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1580703 tn?1651904887

Prednisone damage?

Dear Doctor,
If I take 10mg/prednisone a day for a year what will it do?  will it cause bone damage, adrenal damage and changes in my face and body?  I have been wheezing for 4 months and can't sleep for over 2 years without prednisone and klonopin.
thanks!
4 Responses
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1580703 tn?1651904887
thanks very much!
Nothing else helps my sleep apnea problem and I can't get enough hours on the bipap machine
Helpful - 0
242587 tn?1355424110
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
First, I will assume that all other asthma medication has failed and that is why you and your doctor have had to resort to prednisone, 10 mg/day.  If that is not the case, then attempts to control your asthma with (first) medium-high doses of an inhaled steroid.

Persons exhibit varying degrees of sensitivity to oral doses of prednisone, so that is very possible, maybe even likely, that you will experience the side effects you have listed below.  The effect on one’s adrenal gland is suppression of normal function, not destruction, but that suppression is undesirable for, the longer the gland is suppressed, the less likely is it to return to full strength, following tapering and then discontinuation of prednisone.

One cautionary note.  If you truly do continue to experience on a daily and, presumably from what you state, nightly as well, then your asthma is sub-optimally controlled and reconsideration should be given to your therapy and quite possibly, more effective environmental control in your home and workplace.  Given what has transpired, I would advise you and your doctor to consider consultation with an asthma specialist.

Once again, all that wheezes is not asthma.  You and your doctor should make sure that your problem is asthma and not some other lung disease that could mimic asthma.

To your questions:  Yes, side effects are somewhat diminished by every other day therapy but you may get less therapeutic benefit.

From your description, the sleep apnea is a major problem in its own right and calls for the optimum application of nocturnal positive pressure breathing.  If the central apnea is a significant component of your apnea, you may require BIPAP.  You should be evaluated by a Sleep Disorder Specialist.  One of the unfortunate “side effects” of sleep apnea is that it can make it quite difficult to achieve optimum control of asthma and so there are multiple reasons why your sleep therapy must be optimized.

Good luck
Helpful - 0
1580703 tn?1651904887
I have just been crippled by this terrible and strange sleep apnea and cannot rest (I think I have breathing problems)- the sleep study says I have central and obstructive apnea

and now I'm wheezing for 4 months on exhaling and had problems getting over a throat infection
Helpful - 0
1580703 tn?1651904887
actually I'm wondering what it will do at 3-6 months off and on
is it better to do every other day dosing?
Helpful - 0

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