@mamag, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Congratulations to your son on his recent transplant surgery and his current stage of recovery. I also offer my prayers of gratitude to his aunt who gave him this gift of her kidney.

I have a transplanted liver and kidney (2009). I was taking prescribed prednisone, too. It was high dosage at first, and within a matter of weeks, I was tapered to a low 5mg daily dose that I took for around 5 years. After being stable in my condition for 5 years, I was able to taper off my prednisone because the research supported that decision. It was suggested by my transplant team. During all of thhe past 10 years, I havn't felt any of the 'terrible' side effects that we read about. A daily 5mg dose is a low dose, and I was carefully monitored by my transplant team for any possible problems.

Your son is newly transplanted, and this is something that he can discuss with his own transplant team as he moves beyond this early stage of recovery. They will be able to explain what might be in his future, Every patient is different, and has different needs.

How are you doing, after going thru this transplant with your son? Have you had the time to read thru some of the other transploant discussions about how to live with a new organ? I invite any questions that you have.