Prednisone after asthma attack

[BearFoxBear]

Hi all, I had my first ever asthma attack on Tuesday and have been given 40mg of prednisone for 5 days. I thought I'd feel better by now, but I'm absolutely exhausted, have indigestion, and a splitting headache. Is this all normal? How long does it normally take to feel well again?

I'm home alone with a hyper 3 year old until tomorrow night, so I need to get back to normal ASAP!

I normally feel better within a few hours of the first dose, did you take all eight tablets at once (preferably in the morning with food)? They do have lots of side effects, I get muscle pain mostly, but should help your breathing pretty quickly.

Thanks pinky. Yes, I took them all at once with breakfast today and yesterday.

My breathing is definitely better, but not 100%. My brain just feels like it's mush and the exhaustion is really getting me, especially because I'm on my own.

It should keep improving. If it doesn’t you may need to go back and either get more pred or something different.

Another course of pred tagged into the initial 5 days was what sorted me last time.

Thanks. I'll see how I feel in the morning and call my GP if I'm not any better.

The indigestion will be the pred. You can take gaviscon or other antacid meds at the same time as long as you leave an hour between (as it stops the pred absorbing so well).

It can take a few days to feel better after an asthma attack. I have moderate asthma and also Addison’s disease (life long immune disorder for which I need to take daily high dose steroids for life). Make sure you drink lots of fluids and get enough rest.

Thanks Fairylea, I'll do that. Dh is home now so I'm going to curl up and rest with some gaviscon - what a Friday night!

Hope you feel better soon