I cant seem to shake infection without prednislone

I have had an infection which has absolutely refused to shift this year - I get years like that now and then. I am currently on 6 grams a day of penicillin - which frightened the pharmacist to death because he had never seen such a large oral dose to take over 14 days.  However, I am doing OK - upset tum for a few days but seem to have settled now.  I am adjusting my diet because the healthier I eat, the better I feel.  Lots of veg, fruit, fish, chicken and a bit of red meat but no sugar, no alcohol and no yeast-containing products like bread and Marmite.  I never have dairies because they make me feel absolutely lousy.  I am starting to feel much better but I am not sure about how the long term effects will go.  I have only had prednislone about three times in my life - each time I felt wonderful, like a teenager without the angst, but couldn't sleep.  As a general rule of I have seretide inhaler every day, which helps a bit.  I only really use ventolin to help open my tubes when I do my daily postural drainage.  That boring exercise is what helps me most of all I think.  However, it's failed me this year.  I hope you feel a bit better soon.  Constant infections are very very wearing.  Regards.

I too have bronchiectais and take Prednisione.  I have had to take prednisione on an ongoing basis for years. It started at 10mg per day, then it had to be upped to 20mg.  I am now at 40mg per day, if I try to decrease, I get sicker. 

When I first started with prednisione, even a low amount helped a lot.  Now, I have to take more just to maintain. I have tried to lower the dosage, but I can't without ending up in the hospital.

Luckily, for me, I don't have the usual side affects....weight gain and water retension. You can bruse easier while on pred. There is a higher risk of Colcoma (I dont know how its spelled) of the eyes, so I have my eyes checks regularly (I'm 66). 

 

And we should also mention Theophylline - another bronchodilator which has a longish lasting anti-inflammatory effect. I actually take an alternative to that here in Thailand - "Puroxan" Doxophylline. I take it because it's readily available and more importantly advertises to be a more modern equivalent (made by a European drug company btw, but tends to be used in the third world) without the sleep-affecting side effects. I agree with that latter claim, having tried both. I drop the dose or eliminate it when I'm clear of infection but if I drop it when I'm infected I notice the difference.

I sympathise with the poster who brought up the subject of drug cost - I'm now non-resident UK so don't get any meds free. I have insurance that covers me for hospital attendances, private consultants and procedures (at some cost over the last 25 years, but it's been payback time now!) but I bear about GBP 1,100 [US $1,700] of meds cost pa. I'm lucky in that I had a good job and have always invested for the (this) future, but it must be hard as hell if you have to balance up cost and effect.

That said I don't spend money willingly and always look for value. At some stage in the future if I have exhausted the western med approches to finding out what bugs afflict me, I shall be looking at the Chinese medicine alternatives to see how effective they are and what the comparative costs are.

Shame you have to buy your own nebuliser. I got mine free on the NHS. Good luck with the new regime!