Using Symbicort 200/6

I am a newly diagnosed asthmatic after crashing and ending up in ITU for a few days. I have been prescribed Symbicort (along with loads of other stuff) but am really struggling with taking it. Most of it seems to end up on my tongue as my tongue comes up to the roof of my mouth when i breathe in deeply and even after speaking to asthma nurse about technique I do not seem to be able to get it right. Does anyone have any ideas that I can try please?

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Hey Edwina.

Symbicort is strange like that. It's not able to be used with a spacer, so alot of people have problems taking it. Maybe go and speak to your GP/Practice Nurse and see what they suggest. It might be that they change your inhaler so you can use it with a spacer.

Hope this helps

Vicky x

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Thanks so much for replying elephant2001 (love the username), I did ask to try something else but was told to persevere with the Symbicort as it had only been 5 weeks. I will give it another month and then ask again to try something else I think. Very pleased to have found this site as it is helpful and full of interesting information and nice people who care enough to answer posts. Thanks again

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Using Symbicort 200/6

It does take a bit of practice to get it right, but persevere.

You should always rinse you mouth out afterwards too, (though I suspect most people don't) as there is a small risk of oral thrush, a fungal infection in the mouth. It can also cause throat irritations, coughing and hoarseness, especially after long term use.

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Hi,

My daughter too is now on symbicort, she also found it tricky to begin with, however that has improved and the benefits have been tremendous. I appreciate this may not be the case for everyone but persevere with you really have to rinse your mouth out well after use as Hannah suffered with horrendous oral thrush for a long time whilst she got into the habit of rinsing.

Good luck

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One of the problems with symbicort is people tend to ""snatch"" at it like you would if you were using a propellent inhaler. You need to have a more gentle approach with the symbicort inhaler its more like a gentle sucking the air in rather than a sharp intake of breath. Its is hard to describe but I hope you get the gist.

Bex