Recovery time?

How long does it usually take to get over an exacerbation? I know everybody is different and so recovery times will probably vary but I just want a bit of reassurance. I got very poorly over the Christmas break and had to start my emergency prednisolone on boxing day. I took the last dose of my prednisolone course this morning and whilst the course has helped I'm still feeling pretty terrible. I still have a fairly heavy salbutamol requirement (although nowhere near as much as I needed at the worst point), and although my peak flow is almost back to normal (with a lot of help from the salbutamol) I'm still finding myself out of breath very easily. I just feel tired and exhausted all the time and I'm after some reassurance that I'm likely to start to feeling more like myself soon.

Thanks

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Nimueh. Hope you feel better soon.Im in the same boat. Bad xmas day and A n E boxing day and put on pred. Ended up walk in centre yesterday and put on Penacillin for bad chest and throat and breathing still off.Hope all settles down for us both soon. Edit -done on phone so might not be spaced out xxx ps -lots of rest and speedy recovery x

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Sounds like u need To see ur gp. Anybody that has an emergency supply of prednisolone at home should notify gp when they use it. So a replacement stock can be ordered and for a medical review

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I'm exactly the same - pred from walk in centre the day after boxing day (have a supply at home, but was at mother's 150 miles away!!).

tends to take me about a week after the pred before i'm back to capacity. i just keep reminding myself that i've had to take super steriods to get on track - of course it'll take a while to adjust back without them.

big hugs!

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Thanks everyone, I think I'm starting to get there all be it very slowly! My lungs are still super sensitive though, anything and everything sets them off at the moment. I can't even shower without symptoms as even the smell of my *unscented* hypoallergenic showergel is too much for my twitchy lungs right now. If I stick to sofa warming and don't try to do anything I seem to be ok and my salbutamol requirement is reducing.

I did see my GP as soon as they reopened on after Christmas (Wed 29-12-10) and she replaced my emergency prednisolone and made some adjustments to my action plan based on the fact that my peak flow does not need to drop far for me to be feeling very ill. She had a listen to my chest and pretty much forbade me from visiting smokers. She did give the impression that maybe I should have gone to the hospital on boxing day, but never actually said as much. Either way I don't regret my decision not to go to A&E since the salbutamol was working, just not for as long as it should have and I didn't really fancy having to argue with receptionists/triage nurses about the fact that I have never wheezed and sitting in a waiting room with drunken boxing day revelers.