Prednisone

Hi Nikilet,I have severe COPD I was diagnosed in 2007, I have been living in rural remote areas so had trouble finally getting onto a lung specialist,I have been lucky to have had very caring Local GPs who took the time to upgrade their knowledge on my requirements plus I asked my Thoracic lung specialist to keep my GP up to date on my progress when required, along with my kidney unit specialist as well,l as I have a hereditary kidney polycystic disease that although my kidney function is at 22 % just now 'its goes up and down' I have not needed dialysis as yet..I have been put on a go-to plan when my breathing becomes difficult of a 3-day course of 25mg, prednisolone, which works well for me, I have 'stand by ' augmentin Antibiotics to start taking at the first sign of lung infection, as I have had COPD for 17 years, I continue learning new treatments and ways medicines for my COPD are needed and used. I am in Queensland, one of the states of Australia, where the semi-tropical weather suits my COPD the best.to live in.I was in Darwin, a tropical city in the far north of Australia, working in an airconditioned office, however, the high humidity did not suit my COPD, and I was practically living 'on antibiotics' at home, being treated by a local GP, as no specialist was available in that state at all, plus there were 'no public service flights for me available to the nearest city' where I could see a lung specialist, so I followed all my GPS directions until I finally moved further south into Queensland, where I have lived now for the past 8 years, under this far more suitable climate in this 'semi tropical region'.I daily take Symbacort 400, Inhaler 'twice a day, AM & PM. Spiriva Respimat (TIOTROPIUM).I use a Ventolin Inhaler =when short of breath as an immediate rescue remedy...or a Salbutamol 100 grams Inhaler. They are basically the same, 'puffers' I call them...I was a few years ago now also prescribed ASTROVENT ( ipratropium bromide monohydrate 21 ug.) Inhaler which is for Asthma, which the last oxygen specialist I came under in the local public hospital here said I have 'EI' COPD = misdiagnosed Asthma and COPD...that puffer certainly works very well for me 'when I get this barking-hoarse- cough, where No sputum comes up really or just clear sticky stuff, that's very hard to cough up, and my windpipe feels like it closes and I can't breathe in or out,, very scary, I must say,, Im so relieved the Astrovent Inhaler works so well, it requires me to use my Ventolin inhaler 1st wait a few minutes till that is working to ensure better breath concentration, so when I use the Asthma inhaler after the few minutes wait, it's medicine will penetrate into my lungs much better...I also came across a " Capella" breath mucus clearing devise,you can look these up online,,there is a green one for mild COLD use and A blue one that is $100.00 here in Australia but a god send for me as far as moving phlegm up and out of my lungs that I am certain prevents lung infections as well as the medicines and diet I use..I eat a main meal per day that has, collie flower, broccoli, carrots, pumpkin, Brussel sprouts, steamed and small potatoes roasted or mashed or chips, with whatever meat I am having for dinner.and gravy to suit,PM MEAL.steak,/lamb chops, shanks( I prefer boiled with white parsley sauce,), roast leg of lamb,I love bacon and eggs toasted sandwiches for lunch..or cooked chicken lettuce and mayonnaise fresh bread sandwiches,or ham or chicken and salad including beetroot and brown sliced onions, I eat, either cooked oatmeal/ in winter.Or Weetbix with hot water and full cream milk bit of sugar for breakfast, with tea or coffee..plus bottled or rainwater throughout the day, I drink a glass of orange juice,,and enjoy the odd 'chocolate paddle pop' ice cream or ice cream in a cone I make at home... for a treat..I keep soothers cogh lozengers handy, when gunk is stuck in the back of my throat,,too.At home I use and record daily ,my owygen percentage on my finger owygen oximetre,,My blood pressure I ake with my ' heart sure blood pressure monitor.' andmy temperature I take with my Thermoscan temperature ear monitor.All of which I let my specialists,GP,and any ambulance hospitalisation I need when I get really breathless and nothing is working ,,my local ambo's know me well now,,they are so very good paramedics..I live 20 kilometres from my local public hospital..but there s an ambulance centre for the higwat here tat only takes 3 minutes usaly fr them to get to me.I am on home concentrator oxygen now all night and during the day when I need it.plus I am waiting te arrival of my portable oxygen concentrator my husband just bought for me second hand,,so I will be able to go ou of te house shopping,walk my standard poodles and go to appointments wth xrays,specialists and my P who have all been arranging tele health laptop consultations with me over the past year..That has been great..They also email prescriptions to my local pharmacy /chemist,,somy husband can go pick them up for me he is my registered carer ..too,, so Things are going well for me ,with all of that ,,I had to take an interest in my own up keep with COPD..and now severe COPD...but this year although I did have an 'ATRIAL FRIBULLATION' episode that was 'a shock to my system',,I rallied,however, my heart went back to a normal,(not racing madly) beat, and I spent 4 days under a heart specialist, who discovered the prescription I had from my' kidney specialist'= to drink 6 =650 ml bottles of water per day, had diluted my 'Potassium levels in my blood' and caused my heart to go into ATRIAL FRIBULLATION "RACING MADLY" that often patients pass away from.....(.lets just leave that there...) so she explained it all to me I had to rest for 48 hours and she started me on apo -Bisoprolol furminate 2.5 mg.tablets I need to take always daily now,to keep my heart in check, taking a dose and a half if t ever happens again , straight away...whew, glad to be ok, since then all has been back to normal..I am 69 years BTW..I lost a lot of weight during tat racing heart episode ,I went down to just 53kilo.I've been eating as much as I can stomach,since then to build my weight back up and am now' 6 months later 'almost 60 kilos, yah me. It was Christmas Eve too... of all times....at 3 am= when my heart started galloping out of the blue= waking me up, went on for 3 hours before I Woke my husband to call an ambulance, then a further few hours of galloping in the EU, I went into the resuscitation unit, then the recovery unit, then, back into EU, on the 4 th day afternoon, and my husband was able to come pick my up and take me home on oxygen...quite an experience but I'm fine now, taking things 'as they come 'is a 'thing' ,,, now..but I sure hadn't 'had my time'...just yet. lol...I can laugh about it now, It's good to laugh about things you got over...good for my soul..so that's my two cents worth,,I ,hope some of it helps someone, or reading other's comments someone helps me..we're all far stronger than we think we are, especially when we're in precarious health positions..but 'we can'...love to all. wendy...x.cheers..from Australia,in the beautiful state of Queensland.

Wendy, I love everything you've had to share here -- there is much wisdom to be found in your post! You have a really great "toolkit" for managing your COPD -- the right combination of medication, devices, and lifestyle changes that work together to support your body. And it sounds like you've got a good team of doctors, too. I say here often that it can take a lot of effort, trial and error to figure out what works best for you. But you have stuck with it and pushed through and it seems like you have a solid plan moving forward. You're even using the weather to your advantage! Good work, Wendy. This post is proof that life does not have to stop with a COPD diagnosis, or even several chronic health issues. So glad you're here with us! Wishing you a cozy winter from the hot and sunny northeast USA. 😁 -Melissa, team member