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Tapering Hormones

Meaning

Tapering hormones is the essential clinical practice of systematically and gradually reducing the dosage of an exogenous hormone medication over a defined and controlled period before achieving complete cessation, rather than an abrupt discontinuation. This systematic dose reduction is critical to allow the body’s own suppressed endogenous hormone production axes, such as the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) or Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal (HPG) axis, sufficient time to safely and fully reactivate. Abrupt cessation can otherwise precipitate severe symptoms of acute hormonal deficiency or, in the case of glucocorticoids, a life-threatening adrenal crisis.