Bandstandlad

[Bandstandlad]

Two weeks ago had a telephone appointment with a GP, I was concerned that my breathing had not been as normal for a few weeks. Certainly wheezing while breathing out, just breathing out! No real problem inhaling. I was asked to visit the surgery for a face to face appointment that same day with the GP. He listened to my breathing with stethocope and said he could hear a bit of a wheeze. I had been on a QVAR inhaler for a few years and always carry my Ventolin, I had been using my Ventolin more and more over past weeks, up to 10 times in one day. The GP changed my preventor inhaler to a Symbicote. To be honest, I have not seen much improvement since. I had a chest X-ray yesterday and need to make another appointment to see the GP in 2 weeks time. I do not feel my breathing has improved by much, if any, and I am very concerned. One knows when breathing is not as normal. I would welcome any comments please.

[twinkly29]

The symbicort will take about 8 weeks to kick in but from now you should see a gradual improvement in symptoms and peak flow (over time, ie from now to the time it's fully effective). The steroid in Qvar is different to the one in Symbicort so at the moment it's like your body has started again and doesn't realise it's got steroid in there, if that makes sense. So it's normal at this stage to need more reliever inhaler.

If you are feeling worse, of course contact your GP and see if you need oral steroids in the meantime, but otherwise it might be a case of persevering with the ventolin while the symbicort kicks in. A lot of people feel it's not working, I need to try a different one at this point but unfortunately all steroid inhalers take a while to bed-in.

[Bandstandlad in reply to twinkly29]

In the past when I have had a bad cold and it has gone on my chest, the GP's have given oral steroids and they have cleared the problem. When I asked GP at this last visit he didn't seem keen to prescribe an oral steroid. Having a word with my Pharmacist yesterday, she said perhaps the Symbicort didn't suit me. I just do not understand this, not been like this for a very long time. The Qvar has always kept me clear of the problem in the past, hardly ever had to use the Ventolin for years. I am really concerned!

[twinkly29 in reply to Bandstandlad]

Honestly no-one can say after 2 weeks if an inhaler suits someone or not, it's way too soon. Like I said, it will take about 8 weeks to kick in and so it's then it would be evident if it's good or not.

It's perfectly ok to use your ventolin for symptoms in the meantime though - a very normal part of the process.

[Poobah in reply to Bandstandlad]

Twinkly is correct about the need to give your new inhaler a few weeks to achieve full effectiveness. But I can tell you're perplexed by this asthma development after years of control. Trying to look for a reason why one's asthma has suddenly become worse can be a fruitless task, especially if we haven't changed anything in our day to day life.

Obviously, think about things like extra weight, diet changes, hormonal changes, medication for other conditions, cleaning products, a change at work, stress, new pets and so on. Unfortunately, it may not be linked to any obvious change and may be "just one of those things". I remember being told by a consultant, decades ago, that asthma goes in cycles and to expect changes. That's been true to some extent.

When you talk to your doctor again, ask about your asthma type and ask if you would benefit from additional medication, such as Montelukast or an additional LAMA inhaler. If, after 8 weeks, Symbicort hasn't improved things then you may benefit from trying a different combination inhaler. Trial and error to get the right treatment is often the only way.