Bronchitis and prednisone?

After severe difficulty breathing during the third day of a cold or flu I called a physician in order to get a prescription for a bronchodialator. The Dr. insisted that I take prednisone and amoxicilin for 10 days and called in a Rx for both. When I took the 1st dose of prenisone I experienced several negative side effects.
Since the bronchodialator helped my breathing problem, I decided not to take any more of the prednisone. I felt that the prednisone was prescribed only to make breathing easier, so I discontinued its use. After 4 days on the amoxicilin I am still ill. My question is--should I take the prednisone? Will it help the amoxicillin work more effeciently or is it just an antiinflamatory that makes breathing easier?