Good info in both posts.

"Regular treatment with inhaled glucocorticosteroids should only be prescribed for symptomatic patients with COPD with a documented spirometric response to glucocorticosteroids or for those with an FEV1 < 50% predicted and repeated exacerbations requiring treatment with antibiotics or oral glucocorticosteroids.
Chronic treatment with systemic glucocorticosteroids should be avoided because of an unfavourable benefit-to-risk ratio".

My FEV1 is only38% but I very rarely get sick and I think when I do it is induced by med side effects. My pulmonologist put me on 440 mcg of inhaled steroids 11 years ago and the only way I have been able to reduce them is to do it myself and make him angry. They do seem to help me breathe a little bit but am now taking 100mcg every other day and breathing much better than I did at higher doses. He mistakes respiratory side effects for exacerbations and sent me to the ER for IV steroids and told them I was circling the drain and nothing could be done except keep me comfortable. (To their credit ER staff was mad and heaped scorn on him ) My meds have always induced neuropathy symptoms for some reason and the only way I have been able to control that is titrating the dose. However now I appear to have some autonomic neuropathy issues which cause severe constipation that won't resolve unless I skip meds altogether and that isn't working too well.

I have been complaining for years with little result and I have really lost faith in doctors over this. I hope my experience is not common, watch your meds.