Miracles happen, from time to time: I have been free of Clenil for 3 months now, and no asthma attacks for 2 weeks since giving up on Bricanyl. The background here is that I've had night time asthma for decades, all my life since childhood, I've had problems waking up around 4-5 am and needing a puff of my reliever several nights a week. Call it badly controlled asthma, really bad. I've been on two puffs of Clenil for as long as I can remember. About 4-5 months ago, the GP asthma nurse recommended I go up to 4 puffs a day, in order to make me sleep better. Which I did. The result was a terrible thrush infection at the back of my throat. At the same time, my right eye developed a condition known as central serous retinopathy "CSR" (fluid under the macula causing vision disturbances, and sight loss if not dealt with). I was referred to the local eye hospital immediately, where the ophthalmologist consultant advised to stop taking steroid sprays immediately, and, to never take them again, ever. He also advised to stop all sports, i.e. reduce stress levels on the body to absolute minimum, until the eye was healed. There is a direct link between CSR and steroid inhalers. It was a spectacular moment. Asthma or blindness? Go on, choose!
So I stopped of course, and took the reliever about once or twice a day. For about 3 months. The eye healed, as expected. I did a bit of research on how to ditch the reliever, and came across some blog which said, the first 2-3 nights were rough and you might not sleep at all because the asthma will be so bad. So I did just that. Went to bed with a slight desire to take the reliever, but resisted. Woke up with bad, bad asthma, had camomile tea, which helped a bit, went back to sleep, with asthma. Walked to the train station in the morning with asthma. It got better during the day at work. Same thing second night, just worse, up during the night for a long time, letting the asthma slowly slowly reduce. Hot tea is great, add Manuka honey. Left the house with asthma. 3rd night, at 5 am, after about an hour and half sitting in the kitchen, having had my camomile tea with honey, all of a sudden, I felt great. 4th night, I woke up in the morning, with NO asthma. After 35 years my friends!
In my view, I was addicted to the blue spray, for many years. I would take it even when feeling slight discomfort - I now understand from doing a bit of searching on google, that taking the reliever too often, can reduce the lungs ability to fight asthma, and increase mucous production. Another positive effect I've felt, is that I have not had any noteworthy phlegm in my lungs for the last 3 months - highly unusual for me, during autumn, and now winter.
Next step is to try some kind of exercise that will challenge my lungs. And for anyone wondering (like my dear mother) I still always carry the reliever (and I still panic when I don't).
I want to also add, that I gave up meat, egg, and dairy about 3 months ago, nothing to do with my asthma, but incidentally it may have had a positive effect - I do not know this for sure. I now eat a lot of fish, shellfish, veggies, fruit and brown bread, and very very small amounts of yoghurt - no more than a dollop with my weekly veggie burrito or curry from some place near the office. It's wonderful.
Is anyone on symbicort smart?
Struggling
Luforbec makes me cough
recurrent oral thrush 
Bad asthma flare-up - looking for advice
