Meaning & use
as tolerated
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrasemedical
Used in medical instructions to mean as much or as often as the patient can comfortably manage.
Grammar: Comes after a verb or a dose: walk as tolerated, morphine as tolerated.
Patterns
- do something as tolerated
- give something as tolerated
The nurse wrote 'walk as tolerated' in the recovery plan.
You may take the painkiller as tolerated, up to the daily limit.
After surgery he was allowed to eat as tolerated.
Common combinations
- exercise as tolerated
- The physiotherapist told her to exercise as tolerated.
- advance diet as tolerated
- The doctor ordered to advance diet as tolerated after the fever broke.
- take as tolerated
- Take the tablets as tolerated, but stop if you feel sick.
- mobilize as tolerated
- Patients are encouraged to mobilize as tolerated on the first day.
Synonyms and how they differ
- as needed
- 'As needed' means only when required, while 'as tolerated' means up to the limit the patient can bear.
- as directed
- 'As directed' refers to following the doctor's exact instructions, not to the patient's own comfort level.
Commonly confused: as tolerated or as needed?
as tolerated vs as needed
Both appear on prescriptions, but 'as needed' is about need and 'as tolerated' is about how much the body can handle.
Practice
A patient is told to 'walk as tolerated.' What does this mean?
Choose one answer.
'As tolerated' means the patient sets the pace within their comfort limit; a fixed schedule would be 'every hour', and a ban would be 'do not walk'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “as tolerated”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.