Alvesco 160 alternative

[Jobie1]

Has anyone ever had to use an alternative to Alvesco 160?, Is there a suitable alternative?. I have had to call 6 different pharmacies today to try to obtain my Alvesco 160 . All have advised it is not in stock and it is coming up manufacturer problems. They are unable to obtain it. I managed to locate one inhaler at a small local pharmacy but I am now very concerned for when this runs out?. Is anyone else experiencing this problem?

[madonbrew]

Hi, I’m down south and pharmacist had to order it but did manage to get hold of it.

I’m not sure of an alternative 🤔

[Singinglouder]

Do you have a Well pharmacy (formerly Coop) around? Mine is 12 miles away, so I don’t use it regularly, but they seem to have a different supplier from all the others in the area, and have managed to get a couple of things that were ‘manufacturing problems’ and otherwise unavailable.

[TuckBox2]

I was swapped from Alvesco and Salmoterol to Fostair 200/6 October 2017, it has brought my peak flow up to 500+ 2 to 3 times a week rather than once or twice a month.

[Jobie1 in reply to TuckBox2]

I’m on fostair and alvesco aswell as my steroids and nasal sprays. I’m just scared to stop my Alvesco and my asthma get worse 🤔

[Poobah]

I could only find an official notice of an Alvesco shortage in 09/2018, due to the unavailability of one of the components. Guidance states that dispensaries should contact the prescriber in order to provide an alternative to the patient. Your GP should be able to prescribe a suitable alternative if the shortage is long term.

In the past when I've been told that my accuhaler was in short supply I contacted the manufacturer to find out what was happening. They were very helpful and it turned out that there was no manufacturing shortage, just a block in the manufacturer to dispensary system (middle men).

[Hidden]

That’s not good to hear. There’s been talk of switching me to Alvesco and I’m waiting to hear about an appointment with a respiratory consultant to discuss the possibility. Not great to hear that it’s difficult to get hold of at the moment. Hopefully things will improve. I’m already on one medication (not asthma related) that is currently unavailable in tablet form due to manufacturing problems.

[risabel59]

Hello, I've been using Alvesco for the last 10 years. Its a great steroid because of its low bioavailability. There have been problems both in manufacturing and in distribution in the last 4 years.

Partly because its not often prescribed by GP's most pharmacies don't have it in stock. But most can order it for you it can take a couple of weeks to come. As I use a couple of these inhalers a month, I always make sure I have a least one spare. Boots always uses more than one supplier, so do most of the big pharmacies. So you could try ringing up your nearest one to see if they can get it for you.

In terms of alternatives, there are a few, but you probably need a consult with your GP or Consultant to work out what would work for you.

Cheers R

[Smoggy1990Boggy]

I have never heard of that inhaler. Perhaps as in another post contact the manufacturer