inhaled steroids

• By nobonesaboutit
• Posted December 17, 2008 at 12:54 pm
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There was a discussion months ago about this. All I can say is they always told me inhaled steroids don't have an effect on the rest of the body. How can that be true. If you've ever had an Albuterol nebulizer breathing treatment, you've probably felt the racing heatbeat/and/or dizziness. Years ago I read an article about this and how some kids txed w/ inhaled steroids developed cataracts. It's good to be wary as you may have learned just reading this site that has so many people telling of their (what our Drs told us were) rare side effects. Does your Dr give you any other choices? I've been on oral steroids for over 30 years and have occasionally used inhalers. I also have osteo, have had both eye lenses removed for cataracts when I was 45. Steroids helped keep me alive, but now I have so many side effects that one day may kill me. It's hard to be a parent when you want to make the right decisions. Sometimes, we have no choices. I had my son tested for allergies and he takes the allergy injections and never has to do steroids.

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• By Tom-WI
• Posted December 17, 2008 at 1:08 pm
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Hi Linda,

I'm taking Veramyst for my cat allergy, plus Advair 100/50 (low dose) once a day, and a singulair/day. My allergist explained that the Veramyst has negligible residual steroid in the body (goes right to work). We have attempted to keep steroids to a minimum, due to my severe OP.

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• By LindaS
• Posted December 18, 2008 at 9:47 am
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I read some information on the internet from 2001 and it mentioned there was a small decrease in BMD when using inhaled steroids. Now they are saying there is not a significant change. You know, to us that have severe osteoporosis any little decrease is not a good thing. I would really love to see the info on the actual studies so I can see what the decreases were. Thanks for responding

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• By SaraMeeks
• Posted December 18, 2008 at 10:26 am
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I don't know about the studies but I think inhaled steroids have an effect on the bone. I had a patient once, a man in his 30's who started inhaled steroids for asthma when he was 32. By the time he was 38 he had severe osteoporosis and had lost about 6" of body height. He also developed steroid-induced myopathy (that's muscle weakness) and eventually needed total care and died at age 43. Not a pretty story. This may have been rare; however, he was a real human being with a career in mathematics at a university. When he developed the osteoporosis, none of his doctors knew what to do for him.
With the increase in asthma in our society, I'm hoping a better way can be found to deal with it. My daughter has asthma as a child and we "cured" it with dietary improvement until she was able to be controlled with over-the-counter medications. I dread to think of the consequences if we had gone the way of inhaled steroids.
Also, many of my patients have gone off inhalers as their body alignment improves. Releasing compression on the internal organs appears to help with lung capacity.
These are not easy decisions to make as we have to breathe to survive. This is just one story and, although most people may not develop osteoporosis with inhaled steroids (I don't know the statistics) this one story gives me pause.

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• By nobonesaboutit
• Posted December 18, 2008 at 11:35 am
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We also had our son tested with an allergist. For years he took food desensitization drops and avoided the things he was most allergic to. Most allergists have never heard of anything but elimination diets. (You can count on my sister to find those "way out"Drs-to which I am very grateful for)!!!!

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• By LindaS
• Posted December 18, 2008 at 2:44 pm
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Thank you Sara. That man does sound like a very extreme case. I have always felt these inhaled steroids were as bad as oral steroids. My daughter has taken oral steroids occasionally when her asthma has been extremely bad. When she gets a cold, she is forced to use the inhaled steriods or she ends up on the oral. She never seems to get better without something. Otherwise she uses ventolin occasionally. Working out at the gym has helped her asthma quite a bit. Also, moving from Massachusetts to Florida helped too. She is now in Georgia attending college and I don't think its great for her asthma since the weather turned colder.
She already follows a fairly strict diet of low fat, low sodium, fairly low carbs, vegetarian diet. She eats whole grain products. She tries to stay away from processed foods. My only concern is her protein intake. She does occasionally have cheese products and milk. When she has asthma, she stays away from dairy. Is there anything she could do to have the improvement your daughter did? Any feedback you could give me would be much appreciated.

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• By SaraMeeks
• Posted December 19, 2008 at 9:59 am
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Dear Linda:
Although I'm not a doctor or nutritionist, I believe a lot can be solved through diet and exercise. Walking has been known to help pulmonary problems--even people with emphysema improve with exercise. I might also suggest Yoga for breathing exercise and body awareness along with relaxation which is so helpful when dealing with any physical problem.
My daughter was not a vegetarian when we went through her asthma stage and we basically cut out all perservatives, additives, sugar and the like. We also worked on environmental allergens such as chemicals in household cleaning products, detergents etc. One of the over-the-counter products we found helped was Olbas Inhaler. I still use it when I get a head cold.
My exercise program, which emphasizes body alignment, has helped many people with asthma and other pulmonary problems.
Hope this is helpful.

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• By LindaS
• Posted December 19, 2008 at 12:27 pm
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Thank you. I really appreciate the feedback.

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• By littlechill
• Posted December 19, 2008 at 2:22 pm
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I took 5 allergy medications a day until I turned 40 (12 years ago) I became a vegetarian and started (power walking 10 mile per day plus weights and yoga. I was able to go off of all my medications. Now I only use a rescue inhaler once or twice a year when I am in a house with a dog (I am allergic to all animals, dust, mold, pollen, feathers etc.) I had had a sinus operation because I got severe infections a few times a year. I did not think I could ever breathe without all of the medication since I had been on it my whole life. I grew up on a boat, and a syringe was taped above my bed in case I stopped breathing. I think any of us with breathing problems should work on breathing better and exercising instead of tons of medications.

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• By LindaS
• Posted December 19, 2008 at 2:35 pm
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Littlechill, Thats wonderful. My daughter has felt exercise has helped her, too. It seems since the cooler weather started in Georgia and she caught a cold, she has been worse. She is back to the inhaled steriod until she improves. Hopefully after that, she won't need anything.

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