Meds or not....

[CeriH13]

Hello! New to the forums but as you all seem so lovely I thought I'd say hi 🙂

I get asthma only usually during the summer with hay fever or in response to paint fumes. The asthma nurse that I see seems to be very knowledgeable but...... She had me on Fostair (2 X twice day), salbutamol (as needed) and Montelucast (spelling?)

At my last check up (only once a year) I was symptom free and she advised stopping the Montelucast and also reducing the Fostair- so I did - dropped the pills and only take the Fostair when I remember (not very often) not a problem until last week.....

It started with a sore throat on Wednesday and by Sunday I was in the out of hours docs for hours and came away after 3 nebs with pred and antibiotics. Spent the majority of yesterday in the docs another 3 nebs and only just got away without being sent to hospital.

You can probably tell, I don't like taking meds 'for the sake of it' I know the preventers are supposed to have a build up effect but it doesn't seem right to keep pumping yourself full of drugs when for the majority of the time you can function normally without them.

Thoughts?

[Damon1864]

I agree wish they would let me come off some of mine. Welcome stay in touchxxx

[Hidden]

Welcome to the forum Ceri,

I'm afraid many of us on this forum would know about it if we missed a dose delivered by our inhalers. My asthma isn't severe and it's certainly well controlled, but if I neglected to use my inhaler one morning (or one evening) I would probably know about within a few hours - particularly at this time of year.

The thing you have to understand about allergies (and asthma) is that they can change over time. You may have only needed to take Fostair during the summer months once, but that is clearly not the case now. You have ended up on a nebuliser twice in less than a week; that is because your asthma is currently out of control. If you do not use your Fostair as directed you could end up in hospital; it's worth remembering that asthma kills three people a day in UK.

I've had asthma for over fifty years, and for over forty five of those years I have been on inhalers. I've ended up in hospital once and that was because my medication had been changed and the new one wasn't quite strong enough to control my asthma. It wasn't just my asthma that suffered during that time. My general health declined. I started to get secondary infections when I caught colds and eventually I picked up a bug that went from a tight little cough to pneumonia aggravated asthma within 48 hours. I was in hospital for five days.

It might seem a nuisance, but it please don't think of it as taking meds 'for the sake of it'. For me (and for many) it's about taking meds to stay alive. Asthma runs in my family, and I do know of one relative who died of it - but that was pre 1950 when there wasn't the medication to control it that there is now.

Please keep taking your Fostair as directed Ceri, it's doing you a favour. You narrowly missed being sent to hospital yesterday. Next time you might not be so lucky.

[Yatzy in reply to Hidden]

Very well explained, MaggieHP.....very wise advice. Hope you found it helpful too, Ceri. You really can't afford to ignore it. Welcome to the site btw 😊

[Hidden]

Until this winter, I only had asthma during hayfever season.

If I were you, I'd take the prescribed medication, book another appointment and see what the clinician says. I saw my daughter in a resus ward in A&E 10 years ago and have seen her life improve immensely since the asthma specialist got her meds just right.

I only take a 'reliever' and the same dose of Fostair as you, but no asthma tablets are necessary. However, I do take anti-histamines and Betahistine for Meniere's disease.

Please try to remember to take the Fostair regularly. I know that's not easy, so I keep mine on my bedside cabinet and take it first thing and as I go to bed. Asthma needs to be controlled.

Now I know I have winter asthma, I'll take the Fostair all year round so that it is controlled. My theory is that if the asthma is better controlled, I won't suffer as much with infections as I have this winter - I'm on double-strength antibiotics for a nasty chest infection but gradually improving now.

I hope you feel better soon!

[ros15]

Dear Ceri. Like Maggie I would really encourage you to take your medication as prescribed absolutely religiously - like to so many asthmatics I know that it keeps me alive. Having had a number of very serious asthma attacks over the years I know how vital it is. Like you I have not bothered in the past or have just put up with having poorly controlled asthma - but this problem with this approach is that it can permanently and irreversibly damage your lungs (as it has done mine). Get help and advice from your GP and asthma nurse to get your asthma under control - find out as much as you can about your condition. Your GP and asthma nurse will ensure that you only take the level of medication you need to keep your asthma under control although this may involve some degree of trial and error. Good luck.