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Steroids......help!

(16 Posts)
Katek Wed 14-Jan-15 11:29:17

On short, sharp (3 days/40mg) course of Prednisone for asthma along with antibiotic and not coping well with the steroid. Still, if it's a choice between breathing or wheezing then there really isn't a choice! Just hate all the side effects, am fit for nothing.

soontobe Wed 14-Jan-15 12:18:41

Is Prednisolone those little pink pills?

Mishap Wed 14-Jan-15 12:23:36

KateK - drugs are a two-edged sword - my anti-depressants make me feel as if I have been dredged up from the bottom of a river in the mornings, but I have to hang on to the fact that they are supposed to do come good too!

Thank goodness you are only on them for 3 days - I do hope that they do the trick for you. Asthma is horrible - so sorry you are burdened with this.

Teetime Wed 14-Jan-15 12:27:37

katek sorry you are having problems but really Prednisolone will knock that asthma on the head quicker than anything else and that is so important. Stick with it its only a few days and you will feel better very soon. flowers

Katek Wed 14-Jan-15 12:37:04

Just about to have lunch and take today's dose. Now how much rubbishy afternoon tv can I cope with as it's all I'm fit for?!? Drugs have their downsides I agree, am also on the probiotics to counter possible effects from antibiotics. At least the sun is shining. smile

loopylou Wed 14-Jan-15 12:41:12

Thinking of you Katek, I do the steroids do their job quickly.
I know what you mean about daytime TV.... When I was effectively immobile for 4 months it drove me potty, the only saving grace was it was winter so couldn't have got out and gardened anyway.
flowers x

glammanana Wed 14-Jan-15 12:43:54

KateK My hubby has to have steroids twice over the past 3 months and I feel for you,he was very up & down when taking them but they did the job in the end,you are lucky he had to take them for 7 days reducing them daily they do make him feel fit for nothing but far better than his breathing problems.I make sure he takes extra vitamin C when he is on them gives him a little boost.

loopylou Wed 14-Jan-15 12:49:07

Oops! Am sure I typed 'hope' after 'I do ' blush

Katek Wed 14-Jan-15 13:08:53

grin I'm a bit of a creaking gate...don't have any of the major problems of ageing but have a shedload of more minor things. Most of my chest issues are complicated by the fact that I have scoliosis so one lung doesn't work as well as it should. I'm not bad most of the time, but winter bugs have a tendency to head south so it's a balancing act with inhalers, antibiotics and occasionally steroids from October to March. I'm also not very good at 'taking it easy' (hate that expression) so can be the architect of my own misfortune sometimes. I've missed two dates with friends this week already so I must be bad!!

Coolgran65 Wed 14-Jan-15 13:10:14

I was on prednisone for 18 months for giant cell arthritis...not arthritis. Started on 50mg for 4 months, the rest of the time was very slow weaning to avoid relapse.
The good side - my aches and pains disappeared. Wonderful.
The awful side....shakes, tremors, gained 20 lbs. Got the moon face and hump between the shoulders. I hated the medication but doc said it was very important because of possibility of flare up/blindness.

Once I got off them the moon face and hump did disappear. The 20lbs is another story.

Katek Wed 14-Jan-15 21:28:52

Not the best afternoon since taking the pills.....feeling bit better now but hate these side effects! Off to bed shortly, see if I can sleep tonight - went right through to World Service on radio last night. Ho hum, will just have to keep singing 'Tomorrow'.........

Soutra Thu 15-Jan-15 08:51:01

Looking at steroids from the other "side" my late father was very crippled by arthritis and suffered from dizziness. His symptoms disappeared when at the age of 86 he was prescribed steroids for 2 weeks. Talk about a new lease of life!! He could genuinely enjoy a quality of life he had not known for 10 years.
Dr refused to renew the prescription however because of "long term side effects" -huh! At 86??

rosequartz Thu 15-Jan-15 09:02:07

Soutra when aunty was in hospital she could not eat the food because it was unsalted (heart and stroke ward, although she had neither problem).
When we asked for salt for her it was refused by the consultant because of the issues with 'too much salt'.
She was 95 at the time.
A very sensible sister told me to get some packets from the canteen and she would make sure a little bit was sprinkled on aunty's food. Much better than not eating at all!

Katek hope you feel better soon - every silver lining seems to come with a cloud unfortunately.

Kiora Thu 15-Jan-15 09:14:48

katek flowers hope your better soon. I was given the same drug a few years ago for my asthma. It made me feel terrible. I had all sorts of woeful side affects. Either that or I'm a whinging baby. I'm not sure which. A bit of both I suppose.

Katek Thu 15-Jan-15 09:39:51

Feeling soooo much better this morning! Still a bit rattly in lower reaches but cough and wheeze virtually gone. These drugs really do work well just a pity about the side effects. [No, you're not a whinge Kiora, they really are very unpleasant]. Now I want to tidy the house a bit and catch up on things but this is my downfall-I try to do too much too soon. This time I will listen to all the advice and take it easy for another day or two as I have to be well enough to take DGD on promised trip to see Paddington on Saturday.

anniezzz09 Thu 15-Jan-15 09:51:35

Glad to read this thread because the asthma nurse at my GP surgery insisted I should use Symbicort, a steroid inhaler, rather than the reliever I was happy with. It made me feel awful and weirdly, endlessly hungry. I suppose the latter is why one of the side effects is that people often put on weight whilst on steroids. I stopped using it much to her dismay but I feel ok anyway and don't want to be on a drug I may not need. Fingers crossed.