Asthma & New Inhaler

evil_seed

Hello. I've been recently hit with a bad dose of bronchitis. I get at least one bout of this a year due to my asthma. when i went to the doc the other day, he put me on a new inhaler that i've not taken before. i've always had a vetolin inhaler. but this one is called symbicort.

i've done a bit a searching the past hr and it doesnt look good. and in fact it worries me in that it contains steroids.

Anyone here take this kind of inhaler and what are your opinions on it.

Thanks.

rebel girl 15

evil_seed wrote: »

Hello. I've been recently hit with a bad dose of bronchitis. I get at least one bout of this a year due to my asthma. when i went to the doc the other day, he put me on a new inhaler that i've not taken before. i've always had a vetolin inhaler. but this one is called symbicort.

i've done a bit a searching the past hr and it doesnt look good. and in fact it worries me in that it contains steroids.

Anyone here take this kind of inhaler and what are your opinions on it.

Thanks.

Just started it - was diagnosed as an asthmatic on Monday, I had been taken salbutamol for a while, had it for a chest infection but was using it on and off before playing sport and in cold conditions. I've had no problems so far. I've been told it is a longer lasting one than salbutamol, nearly a combined reliever and preventer for some, like me.

It definitely has worked better for me, my chest feels more clear than before, but then again I wasn't taking an inhaler on a regular basis like I am now

Zaph

I've been using Symbicort for the best part of 10 years now as a preventative inhaler, I take it once when I get up in the morning and again before I go to bed. Before that I'd been using Becotide for a number of years which reduced the amount of asthma attacks I had. However, since I switched to Symbicort I haven't had a single attack. Sure, I still need to use Ventolin for more immediate relief should I need it, but my asthma is now so well controlled that I haven't missed a single day of work due to asthma since I started using Symbicort, as against at least 5 days annually previously. It really is that good. The steroid dose is nothing to worry about, I've certainly had no reactions to anything that's contained in it. The one thing I will say is that I was warned to always rinse my mouth after using it as it could cause throat irritation. It's no exaggeration to say that Symbicort changed my quality of life.

robinph

Lots of things contain steriods, I thought that Ventolin did too actually. Just because it's called a steroid though doesn't mean that you'll end up like some olympic weightlifter though as they are vastly different things being used for vastly different reasons and taken in completly different manner.

legatti

i was prescribed symbicort 2 months ago and like the previous poster said " It has changed my life"!! quite seriously
im 41 years old and had asthma since i was 11, been on steriods a lot in my life from bad attacks.
moved to galway 2 years ago and my asthma improved a lot, but over christmas and the cold snap it got bad again, i would on average go through a ventolin in a week, since symbicort a ventolin lasts over a month/6weeks, the asthma is controlled.
as for steriods they all contain them, and the alternative is have a massive attack and then your on prednisolone for 6 weeks which is pure steriods

DrIndy

Inhaled steroids only cross minimally into the bloodstream compared to tablets and steroids vary hugely. Anabolic steroids like testosterone cause muscle gain, catabolic steroids like prednisolone can cause muscle loss and they work very differently.

Since you seem unsure about your medications - pop back to your pharmacist and ask him/her for more information and if you have any problems go back to your GP.

Kurtosis

As DrIndy already said, very little of the steroids in an inhaler reach the bloodstream, they are designed to act locally in the lung. One thing that can help maximise the amount of steroid that gets to its correct target is good inhaler technique. There has been a campaign launched in the last fortnight to help improve asmtha control, so either pop into your pharmacy or there are also videos on technique and other topics on the Asthma Society website.

bluebell1

I have also been using Symbicort as a prevenative for the past 10yrs or so and find it fantastic. One puff each morning and night and i can honestly say i can;t remember the last time i needed to use my reliever.

diceyreilly

Can you get these inhalers over the counter in Spain?

I've never tried them always use ventolin?

sam34

diceyreilly wrote: »

Can you get these inhalers over the counter in Spain?

I've never tried them always use ventolin?

you should discuss it with your gp before commencing new medication, particularly ones which are prescription here

Ciarachino

I have been on Symbicort for about a year now! 4 puffs twice a day!!! Apart from the cost of the stuff I have found it great! It helped to get me off Prednisolone after being on them for 2 years!!

dory

I need some help with Symbicort!

I've only been using it a week or so but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right (and live in a country with doctors who've never heard of it).

So, I'm turning the base to the right, then left, hear a click and breathing in. The thing is I don't feel anything. With all the other inhalers you feel some air going in or something. I have two inhalers and I get the same on both.

Am I doing something wrong??

rebel girl 15

I was told you should shake it before taking it, shake before you twist the bottom. I was the same couldn't feel it when I was taking it without shaking, but when I take it now, I barely feel it

mlindsay215

Hi everyone, my names Mark, I'm a RGN (charge) working in Northern Ireland in the City hospital on a cardiac and respiratory illness unit.

I specalise in Resp medication such as COPD, asthma etc etc.

There are three main inhalers that asthma suffer's will use, bryicinal (which is normally taken once in the morning and once at night) ventolin (which is normally taken PRN, when required, but SHOULD also be taken morning and night if the sufferer has moderate to sever astham) and symbicort, the steriod which is normally taken three times a day.

Each come in three forms of inhaler, the two most common are the "clicker" a simple turnstil inhaler that requires you to twist the bottom in order to release the powder into the chamber to allow it to be inhaled to the lungs.

THe correct process for this to be taken is exhale (breath out) as much as possible, twist the inhaler once and back and inhale as hard as possible, holding you're breath once maximum inhalation has been acheived for at least three seconds (enough time for the powder to diffuse into the bronchi in the lungs), and exhale gently, repeating the process if required.

The second inhaler is a simple push and spray module.

Simply exhale, place inhaler in mouth, press the button and inhale at the same time, holding in you're breath for at least three seconds and exhaling again gently, repeating the process.

If you have issues in doing this a chamber aid is available, and you can change you're inhaler if you feel it isn't working for you.

The steriod inhaler contains two steriods called, budesonide and formoterol, all these do is reduce inflammation in the lungs and makes breathing easier, this does not work instantaniously and as such must be taken periodically in order for it to work hence the dosage.

The only side effect that is known for symbicort (and in this case it must be taken for a long-long-long time) is osteoporosis, which simply put is bone lose. You are especially at risk if you smoke.

If you have any other questions please feel free to post here or send me an email I'll only be too glad to help.

Thanks.

Mark

P.S dory,

The reason you can't feel air comming from the inhaler when you inhale is simply because it has air filters at the base of the top of the inhaler to avoid saliva entering the inhaler and clogging up the chamber as a result and congealing (making it sticky). So long as you follow the advice above you will be correctly taking the dose.

Remember that all inhalers have a dosage count on the side and when empty the reader will indicate (either by the number zero, or a red bar) when it is empty.

dory

Thank you everyone for your input.

I have figured out where I may be going wrong. It's with how far should this device go into my mouth (sorry if that's a bit weird...)

Should I be able to hear the airflow when I'm inhaling? Now I can, as I've only 1cm or so of it in my mouth, but before I was almost swalling the whole thing. In hindsight that may have been a bad idea.
Really hope this works because I have pretty bad asthma and live in a country with no smoking ban.

ACESHIGH

my 10 yr old has just recently started on the sympicort it was fine but this weather is making him whizzy ..is it okay to give him ventolin along with the symicort

tk123

Yes it's ok to use the ventolin as well - it takes a few days for the preventer to kick in. I have chronic bronchitis and use both the preventer and the reliever when I need it. I don't get ventolin anymore btw - I get a cheaper generic one made by Ivax - it's €4 compared to €8 for ventolin The puff isn't as stong as the ventolin branded ones but I kind of prefer it.

rebel girl 15

ACESHIGH wrote: »

my 10 yr old has just recently started on the sympicort it was fine but this weather is making him whizzy ..is it okay to give him ventolin along with the symicort

Yeah, Symbicort is the preventor, Ventolin is the reliever - anytime that he needs a shot of Ventolin, there is no problem giving it to him. My own GP told me that you can use Symbicort as both a preventor and reliever, but when I went to the specialist, he prescribed me ventolin.

bigbrotherfan

tk123 wrote: »

Yes it's ok to use the ventolin as well - it takes a few days for the preventer to kick in. I have chronic bronchitis and use both the preventer and the reliever when I need it. I don't get ventolin anymore btw - I get a cheaper generic one made by Ivax - it's €4 compared to €8 for ventolin The puff isn't as stong as the ventolin branded ones but I kind of prefer it.

I always found it took longer than a few days for the preventer to kick in.

tk123

bigbrotherfan wrote: »

I always found it took longer than a few days for the preventer to kick in.

Yeah you're right it does tbh! I gave mine (seretide 100) a week and no joy so called my gp and she said it should only take a few days and referred me to a specialist..he put me seretide 250 and a I felt a difference in less than a week because it was much stronger. Thank god the snow is gone because it caused me big problems with my breathing! Come back summer!:P

WHIP IT!

Can anyone recommend a reputable place online to buy asthma inhalers? Thanks alot.

sam34

WHIP IT! wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a reputable place online to buy asthma inhalers? Thanks alot.

buying prescription meds online is illegal in this country, so we dont allow discussion of it here.