Three months ago my husband (age 67) started having dizziness, fuzzy eyesight, blackouts, difficulty breathing after exerting himself doing simple chores around the house, walking short distances and he has been overly exhausted.

All of his life he has had allergy's and the last couple of years he has had a lot of problems until.....HMMM

About three months ago the VA prescribed a nasal allergy spray – Beclomethasone, a corticosteroid. I did a little research and found this information:
If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:
· increased difficulty breathing
· swollen face, lower legs, or ankles
· vision problems
· cold or infection that lasts a long time
· muscle weakness
Except for the swollen face and cold or infection, he has experienced all of these symtoms and more.

When all of these problems started I asked him if it could be the nasal spray and had he checked with the doctors? He pooh-poohed me and told me I didn’t know what I was talking about.

Also during this time, he had a very painful bone spur which the podiatrist treated over a months time with cortizone injections (every week for 4 weeks)

This concerned me a lot because I’ve heard so much about steroids and how harmful they can be. I realize that short-term use is not usually a problem but sometimes there are exceptions. So, between the nasal spray and the injections, he was getting a lot of steroids in a short period of time.

I am still wondering if there isn’t some correlation especially since he has been seeing the doctors at the VA and they have run every blood test imaginable, EKG's, Xrays, TB tests, pulmonary tests and today a heart stress test. And still, no idea what is wrong with him.

They have ruled out heart problems, and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder) which were their first guesses.

He had cateract surgery last December and went to the eye doctor last week for checkup. No problems there.

I still think he is experiencing adverse effects from the Beclomethasone but he will not even get a second opinion. He got so angry at me tonight when I asked him to talk to another doctor or at least bring it up again with the VA doctors.

I know he doesn’t want to stop using it because it is the only thing that he has found in years that relieves his major allergy symptoms but if he can’t breathe…..?????

I don’t know what to do? I have little faith in the VA doctors.

Any suggestions?