45 year old male, generally fit and does quite a lot of high intensity cycling (I love climbing hills) - Always had hayfever and allergic to dogs and cats - of course we have one of each.....
Diagnosed with adult onset asthma this month after breathing issues since the beginning of May - Feels like the Tree Pollen season has been crazy this year which I don't normally suffer from but think may have been the "trigger" for the asthma to start.
Peak Flow shows reversible airways obstruction of 35% after salbutamol use and Spiro improvement in FEV1 of 25% after the same.
Had a couple of exacerbations and am on second course of Pred 40mg in a month after PEF dropped to 44% of best.
The steroids are rather good but I am still using the rescue inhaler every 4-6 hours at the moment.
I've been prescribed with Clenil Modulite 100mcg x 2 puffs twice a day - Does anyone remember how quickly this started to take effect for them when they began treatment - I appreciate it will be a bit different for everyone.
Reason I ask is that the documentation says 3-7 days but in places online I see "a couple of weeks"
The asthma nurse I wouldn't expect to notice any improvement from the Clenil for around 4 weeks and then it would take 8 weeks until it is doing it's job properly.
Seems strange that the Clenil documentation would say such a short time compared to the asthma nurse?
I've got a declining dose of Pred with the aim of the two hopefully "crossing over" as the Clenil effect starts to build - The Pred will only last 2 weeks though so I'm a bit unsure what to expect
Thanks for any help and hope everyone is as well as can be
Dan
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Nudieburger
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I was told up to two months for full effect, but that I should start seeing 'some' difference after a week.
It might be worth giving the Asthma UK helpline a ring - they should be able to advise whether what you are experiencing is normal and you just need more time for the meds to kick in, or if you need to go back to your GP for something stronger.
(Also, tell them how often you are needing your reliever. I know it would be a warning sign to use it that often normally, but I don't know how much is considered acceptable when you are adjusting to new medication and how much is a sign that you need something stronger now.)
One doctor told me I was using the reliever too much but the asthma nurse said to use it when my I need it - I check Peak Flow before doing so to make sure I'm not just taking it like clockwork. My expectation was that I would need it less often as the Clenil kicks in - but if I'm using it often still even though I'm on the Prednisolone that is a bit of a concern I suppose.
Hope the Clenil starts to make a difference before the Prednisolone is at too small of a dose to be making a difference.
Do try ringing the helpline - the nurses on it are so knowledgeable and reassuring, especially in the early days when you are trying to get your head round it all. No question is too dumb to ask them! And they are often very helpful at giving you tips on how to talk to the GPs and nurses at your own practice. (For example, when my GP was refusing to prescribe enough steroid to control my asthma and telling me to use Ventolin instead, they suggested I ask for a 'medication review' with the practice nurse - who promptly prescribed a steroid inhaler that actually worked! If it hadn't been for the helpline, I'd probably still be trying to prise something helpful out of my GP)
Will do Mandeville - The helpline seems to get great feedback on this site which is good to see.
Have certainly noticed that the practice nurse was more proactive with wanting to get my symptoms "managed" than the gp was - only my experience though.
As others have said, it takes around 8 weeks for inhaled steroids to reach their optimum effect. I would say that if you're not experiencing any benefits after 5 to 6 weeks, make an appointment with the asthma nurse at your GP practice in order to review your progress at the 8 week stage. Sometimes we asthmatics need to try various inhalers before we find the one that suits us best.
It is a shame that this 8 weeks will coincide with the grass pollen season too. I'll keep on with the Salbutamol and have an appointment lined up for 5 weeks from now. So much to learn and so many changes to be made. Hopefully get it under control soon
hi my sons GP also said longer. Said up to three months before noticing a difference . This was a few years ago. It did take a while so we were using reliever inhaler too. He takes anti histamine now which also helps particularly at this time of the year . Recommended to take at night as pollen seems high in mornings. Hope you’re feeling better soon.
PS Are you using a spacer ? It makes a big difference and make sure with the asthma nurse that your technique is good as that also can affect the uptake of medication. I get a nurse to show my son regularly as easy to drop good habits .
Adding this here for anyone that may be searching for the same thing in the future:
Started Clenil Modulite 100mcg x 2 puffs twice a day at the same time as a reducing course of Prednisilone - It was definitely the Pred that made the immediate difference as I went from 240 PEF to 430 PEF pre Salbutamol in one day.
After day 2 on the Pred I was circa 440 PEF pre Salbutamol and 550 PEF post Salbutamol
By day 8 I had slowly reduced the Pred from 40mg to 20mg per day and my PEF started to rise again
By day 10 it was 525 pre Salbutamol and 590 post Salbutamol and this is where it has plateaued
My experience suggests that the Clenil started kicking in just after a week - My hope is that it continues to improve my PEF over the next couple of months
15 days in and I took my last 5mg of Pred today and hit 600 PEF after using the Salbutamol this morning
Now only using the Salbutamol first thing to check what effect it has on PEF, and before exercising (quite high intensity cycling)
I can live like this - Massive improvement in what is really quite a short period of time - Hope that gives some "hope" to anyone who found themselves in a bit of a mess with this out of nowhere
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