Prednisone

[lichtenstein]

My doctor is con long term prednisone although end up in ER almost every other month after being tapered off. Low dose helps me breathing besides all the men's.

Can they deny long term prednisone treatment?

[Hidden]

Hi are you talking about a general doctor or a consulant? if the former then you need a consultant ie a specialist in respiratory conditions to take charge of your care. You are entitled to a second opinion though so why not ask for one?

I understand what you are saying about predisilone but as I'm sure you know long term usage brings a whole host of problems such as thining of the skin etc. so maybe your doctor is erring on the side of caution. It's no good if you keep getting exacerbations ending up in hopsital though is it.

I hope you find some answers.

[lichtenstein in reply to Hidden]

We have seen specialist at the U and also pulmonary specialist. They try the on and off, does not work. Everyone is different, and there are different opinions from professionals. And they cannot deny it, because is bad, but want to do a transplant, when low dosage of prednisone does the trick! Come on!!!!

[vmrdoug]

I would see a Pulmonary Specialist it is well known long term use of prednisone can kill some people before there COPD would. My experience which really helped was Daliresp which reduced my episodes dramatically One issue this medicine gets high reviews from people whose bodies can tolerate it. I had no side effects but many different physical side effects stop people from using it. It is worth a try.

[lichtenstein in reply to vmrdoug]

Thanks, never heard of this medication. We will see a specialist again on Monday. Will take the list of meds, the advices from he University and reports from Emergency Room with me. You reach a point, where you try everything! Thanks.

[Keylime1]

Daliresp works well for me, however, I only take 3x/wk because the side effects from daily dose I did not like. ie, diahreah which did not stop after a three week period.

[lichtenstein in reply to Keylime1]

Thanks for the information. We will talk to the specialist Monday. I am doing this for my husband, who has been diagnosed maybe seven years ago and it is really progressing. He is on all nebuliers available to mankind, he cannot breathe without prednisone. It has been a yo yo this year, and we are talking about long term treatment. Everything else is ok, but the breathing! and thats what we all need.

[Ldycatcoach]

If his doctors feel that he will qualify for a transplant, I would consider it. I had mine January 1st of this year and I'm doing very well. There is a fine line of physical health (sick enough, but not too sick) that you don't want to cross. Then the option will no longer be there. I was on low doses of prednisone (5mg) for five years prior to transplant. That is the maximum that my team would allow and still be qualified to be listed. This may be their reasoning.

[lichtenstein in reply to Ldycatcoach]

My husband is 70 and not in the best overall physical condition! He was a heave smoker, qui fifteen years ago, got diagnosed with copd about six years ago. It started actually 1 1/2 year ago going down a little bit. Got always out of it with medication, hospitalized twice! We moved ten years ago to Minnesota, the worst climate for copd, as we know now. Moving to Prescott in October.

See our practicing specialist tomorrow. Maybe there are other options, like Daliresp!

I am the wife and feel very helpless sometimes, but need to stay strong. I wish you all the best on the road to recovery and thanks, for sharing!

[walkfast-74 in reply to Ldycatcoach]

Ive been thinking about you and couldnt find you. Good to know you are doing well.