Breathing issues

[Strider68]

Good afternoon, I wonder if any of you have experienced this?

Approximately year ago I started having breathing problems, only when walking and within a few minutes of sitting down, I was OK again. I eventually i saw my gp, had an ecg, then heart scan etc and was told I had arterial fibulation. Been on beta blockers, blood thinners since.

A couple of months ago my rheumatologist advised me to reduce pred from 7 to 6mg. I was stupid enough to do it and within 2 days had a bad flare. Went back up to 8mg and within 2 days back to rights. I stayed on 8mg for 6 weeks then followed your tapering and are just back to 7mg, within the last 2 weeks my breathing is really bad again and I don't know what to do next.

The main reason for wanting to reduce the pred is my weight. The hunger and craving fir cards is enormous also the brain fog is getting worse. Any advice would be appreciated. I have been on pred for 2 years and also have osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis as well as GCA

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Get an updated opinion on your atrial fibrillation. The standard treatment these days for severe arrythmia is an ablation and tends to be offered if your a/f worsens and it sounds as if it may have. You are young and would be offered it here in Italy. Mine hasn't stopped the arrythmia entirely but I no longer get so breathless walking up hills!

Have you cut your carb intake since being on pred? That is a very crucial aspect to managing weight gain on pred - and it works at all doses. This website is very good for learning the basics of low carb eating:

dietdoctor.com/low-carb

Some of us lost a lot of weight this way even while still on relatively high doses - I lost 35lbs while still on 10-15mg pred.

[AtopicGuy]

Steroids are also used to treat conditions like asthma, allergies and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). So it's no surprise that breathing symptoms can sometimes ease off while on prednisolone pills. When I'm on 5mg/dy or more of oral prednisolone, I can stop using the inhaler, nasal spray and ointment I take for my lifelong atopy. Below 5mg/dy, the symptoms start coming back.

[Strider68 in reply to AtopicGuy]

Thank you, its frustrating, you think you are making progress reducing the pred an something elsemakez you feel rubbish. Kind of you to respond. I'm just getting rather low.