asthma, prednisone and pholcodeine

[dikkertjedap]

Hi, I got really really bad asthma at the moment and am not close to A&E. After a truly awful night I went to doctor this morning. He said that chest was clear, was just a virus, keep taking inhalers and prescribed prednisone (4 days 30mg a day). I have taken the prednisone (first time I am using it, bit scared by all possible side effects described in leaflet) and was wondering given that I do not have a chest infection if it gets bad tonight could I also take pholcodeine (should have asked GP but forgot)? Or does prednisone interact with pholcodeine? Does anybody know??? I have googled it but had no luck.

I have had a few runs on prednisone for various reasons. The side effects can be icky but usually it does the trick so I would swallow your worries and take it. Don't know about interaction but I'd be careful of taking more medicine. Unpleasant as it is, I would steel yourself for not the best night, and wait another day for the prednisone to kick in. It may not be as bad as you think. Also, do use your inhalers more if you feel you need them.

You could also ring NHS Direct - I've not always got on that well with them but other people have posted that they've been helpful.

Can you prop yourself up to sleep so you're less likely to cough badly?

Off to bed now myself so won't read any reply straight away, but hope you have a better night.

EightiesChick thanks very much, it was not as bad as previous night. But in the car today I had to quickly park on the side as I had a really bad attack ... for whatever reason I am struggling to control it at the moment. I have taken the prednisone twice now, and haven't noticed any side effects yet (fingers crossed). I have not used the pholcodeine because I think they may interact, left message with GP but he hasn't come back yet. Asthma can be so bad! How quickly does prednisone usually start to work do you think? I tried to Google but don't seem to have much luck with finding the information I am looking for, only thing what keeps coming up are the bad side effects. Thanks again for your reply.

Pholcodine can help a dry cough but won't really do much for your asthma.

The best thing would be to take your preventative inhaler as prescribed, use your salbutamol 4 hourly and complete the prednisolone course. You should notice some effect from the oral steroids within 24-48 hours usually.

Just checked up (internet and prescription meds books) on whether pholcodine reacts with prednisolone, and have found absolutely no reports of any interaction.

I would also think if there's a chance they may interact with each other, your GP would'nt have prescribed them to take together.