Prednisolone and breathlessness
Posted , 11 users are following.
I have been on a reducing course of this medication for 8 months now and have had the odd side effect ie depression and mortality fears , however over the last two/three weeks i have noticed i am becoming more and more breathless even when walking (which i like to do), my question is, does anyone on this forum know if this side effect is reversible once you stop taking this medication, i only have three more monthe left to reduce and i am so desperate to get off this and to hopefully start to loose some weight again and to stop being puffy when walking.
Thank you for reading my post and i would welcome any replies .
0 likes, 23 replies
EileenH humpalumpa
Posted
Why are you on pred in the first place and what dose are you on?
Pred often gets the blame when it isn't the culprit - GPs are often very lazy in that regard.
I have been on pred for years and in January last year had a flare which made me unbelievably breathless as soon as I walked up even a very gentle slope. It was increasing the pred that sorted it out - the symptom at least, we never did find anything to blame. I have been able to reduce again, breathlessness hasn't been a problem again.
As far as weight loss is concerned - try cutting carbs drastically. Many of us on this forum have lost weight or avoided putting it on in the first place but cutting carbs - all processed carbs, even fruit and root veggies are things to keep to a minimum. Fluid retention means adopting a low salt diet - it also works.
humpalumpa EileenH
Posted
My diet and eating habits do not concern me, as i follow SW and although initially lost a few stones , since being on Pred i have only just managed to loose a few pounds here and there, my best loose week is always my reduction week so i am managing my weight issues thank you very much.
I, came on here to see if any one knew if the breathlessness clears up once the steroid regime is complete,so if you have managed to reduce again, are you off the drug or on a maintenance dose ?
EileenH humpalumpa
Posted
I asked because if you have PMR I hate to sound depressing but there is no guarantee at all you will be off pred "in a few months". PMR is a chronic disorder, it usually lasts at least a couple of years - and more like 5 years is the expectation for more than half of us. The pred has cured nothing - it is managing the symptoms that the underlying autoimmune cause of PMR leads to. As long as you are taking enough pred to manage the inflammation you will have no symptoms - but if you reduce too far then they will resurface. PMR starts when it likes - it goes away when it likes and nothing you can do will change that. Unless you are very lucky.
The vast majority of us don't have breathlessness problems. It is a listed side effect of pred but not that common. If you didn't have it at higher doses, it is surprising it has developed at lower doses.
My breathlessness appeared overnight after me being at 5mg for months - and it needed 15mg to stop it. After just over a year I have managed to get back to 7mg. I hope I will get lower - but I don't know and will just keep trying a small reduction until I get to the end point.
I mentioned the weight problem because YOU mentioned a weight problem. You said you wanted to lose weight again.
humpalumpa EileenH
Posted
My Rheumatologist wasnt even quite sure if i had PMR, or if it was FM, but my ESR levels where raised so she decided i would benefit from a course of Prednisolone , i was reviewed after two months and my ESR levels wher within the normal ranges so she was then convinced that i was on the right treatment although there are other factors that can increase your ESR Levels ??? so here i am on this drug, that i may not need to be on, as it could be FM that i have, and that doesnt respond to Pred !
Anyway enough moaning from me , good luck to you, i hope you get relief from your symptoms.
EileenH humpalumpa
Posted
You don't get raised inflammatory levels with FM and pred has no effect on the symptoms of FM. If your symptoms went away with pred - it wasn't FM. Doesn't mean it was definitely PMR - but it wasn't FM!
maureen_33509 humpalumpa
Posted
humpalumpa maureen_33509
Posted
Why are you on it, and how long have you been on it ?
Thanks for your reply , nothing positive as yet only remarks about how to manage weighht issues, which i am pretty switched on about , so letd hope we get some positive answers to our problem .
good luck .
EileenH humpalumpa
Posted
The question I asked was totally relevant. I'm sorry if I have offended you.
liz12234 humpalumpa
Posted
humpalumpa liz12234
Posted
thank you for your reply .
EileenH humpalumpa
Posted
humpalumpa EileenH
Posted
humpalumpa
Posted
Ahhh Eileen you didn't offend me I'm just feeling pretty low at moment and a bit prickly , I just wanted to know if anyone has successfully come off prednisolone after having breathlessness,
I am an ex SRN so know a little about a little now , as I left NHS about 40 yrs ago so a lot has changed and I'm not up to parr with it all .
So I apologise if I was curt or off hand
EileenH humpalumpa
Posted
No offence taken - would take far more than that!
It's a question I doubt we can answer - it really isn't that common a problem. That's why I asked the questions I did - not noseyness but wanting the background.
There are a lot of causes of breathlessness and it is all too easy to blame pred when it isn't. Last year mine was a flare - probably of GCA affecting thoracic arteries. Originally I had short-lived episodes of breathlessness that definitely wasn't pred - I wasn't on it. It turned out to be due to atrial fibrillation caused by the autoimmune part of the PMR. But although I had slight sensations of palpitations at times, that didn't always coincide with the lack of puff.
But people DO get off pred after a time - whether they'd had breathlessness is another matter and they are unlikely to tell you as there are only a few people who are off pred who still frequent the forum. They are getting on with their lives.
humpalumpa EileenH
Posted
T,hanks for all your help im off to my bed now as im exhausted today.