Do steroids make your asthma worse?
Hi
I have severe obstructive asthma, which has got noticeably worse after a virus (pre covid) in 2019. My lung functions tests are quite dire, always have been, albeit I am as active as possible, still able to play tennis, go walking & do pilates etc but all with the help of my ventolin.
My normal PF is a dire 200. I am 61 & never smoked but my usual triggers are dust, chemicals, perfumes, smoke etc etc
At the moment I am just using spiriva & ventolin - the latter a lot.
I cannot take Singulair - it makes me so depressed & suicidal - which is such a weird thing since I am so lucky to not ever suffer depression etc normally.
The problem is is that all steroids, actually make my asthma worse after a few days use ie it brings on asthma attacks & my peak flow goes down to my red zone of 100 & then takes days to come back up after coming off the steroids.
With the inhaled steroids I have tried all, of them, in every possible combination. I have tried oral steroids 5mg a day for 10 days but then upping it to 10mg, the same thing happened, I spiralled downwards.
Doctors have a hard time believing me as they have never come across this before (I am in the Uk) - is there anybody on here who reacts in the same way or have ever heard of this happening?
Very frustrating as my asthma control is only going one way - all in the wrong direction!
Hi lizzy, and welcome! I see you are a new member here, having joined today, earlier this morning. We are glad to see you are already engaging with the community through these, your first two posts.
While I am hopeful others in the community will see your post and respond by sharing their own anecdotal experiences using steroids as part of their medication regimen, I also have something to say.
For some folks with an asthma diagnosis, a more thorough assessment is needed to finally find the right combination of medications to effect proper treatment and control. It's encouraging to hear you are remaining as active as is feasible, but it can be disheartening to feel one is not improving to the extent they'd like.
Is there a specialist (pulmonologist) you are able to see? I realize you are in England, and that medication and medical professionals are somewhat different than they are here in the United States.
I also thought you might gain some additional insight from any of the articles we have published, right here on asthma.net, which focus on various aspects of steroid therapy. For your convenience, here is a link to several of those articles: https://asthma.net/search?s=prednisone. I do hope you find them to be helpful in a practical way.
If there is anything we can do to assist you, please let me or any other moderator / team member know.
Wishing you well,
Leon (site moderator asthma.net)
Not sure if you know this, but Singulair has been associated with the sudden development or increase of mental health problems in some people, particularly children and young adults. Here in the US, it has a "black box" warning -- the most serious warning -- on its packaging because of this possibility. So sorry it happened to you, and I hope you started feeling like yourself again when you stopped it! -Melissa, asthma.net team I’m wondering about this too. I have had back to back bronchitis with my asthma. They put me on prednisone and a daily inhaler. The first day on the prednisone I felt like it was getting so much better. But after starting the Qvar I feel like I’m getting all the phlegm back.
Hi Nina, and welcome! I see you are a new member here, having joined today, just about 2 hours ago. We are glad to see you are already engaging with the community through this, your first post.
You may be aware that medications affect everyone differently. For many folks the use of steroids (both oral steroids and inhaled corticosteroids (ICS)), usually provide relief for asthma episodes characterized by difficulty breathing. However, for some patients, the steroids may make breathing somewhat worse. If this is what you think is happening in your case, you may want to reach out for your prescribing physician. The doctor should be able to assess your particular situation and guide you accordingly.
What do you think?
Leon (site moderator asthma.net)
Yes I'm going to talk to my doctor about this. I've tried other daily inhalers and I have felt the same. Thank you
Hi again, Nina, and thanks for your response. I am glad to hear you plan on speaking about this with your physician. I think that is a very practical way to proceed in view of the difficulties you've shared you are having using the medication.
Please do check back and let us know how this all turns out for you, if you don't mind.
Good luck!
All the best,
Leon (site moderator asthma.net)
