Re: Steroids
My opinion on steroids and I have taken them on and off for 20 years is the good out weighs the bad.
I personally have had really only one side effect and that is the thinning of my skin especially on my fingers.Which can be a real pain at times because as we all know most pills these days are wrapped in aluminium and that stuff cuts my finger tips and I find the only way to stop my fingers bleeding is to walk about with plasters on my fingers most days.
Has for being weened off them after a course in my early days yes taking a 14 day course starting at 7 a day and every 2 days going down one until you reach one a day.
But as I got older I found the 5 x 6 course a much better way.It was told me by a doctor in hospital that older people are better suited to the crash course of taking 6 tabs a day for 5 days.I have found over the years that it works well for me but each person is different.
Lion Queen the fact that you have just been dx with COPD depending on how bad this is hopefully your gp or your COPD nurse has given you your emergency pack of 2 courses of antibiotics and 1 course of steroids to keep in your first aid cupboard in case of emergency's.
(Emergency being if you start having problems and can feel an infection coming on say for example a Friday and there is no chance of seeing your gp till Mon/Tuesday possibly later in some clinics around the UK.
That is time when when you should start self medicating.Because just a couple of days without medication may mean the infection could do a fair bit of damage and scar your lungs.)
So you should always have antibiotics/steroids in your home.
Believe me when I say there may come a day when you find them a life saver especially if ever you get a touch of pleurisy or pneumonia or a serious lung infection.