New inhaler

[-Butterfly-]

After my previous post regarding possible chest infection and chest pains, I have seen the asthma nurse. There's apparently no sign of infection, so she thinks the pain is down to the asthma flare up. I'm being trialled on Symbicort MART rather than the fluticasone and salbutamol I'm currently using.

Has anyone any experience of this and did they find it effective? I'm open to the idea, though a little worried, as I know salbutamol works when I need it.

Didn't think to ask how soon I could expect to see improvement too, as I'm using my blue inhaler frequently currently.

[peege]

Check the Symbicort leaflet, sometimes it takes a week or more for a new inhaler to kick in and the leaflet should tell you. Keep your blue inhaler handy until it does. I'm on MART Fostair and find it brilliant, hardly ever need the blue Salamol

[-Butterfly- in reply to peege]

Great to hear MART works for you. Are you prescribed salamol as a back up then too?

[peege in reply to -Butterfly-]

Yes, I've not used Salamol yet as I've still got some ventolin left. I hardly use it though because I top with the MART Fostair, only use ventolin when having exacerbation - or salamol when Ventolin runs out. I can usually manage on 1 puff of Fostair morning and 2 at night meaning I slowly build up spare Fostair over time (always worried they'll suddenly change my Fostair, I definitely couldn't cope with that in colder months!

[-Butterfly- in reply to peege]

I like the idea of having an alternative reliever too, and always handy to have somewhere incase you forget to take your one inhaler being used morning and night too, I'm bound to leave the house without it at some point!

[Pipswhips in reply to -Butterfly-]

I find that salamol easier breather (salbutamol) is easier for me to use especially when outside.If you still having problems I suggest you get intouch with your asthma nurse at your gp surgery and have a talk to her.

[MMBJI]

My son has just swapped to Symbicort MART . He’s had a rough couple of weeks but it seems to be settling down now. The asthma nurse said that it can take 8 weeks for the full benefit to be felt. (Previous asthma nurse has told me 3 months!) He’s under the hospital asthma team and the nurse said that the reliever effect from Symbicort is quicker than salbutamol.

There is a lot of patience, trial and error involved in finding the treatment that suits each person with asthma.

[-Butterfly- in reply to MMBJI]

Thank you for the reply, and glad it settled down for him. I have an appointment in a month to review how it's going. I didn't realise its faster to act than salbutamol, the nurse said to me its much longer lasting, so it definitely sounds great!

Does your son have any trouble taking a deep breath through it? And is it quite noisy? I'm not sure if it's my technique, but trying to get a deep breath is quite uncomfortable. 🤔

[Poobah]

I tried Symbicort MART for 6 months and it just didn't suit me. I negotiated that I kept my Ventolin through the trial and I used it as little as possible, but my asthma became more problematic. The next consultant I saw said that I should never have been on MART because of my phenotype.

My asthma nurse swapped me to Fostair and that worked wonders. I now only take Ventolin around once a week, whereas I was getting through one inhaler a month while on Symbicort.

So whether a patient is on MART or not, the actual inhaler may not suit them. Some people do great on Symbicort. But there are other combination inhalers available if you find Symbicort less than effective. You should know by week 6 if things are improving or not. Regular reviews are necessary whenever you're trying a new regime.

[-Butterfly- in reply to Poobah]

I'm glad you found something that worked for you. Trial and error seems to be the thing, and I'll gladly try it. I have a follow up next month so I may have an indication as to whether its working by then, then.

[Horsemadfamily]

I was changed to Symbicort around a year ago at a time when my breathing was particularly bad. I had instant relief from Symbicort and found it the most effective inhaler of all the inhalers out there, they've tried me on everything.

I am now prescribed 2 x puffs twice a day and upto 6 puffs as a reliever. I am also still prescribed Ventolin. Most of the time Ventolin will relieved my symptoms but when it doesn't I'm then told to use Symbicort as a reliever. Unfortunately all steroid inhalers play havoc with my vocal cords thats the only side effect I have. I'm prescribed numerous other medications daily to try and keep my asthma under control and limit my use of Symbicort. Hopefully Symbicort works for you.

Personally I would try to use Symbicort as a maintenance dose and stick to Ventolin for relief. I would also try to keep inhaled steroids to a minimum. Over time my asthma has become worse but because I kept medications to a minimum through my life doctors have been able to increase my doses and meds to combat it. They all tell me my approach was correct. Best wishes.

[-Butterfly- in reply to Horsemadfamily]

I'm glad it worked for you instantly, that's great!

Yes I've been prescribed 2 x puffs twice a day, then she said up to 4 more per day as reliver, though I see the literature allows for a bit more.

I never thought about the increased steroids when using it as a reliever, I guess the idea is to get control so that you don't need to use it often, therefore the risk be minimal.

I will be keeping my ventolin to hand as I know that works, and works fast, though yesterday I did use the symbicort for relief, it took two doses, but did seem to work all be it more gradual an improvement.