secondary addisons

  My son age 61/2 has secondary addisons due to steriod use for chronic respitory infection (immune deffenciency) and severe asthma. He also has poly arthritis and epilepsy. It has taken about 10 months but we finally have him mostly at maintenance dose of 10mg a day given in 3 divided doses. My question is if we continue to decrease the dose extremely slow as our endocrinologist wants to, what are the chances that his acth and cortisol production will resume normally? What will keep him from having symptoms and/or going into a crisis during the reduction period and his own body producing cortisol? He also has growth failure (bone age 31/2) what is your opinion that this will also resume without growth hormone?

[HFHS.RN-AM]

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Dear Lora,
Your son has adrenal insufficiency (Addison