowly increasing a dose at the start of treatment. Both are ways to change a dose gently.
Where you may see it
- Labels under 'Dosage and administration: discontinuation'
- Prednisone and steroid instructions
- Discharge medicine lists with a reducing-dose schedule
📄 How it looks on a report
Prednisolone: reducing course. Taper by the schedule provided, then stop.
🙅 What it does not mean
- Tapering does not mean the medicine was not working.
- It does not mean you are addicted.
- A taper schedule is not something to change on your own; ask before speeding it up or slowing it down.
🎯 Check yourself
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🗒️ Questions to ask your doctor
🧾 Reports where you will see “Taper”
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💊 Medicines whose labels mention “Taper”
Plain-English explanations of each medicine, from its official FDA label.
- Alprazolam
a benzodiazepine, a type of central nervous system medicine
- Clonazepam
a benzodiazepine, a type of medicine that slows activity in the central nervous system
- Diazepam
A benzodiazepine, a type of medicine that slows activity in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
- Lamotrigine
An anti-epileptic (seizure) medicine and mood stabilizer. The label describes it as an anti-epileptic drug of the phenyltriazine class that is chemically unrelated to other anti-epileptic drugs.
- Lorazepam
A benzodiazepine, a type of anxiety medicine
- Nifedipine
a calcium channel blocker of the dihydropyridine type
🔗 Read more from trusted sources
- “Taper” on MedlinePlus ↗
US National Library of Medicine
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