Starting on Prednisone - I am not sure

I also have ild. My CT results just stated possible hypertension. I'm having a ekg in July. 🤞

Today is actually Prednisone freedom day at our house. My husband has been taking it for dermatomyositis and accompanying ild since September of last year. Not our favorite drug, but it limited the damage until the autoimmune drug (Imuran) could stabilize him. He is doing well. I would take it, but talk to your PCP about your concerns.

@fuzzybadger, I want to drop in and check on your husband. How is he gettng along?
I was on prednisone for suspected autoimune liver disease quite a number of years abo. My doctor wanted to try Imuran but it caused bruising and some bleeding.

Prednisone makes my heart palpitations start and have neck strains

I was diagnosed with ILD in August of 2020 and prescribed prednisone, but only for a month or so. Then I was prescribed Cellcept. I am still on Cellcept, though my pulmonologist is weaning me from the drug. I feel fabulous and my doctor says I am in the top 10% of his patients. Initially he told me that "walking is super important." I took that as a prescription and walk every day. Cellcept is a steroid reducing drug. Here's to your improved health.

If you have diabetes, Prednisone will send your glucose readings sky-high. Also, if they start you out on a higher dose, it will greatly increase your appetite, and you may gain weight. My husband has pulmonary fibrosis and inflammation due to COVID pneumonia over a year ago. The steroids really help with his breathing, but it is a trade off with his blood sugar running so high and eventual muscle atrophy and bone loss. He started on Cellcept in June to lower the amount of steroids he needed to take.

If your ox sats are okay and you are not struggling to breathe, you might want to ask your doctor why you need to start on the Prednisone. Pulmonary rehab may be able to help you without having to start another drug.

A specialist at Oregon Health (OHSU) suggested I take prednisone for two weeks to see if it might stop my coughing. My wife pointed out that I am bi-polar and said she was concerned about taking prednisone as a way to possibly the cough that I had for the past year since being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. So I didn't take the prednisone but on a trip to Israel in November I came down with terrible coughing and probably bronchitis so I took an antibiotic (Z-pack) for five days which helped a lot. I'm very pleased to report that my cough has improved over the last few months. I still cough a little after walking nine holes on the golf course and a little when I lay down at night but I am not popping cough drops all day long any more. I even started going to the local gym to get into better shape so I can keep kayaking, hiking and horseback riding. I'll turn 80 in May.

I had a bad asthma flare when I was being diagnosed, and I did two prednisone runs. Have to say I did not hate it; I experienced a high-energy euphoric feeling (I got sooo much done around the house). I slept pretty good too and had some of the wildest, most colorful dreams.

I have copd and also am now recovering from double pneumonia. I take the predisone and have a different recaction from it. The first time I took it for my copd flare up my blood sugar went sky high so had to deal with that until could be taken off of it. Now this last time, I started on it and I had a total melt down both physically and mentally and spent the day crying. Then that nite I did not sleep at all so every time a nurse came in I would talk and talk. I still haven't had a full nights sleep and no naps during the day. But considering all this it has definitely helped my breathing and not getting your breath is scarey . Hope all goes well for you......

I was lucky to be able to keep my sugar level in the low 200's when I had pneumonia and not like in the 500 when I took it with a copd flareup. In the hospital they take you off of metformin because it interfers with other drugs so then they use the sliding scale to give me insulin when needed. Now that I am home , back on metformin sugars are stable and no insulin needed. Good luck to you.