PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!

[HELENGLORIA]

I HAVE CHRONIC ASTHMA. I LIVED IN A HOUSE WITH VERY HIGH LEVELS OF TOXIC MOLD AND HAVE SINCE MOVED OUT AND IN WITH MY IN-LAWS. I CANNOT DO THE THINGS I DID BEFORE AND HAVE BEEN ON PREDNISONE (ON AND OFF)FOR THE WHOLE  TIME.(3YRS.)HERE ARE MORE OF THE MEDS I TAKE.
XOPENEX- BREATHING TREATMENTS EVERY 4 HOURS.
XOPENEX - INHALER
ADVAIR- 500/50
SPIRIVA
THEOPHLINE
ZANTAC
AMBEIN
PREDNISONE- (MOST OF THE TIME)80 MG DAILY
MEDROL

LIKE THAT IS NOT ENOUGH. I WAS NEVER SICK BEFORE ALL THIS AND NOW I AM FIGHTING TO GET SOCIAL SECURITY. BECAUSE OF MY AGE THEY HAVE DENIED ME 3 TIMES AND IT ALL FEELS SO HOPELESS.
I HAVE TONS OF DOCTORS AND THEY ARE GREAT IT JUST SEEMS LIKE I WILL NEVER GET BETTER. I GROW THESE MOLD SPORES ON MY LUNG AND WONDERED IF THEY WILL ALWAYS BE THERE?
MY BIGGEST QUESTION IS MY WHOLE BODY HURTS. IT FEELS LIKE CHARLIE HORSES ALL OVER. I NEVER SLEEP EVEN WHEN I DO TAKE THE AMBEIN. NOW WE ARE GOING TO DO A TEST FOR MYOPATHY.
OK, BUT THE TREAATMENT IS PREDNISONE. I WANT TO FEEL LIKE MY OLD SELF AND IT DOES'NT SEEM POSSIBLE. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO BE WORRIED ABOUT? I MEAN I HAVE BEEN ON ALL THIS STUFF FOR SO LONG, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS WORSE. AT LEAST IF I WAS NOT ON IT THE TIME LEFT I DID HAVE WITH MY FAMILY WOULD BE WITH ME TALKING NICE AND NOT SO MEAN AND UPTIGHT. I KNOW YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. I AM MOOD AND HUNGRY AND SORE AND CRYING ALL THE TIME. I AM ALSO 31YRS. OLD AND WANT TO LIVE A NORMAL LIFE. PLEAE HELP ME OR AT LEAST EASE MY MIND OF THE THINGS THAT ARE BUGGING ME ABOUT MY ILLNESS. I HAVE ALMOST DIED 3 TIMES BECAUSE OF ASTHMA ATTACHES AND ONLY WANT TO MAKE LIFE A TAD BIT MORE COMFORTABEL

[nejo]

Your post reminded me of myself 4 years ago...I was working in a mold infested environment & was misdiagnosed  for 6 years.  Please consult a pulmonogist, preferably associated with a teaching & reasearch hospital, such as Nat Jewish, Mayos, or a large university hosptial.  There are a number of rare lung diseases from enviornmental exposures.  Mine happens to be hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Have you had pulmonary function testing, blood panels for mold antibodies, CT scans of your lungs?  Those should be routine for a mold exposure.  Those tests are also necessary to establish your disability for SSDI.  One of the pulmonary function tests called DLCO which measures your lungs capacity to diffuse carbon dioxide is a threshold test for SSDI--I forget what the number is, but  think its 40% of predicted (normal for your ht & wt) that you need for SSDI.  Mine was 35% and I got SSDI the first try.  

Good news is, prednisone is the first line of treatment for these types of lung diseases, but its not the only thing.  Don't wait as long as I did to get a second opinion.  You will be in my thoughts & prayers.

[National Jewish Health]

It is the rarest of people with asthma, who would have to be on prednisone, 80 mg daily.  You mention mold spores.  It is possible that you have a chronic fungal infection with a fungus called Aspergillus, one often seen with asthma that can cause both infection and an allergic response.

Everything you describe, with the exception of your asthma and breathing, could be a steroid side effect.  Extreme efforts should be made to either reduce the dose or get you off the prednisone.  At age 31, it is crucial that you arrange for expert evaluation and treatment of your asthma.  If you live in the eastern United States, you should make an appointment at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Allergy & Asthma Division or at the Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland.  If you live in the western or mid-western United States you should arrange to be seen at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado.

Good luck.