Albuterol = slow acting? - Asthma Message Board

Rain820 · 08-25-2004, 10:35 AM

I know they call Albuterol a "rescue inhaler" but I don't find it to be that way. I find that I take it, and my breathing seems to get worse before it gets better. Is this normal, or do I maybe need something different? I'm also taking Singulair at night, which I thought was supposed to make you not need the inhaler on most days. I wonder if maybe that's not right for me either.

I have a follow up appointment tonight with my allergy doc, I haven't been to him since the end of July...so we have lots to talk about. But I figured I'd check in here too, so if anyone has any advice or questions I should ask him, please let me know. I am still trying to determine what exactly triggers what with me, even though I know I have "alleriges" to grass, trees, mold, and dust, etc. I haven't been able to pinpoint what triggers these episode with me because they happen at all different times, and under all different circumstances. For example, I've been sitting in my air conditioned office since 9:00 and it's now 12:30, about 30 mins ago, I felt short of breath and did the 2 albuterol puffs. I know the last few days, the pollen count in my areas have been in the 9.5 out of 10 scale, but the humidity has been low. Usually humidity affects me, but I'm still trying to determine if pollen does too. But, I haven't been outside at all, so what is affecting me here? And why doesn't it affect me everyday (not that I want it too!!). Something today must be different, right?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

jasmyn04 · 08-25-2004, 11:55 AM

hello

i've had asthma forever and taken albuterol since they finally discovered i had asthma. i'm thinking albuterol just might not be for you. albuterol is supposed to make you feel better immediatly. its not supposed to make you feel worse in any way.

i would recommend Advair (a diskus you take once at morning, once at night). its great, it has 2 different kinds of medicenes to correct your breathing problems, because of Advair i never need my emergency inhaler. but you really should ask your doctor for a different emergency inhaler, in my opinion.

and yes, certain things you breath in (pollen to insence) can really affect your breathing. maybe its not the inhaler, but what you are breathing in?

Blondee15 · 08-25-2004, 02:07 PM

Your shortness of breath is probably due to swelling in the airways then.
Asthma has 2 components- the tightening of the smooth muscles around the airways & also the swelling of the airways. Albuterol relieves the tightened muscles only. What you sound like you need is an daily anti-inflammatory medication, such as Advair, or Flovent, or Singulair, etc. It sounds like you have inflammation going on regularly. Talk to your allergist, get some PFT's done & allergy testing & that should determine what you need=) .

reader1 · 08-25-2004, 05:37 PM

What albuterol are you taking? Are you taking a name brand (proventil) or a generic. There is a generic albuterol inhaler that I cannot take - I get exactly the same thing out of it...a sort of delay, or a worse-before-better feeling. I suspect it has a preservative that my lungs don't like. My pharmacy orders a generic inhaler that is made in a different laboratory specifically for me. I get very quick turn around with that one. That said, I agree with the previous post that you may need to to try Advair or another combination drug to treat your asthma most appropriately.

Rain820 · 08-25-2004, 08:14 PM

Hey folks, thanks for all that! I went to the doc tonight and told him of my troubles. First of all, he told two things were probably affecting me mainly the last few days...ragweed season has started, and the pollen levels in our area have been 9.5 the last few days and will climb to the 10s in the next few. I told him, "butI don't have sneezing and stuff like that" However, he said that what I have is just lower respitory allergies, he said when you get the runny nose/sneezing stuff, they consider that upper respitory allergies. So, he doesn't get why the albuterol isn't working as it should....but he's trying this for a few days. He wants to see if maybe some of it could be acid reflux related. So, he wanted to get me Nexium but with my insurance, there's a form that needs to be done with that, so it'd take a few days. So, he wants me to try an over the counter one, Prilosec. He said take 2 of those with dinner each night, and also to double up on my allegra and nasacort spray in the next few days, since the pollen count is only going to increase. If I don't feel better in a few days, he said to call him and come back.

Also, he said that I should go home, shower, take the clothes I had on alll day off and either wash them, or keep them OUT Of my room, because pollen tends to be on everything. That's why, he said I feel the symptoms even when I'm inside air condidtioning. He's like, those few minutes you're outside walking from your bus to your building, the pollen gets on the clothes, your hair, etc. And also, it's on the people around you at the office. I guess it makes sense, I never thought of it like that.

Then I asked him if I should still do the albuterol, he said if I felt like it could help, sure ...he doesn't seem to think it's doing any damage. That's my main concern, I don't want to be inhaling that **** that could be making me worse. But he thinks it's fine, so I shall see.