Anyone on high daily dose of inhaled steroids like me? Concerned about future side effects, please help

Hello all! Finally, after several weeks of agony my Relvar Ellipta started to kicks in. I'm on the highest dose possibile right now and i'm feeling waaaay better than before. The breath is perfect. I still have occasional chest pain and mucus especially with movements but i can finally live a normal life. Before starting this medication my life was like hell... Stuck in a bed it was even hard to move. It was like dying. I have a diagnosis of Persistent Bronchial Asthma (moderate or severe i don't know). Is anyone like me on max daily dose of inhaled steroids? How about the side effects? I want to lower my dose(182/22, the red one) to the medium one (92/22, the green one) because i'm a bit concerned about my daily usage. I live outside UK and i don't have money to book another visit with a doctor right now (it is very expensive where i live). So i hope to find answers here. What are your experince with the use of high dose of inhaled steroids daily? Should i try to lower my dose? Will i develop severe side effect with the current dosage overtime? Thank you all!

[twinkly29]

Inhaled steroids don't give the same side effects as oral/tablet steroids so they are safe to take long-term. If you don't take them, or reduce the dose when you need a higher dose, then your asthma will not be controlled and you'll end up needing lots of acute treatment (eg oral steroids) or having to have emergency treatment which carries more side effects. Plus being undertreated is potentially a risk to your life.

However..... it's possible you won't need to be on the higher dose forever. Now that it's controlled, which it sounds like it is, you need a decent period of that (I think it's meant to be about 3 months) and then you could discuss with your doctor trying the lower dose - please don't just reduce it yourself!

It's a strange label they've given you though because all asthma is persistent as it's ongoing and all asthma is bronchial as it affects the airways to/in the lungs. But maybe that's just what they call "asthma" where you are?!

But anyway, keep on with what you're on at the moment and enjoy the improvement. Then, when your doctor agrees it's been controlled long enough, you could maybe try a lower dose.

[Jodu in reply to twinkly29]

Hi I have been on Relvar Ellipta 184/22 for a couple of years after having many ups and downs with my asthma on other medication. It's pretty well controlled and enables me to keep running with just the odd flare up. Before that on clenil modulite every time I went running my asthma was awful. One nurse told me to stop running. Fortunately another nurse tried me on Relvar and said I should keep running. I haven't noticed any side effects on it. I do bruise very easily but don't know if this is just something about me rather than related to my inhaler. Nobody has suggested stepping back down to the lower dose either, my last review was in November.

My main trigger now is certain cleaning products other than that pretty good.