I started prednisone and had a similar reaction. I actually did have a hard time breathing, too, along with the lump in my throat. They pulled me off the pred. A month or so later, I had a similar reaction and I determined (cuz doc has no clue) that I was semi-constipated, thus backed up and my GERD was on overdrive. All this caused me to have trouble breathing and lump in throat. As soon as everything got moving again, breathing was fine. I recall that while on the pred I felt better and was eating more. I do recall also feeling much better after having a BM when on the pred. I have asthma as well so it was a bit disturbing for me.