hello,
I’ve been taking seretide accuhalers for around 20 years - before this my asthma was not controlled and I had regular attacks and I haven’t had one since being on seretide.
my asthma nurse has given me Fostair to try. Has anyone switched from seretide to Fostair and how has it affected you? So far I’m not sure if it’s making me worse.
Thanks
I could not get on with Fostair it made me depressed and coughing more
I'm not sure why anyone would want to change a regime which is working well. Flixotide is recognise as being a stronger inhaled steroid compared to beclometasone. Try it, but if it isn't as effective, ask to go back to the seretide.
totally agree! Thank you
If your asthma has been in good control whilst on seretide it seems very strange why the asthma nurse would ask you to try an alternative. If you feel the seretide was controlling your asthma I would request being put back on seretide. The only thing I can think is that perhaps the seretide is more expensive than the fostair.
I have been on seretide 500 for nearly 30 years as I couldn't use the vapour inhalers.
I agree - seems they are trying to make cuts where they can. They are also being very tight with my Ventolin inhalers and not letting me order them when I need them. They are saying I should only use 3 a year!
did you manage to go back to seretide ok?
My husband was switched from Seretide to Fostair and it’s made a huge difference to him. His asthma has been far less troublesome and his breathing at night has improved hugely. He hadn’t realised how bad his asthma was until using Fostair, which seems to have reduced and taken away lots of the symptoms he thought he had to put up with (25+years). If you don’t get on with it you can go back to Seretide. There’s a very useful short video showing you how to correctly use the Fostair inhaler on the Asthma and Lung charity website.
thank you
Hi, I was the same and really well controlled on Seretide accuhaler. My GP surgery had a pharmacist conduct asthma meds reviews who changed me to Fostair to try, not sure why as I was well. Within 2 weeks I struggled and ended up on prednisolone, nebulisers and antibiotics. At my request they eventually put me back on seretide but it took almost a year for my asthma to return to my previous level of control. I would never risk swapping again! Good luck, go with your gut instinct x
thanks - I feel it’s wrong for me as my asthma has worsened. How did you go about getting your prescription back as they have stopped mine even though they reassured me they wouldn’t until I tried it and if it worked.
Fostair is lovely, but it took me a couple of months to settle down with.
thank you
I had the same thing happen. Had been on Seretide for many years. Was very surprised when my asthma nurse changed me to Forstair. Took a wee while to settle with it but I think it's fine now. I don't think I cough as much as I used to and I'm less wheezy too so it's doing something right!
thanks. Did you get worse before better?
Took a couple of weeks to adjust to. After that felt fine.
Yes this happened to me last year I think but taking this other caused me trouble couldn't take to it .so got put back on seretide 50 but also take ventolin and beconase all these do help .but I wished they wouldn't swop us onto cheaper drugs that causes distress
me too! Seems like a money saving thing
Hi Asthma queen, I too have recently come off Seretide Accuhaler and Asthma nurse suggested I changed to Fostair which I have been on for 6 months now. The difference in my life is fantastic and my breathing is so much better now. So I would certainly recommend trying it. I do hope it works for you as it has for me.
I didn’t get on with fostair at all. I found it brought on my asthma , we found it contains trace amounts of ethanol anhydrous, my body didn’t like that.
Hi
My experience of switching was different but may be of interest. I too was on Seretide 250 for many years and suddenly switched. In my case to Clenil Modulite 100 reducing to 50 after 5 weeks. Immediately I began to suffer not from asthma but severe muscle pains gradually getting worse from knees up to hips. Then problems with my eyesight. I was eventually tested and diagnosed Polymyalgia Rheumatica. Cured with massive steroid dose tailed off over a year. This also cured all of my asthma symptoms.
The source of infection was unknown but may have been triggered by the withdrawal of the steroid inhaler. This is my best guess as doctors simply did not know. My advice is to be very careful when whithdrawing from Seretide which may (again my assumption) reduce natural steroid production. Especially if it’s a high dose.
Incidentally the after effect of my experience is that I no longer take anything for asthma. I still get asthma-like symptoms but I’m pretty sure this is my Bronchiectasis triggered by silent reflux. Most of the time I control this by diet. Low carbs seems to do the trick for me.
Hope this raving helps.
thanks Barrie. That’s really interesting! Great that you don’t need any medication now ☺️
thanks so much for your replies. They’re really useful. I’m glad to hear that it’s worked for some of you and sorry it hasn’t for others.
I’ve only been taking it for nearly 2 weeks and so far I’ve found that I am getting short of breath and having to take my Ventolin when I walk or exercise which is usually not an asthma trigger for me since taking seretide. I’m also coughing a lot more. Would you say that amount of time is enough to see if it’s working or not? I’ve took my seretide today as I’m scared of my asthma getting worse.
Thank you x
Hi. Fostair wasn't for me. I took it as a preventer and a reliever as prescribed by consultant. Was a mess breathless, cough but to be honest the shakes were appauling and I couldn't even hold a cup or cut food. Took it for a few months and these side effects were gradual. I went back to seretide. Im side effect free. My motto why fix something not broken. Change back if its no good.
exactly! Did you have problems switching back?
Not at all. Relief side effects went quite quicky. Good luck stay well. xx
My prescribed Seretide mdi was changed to Sirdupla without discussion a few years ago. It didn't work very well, gp wouldn't change it back - I realise now that I probably didn't give it enough time. At review with respiratory nurse she suggested I'd suit Fostair, explained the MART regime & changed my prescription. On collecting at pharmacist I had to read and sign a form that I understood that it is licensed as MART inhaler, also given a smart little explanation/instruction booklet which has been pretty useful. I can honestly say Fostair has been utterly brilliant for me. Life changing really when with Seretide id put up with horrendous foot cramps, such thinned skinned that it ripped off with the slightest knock. I'd taken to wearing double thickness tubigip on my arms for any activity for protection. There was also the bruising and worse was that any crispy food would scratch the soft tissue of my throat causing quite sizeable blood blisters, one was huge and blocked my airway until my poor son helped burst it. I gave up toast, French bread, crisps & anything else scratchy.
Fostair worked very well indeed and months later I realised my thin skin had gone back to normal and I no longer got blood blisters in my throat
. Another huge bonus is that I rarely need ventolin (now salamol) except during exacerbations/infections.
In winter I take two puffs night & one in the morning. About now one night & morning is sufficient - unless planning on walking uphill or lungs feeling dodgy. I take an extra puff instead of ventolin when necessary.
Obviously we're not all the same, whats brilliant for some isn't for others. I believe the particles in Fostair are much smaller, it's definitely worth trying but give it 2/3 weeks to work.
It will be a money-saving exercise: Seretide is more expensive than any of the other combination-inhalers.
I take Seretide 500 and have been tried on Symbicort and Foster and could tell within a day that they weren't working as well as Seretide. I was chugging the maximum dose of Foster and it still wasn't lasting me the day. You're told it can take upto 6 weeks to see of they make a difference but usually you can tell yourself fairly quickly whether it's right for you or not.
Hi it has been very interesting reading the comments and see everyone’s different experience on Fostair. About 10 years ago I was changed from Seretide to Fostair and over a space of 8 months my asthma steadily worsened. I am a wheezer not a cougher my chest became so tight my wheeze had become barely audible. I restricted my activity to avoid attacks until I went back to GP and said I thought something was wrong. I was put back on Seretide 500 but now on 250. I also had terrible leg cramps while on Fostair.
I never get to see the same Asthma nurse twice and at every patronising asthma review Fostair is mentioned and I decline. What amazes me is that we are all different, respond to medications differently, our symptoms and triggers are different but Asthma is treated now as a one size fits all condition at primary level. Inhalers and medication are swapped and changed without any thought or discussion with the patient in front of them. I have my battles with asthma nurses and if I get one determined to make changes without knowing my asthma specific to me, I demand referral to the local chest clinic and they back off. Sometimes I think changes are made for good reason and full history is taken into account. But my own personal experience the last 5 years is the changes are purely for cost reasons and not for the benefit to me and my asthma.
I hope your trial on Fostair works for you and it is true, if you can cope with possible flare ups, it takes around 6-8 weeks to settle down and control is regained. However if it doesn’t request you would like to go back on Seretide.
I agree, stick to your guns and stick with what works for you. It's a waste of GP time to prescribe inhalers for people when they find that they don't work, then you get ill and have to take up more of their time getting it switched back.
I switched from seretide to fostair about 10 years ago and still use it now - this was along side the starting of my xolair injections though!
I was changed to fostair a few years ago and my health improved enormously. The particles in it are smaller so go further into the lung. I had been on Qvar and seretide previously. Not all meds suit everyone so I’d give it a couple of months and see how you are doing but obviously see your doctor if unwell in that time. Take care x
For people who have tried Fostair, could you confirm for me please whether Fostair as prescribed by the NHS contains lactose. My consultant wants to move me from Seretide to Fostair as the steroid in Seretide appears to be causing me other problems (for me, far more serious than my, so far, mild asthma). Unfortunately, I am allergic to lactose, and having just Googled Fostair, I am seeing conflicting information about whether it contains lactose.
The powder version fostair nexthaler contains lactose yes, did you end up going into it ? I have been taking it nearly 4 weeks now and am conflicted as I feel my breathing function is better than with seretide, before I was gasping every 2 or 3 breathes but on the downside I have horrible bloating, belching etc on it which gets so bad it squashes my diaphram and makes me short of breath, I gave up milk years ago as it made me feel the same so feel as if i can't win, I have a follow up appointment later this week so will say and maybe ask to switch to inhaled version instead and hope for better breathing without the side effects
Yes, I switched to the non-powder form of Fostair as that is lactose-free. My (good) pharmacist called me after a couple of weeks and then again after a month to check how I was getting on. I was definitely a bit more breathless initially than I had been on Seretide, but the pharmacist said that it can take a month or so to settle onto Fostair. I've actually been reducing my dose since, so I cannot confirm whether the pharmacist was correct about that (the steroids in my asthma inhalers are thought to be the cause of a much more serious problem, so I am trying to reduce them as much as possible)
That sucks the the steroid you need for asthma control is causing you other problems, im supposed to take mine 2 x in morning and 2 x at night but I've only been taking it twice or sometimes even once per day as the more I take it the more bloated, gassy burpy I get which causes sob as well
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