Stepping down

I wrote last week that a CT scan of my lungs showed that the inflammation and air trapping had much improved since being on Qvar and that the consultant said I should halve my dose of Qvar 100 from two puffs twice a day to one puff twice a day. I'm now getting more coughing but I don't know whether that's due to the high pollen count, which could be a trigger for me and just to be expected or if I'm ""stepping down"" too much ? Should the doc have really put me on one and a half puffs twice a day ? I reckon that could be achieved by having one puff of Qvar 100 and one puff of Qvar 50 twice a day ? I'm really very new to this so would welcome some advice from ""old hands"" !

Anne

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I'd have thought 2 puffs at night and one in the morning (or the reverse, depending on whether you have more symptoms day or night) was plenty good enough to give you an intermediate level of dose.

Or - you may just need to stay on 2 puffs am/pm - it's always a test of whether you can maintain the same level of health on a smaller dose, and it might be that actually right now you do need 400/day.

Also, if pollen is acting as a trigger then it would be normal to just keep on the higher dose - as it's the kind of trigger you can't avoid. (Unlike, say, oranges, which it's perfectly possible to avoid). So - it doesn't really matter what the reason is, it's probably best to get your dose back up until you have fewer symptoms.

So - if it was me I'd add in another puff at the end of the day you feel it would be most useful, and then go back to the 2 puffs twice daily if that's still not enough.

I hope that helps? Adjusting your meds like this - particularly for cold season and so on - is something you'll get used to.

The other thing you could do is get an appointment to see the asthma nurse at your GPs (assuming you're in the UK) - they would probably give you good advice, and if you're feeling nervous about 'disobeying' the consultant (which you shouldn't, but feelings are annoying like that), having the nurse on board might help you feel more confident?

Cx

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Thanks C ! I'm seeing my GP next week - yes I do live int he UK - so I'll ask him and perhaps make an appointment to see the asthma nurse, I hadn't thought of seeing her, but yes that would be a good solution !

Anne