Temporary advair use

janewhite1

Yes, people do sometimes use Advair just part-time. And you should definitely have a rescue inhaler for when you need it.

Still, why is she jumping directly to Advair? Why not start with a plain inhaled steroid such as Flovent or Qvar? It's somewhat cheaper and there's definitely less risk of side effects.

Next year, maybe start the inhaled steroid at the beginning of pollen season, then the inflammation won't get started at all.

Titchou

Are you seeing a pulmonologist? If not, I strongly recommend getting a real workup from one. I don't know what you mean by a "pump."

rajtp

Yup I am seeing a pulmologist alright. She prescribed me Advair and it seemed to work fine with me without side effects so I guess she's sticking with that. She also prescribed me Singulair which I don't understand why. I told her I experience no allergy symptoms after the month of June since I'm only allergic to pollen but she insists it would help me and my inflammation. Does that make sense?

I honestly try to stay away from all of these but this time around, it has taken away a bit from my standard of life. After some exercise like running, I could feel a little breathless that night which indicates exercised-induced asthma

Is it true that asthma just progresses and doesn't get better as time goes on? Has anybody successfully taken medicines for a duration of time and see no symptoms of asthma later on and get off all meds?

Thanks guys! Again, i'm not trying to skip a doctor here - i've seen my pumnologist multiple times but cannot tell for sure how biased they are when treating their patients. I think they mostly have short-term results in mind and do not care too much about the long-term effects of medicines on a patient

janewhite1

Asthma sometimes gets worse as the years go by, or it sometimes gets better. My husband was frequently bothered by asthma as a teenager, but now rarely has any symptoms.

Some medicines become less effective if you take them all the time. With asthma control medicines such as Advair or Flovent, it's the opposite. They don't cure asthma, but they do increase the chances that asthma will become less severe over time.

Last summer, I developed fairly bad asthma suddenly. (Not really dangerous, but very unpleasant.) I took a lot of medicines and struggled for a long time, but now I'm doing much better. I think part of the reason is that I took Flovent consistently for months. Eventually, the swelling in my lungs came down to the point that they aren't so sensitive any more.

Titchou

Anyone getting asthma as an adult will have it for the rest of t heir life as ther is no cure for it. Children and teenagers do sometimes outgrow it - but not adults.

If you are having trouble doing any cardio, you should premedicate before the activity. 2 puffs of albuterol, 60 seconds apart, 15 minutes before commencing the activity is the standard. I jog so have to do that.

And it you truly have asthma and allergies, you need to be on the meds year round. There is no problem with doing that. Have you had allergy testing?

rajtp

Yup i've had allergy testing done - only pollen

So if you premedicate before exercise, do you see no symptoms at all that or the next day?

Thanks

Titchou

Nope. None. That's standard practive. Am surprised your doc hasn't told you. Do you not have a written asthma action place - what to do when thus and so happens? If not, I'd be asking for one along with more infomration about your condition. And very probably look for another pulmonologist!

rajtp

Guys

My doctor's assistant provided me a prochamber pipe too. I wonder why would anybody want to use this rather than directly inhale from the rescue inhaler. Is this mainly for kids?
http://www.respironics.com/UserGuides/ProChamber.pdf

Thanks

Titchou

My doc gives them to all children and any adults who are newly dx'ed to learn how to use the inhaler. I used one in the beginning but then caught on how to do it. You need to learn to breathe in after you actuate the inhaler, not before....not everyone can do it right the first time.

janewhite1

I like my aerochamber. Sometimes my asthma medicine irritates my throat, and using the aerochamber with the inhaler seems to prevent that. It also seems to be a little stronger when I use the spacer, because the spacer lets it get deeper in the lungs.

On the other hand, the rescue inhaler by itself fits in a pocket, and there's no way a spacer can do that! So I use the spacer when I'm at home, but I usually don't carry it with me, unless I'm going to go skiing or something.