My asthma has been poorly controlled for about 11 years now. I've been referred 3 times to consultants, who have put me on all sort of combinations of drugs. Still poorly controlled.
I trained as a molecular biologist, so did some academic reading. Tiotropium is an inhaled drug designed for COPD, but has been noted to help some asthmatics. So armed with the papers, I met my GP who was happy to prescribe it.
It took a week or so to see a difference after starting, and about 2-3 weeks to be completley effective. But...Wow! I no longer wake in the night coughing myself silly. I no longer cough for hours, so to say it has changed my life is not hyperbole.
I did a bit more reading and it seems it is only effective for asthmatics with a certain genotype, which is Arg/Arg which is a type of polymorphism on the leptin receptor gene Gln223Arg . Asthmatics with this genotype have asthma which is poorly responsive to the normal drugs. Me.
I thought I'd share this, if there is anyone else who has tried everything the British National Formulary can offer, it might be worth trying Tiotropium for a month. One side effect was a dry mouth, but I've found if I wash my mouth out literally the second after I've inhaled it is better.
Written by
CallysMum
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Thank you for giving me something to ask my medic about. I have poorly controlled asthma, that they have now got enough control on to keep me out of hospital, but have not stopped the regular exacerbations.
When I next see the consultant, I am going with a list of things I want to try like this, and see what he says.
Tiotropium worked for me, unfortunately the side effects ended up being my achilles heal and had to give it up.
I had Spiriva first but developed hypertension, my BP went crazily high. Luckily, the asthma nurse took my BP before I started on the Spiriva, so we had a benchmark to work with.
So then I tried Eklira Genuair and that was fantastic. However, a delayed eye test (due to lockdowns) showed I had developed low angle canal drainage in the 3 years since starting Eklira, leading to glaucoma. It was only by chance that I re-read the Eklira patient leaflet a few weeks after my eye test to see that low angle drainage is a possible side effect. So I ditched it and my next eye test the following year saw much reduced eye pressure.
I hope you have a side effect free experience. And thank you for the info on the endotype, very interesting.
I've been on Spiriva (18 micrograms) and Montelukast for the past 5 weeks and have noticed a huge improvement in my breathing: I can actually climb a flight of stairs to the first floor in a tenement without stopping 😊. I don't know which drug I'm getting side effects of: I didn't have a cough before, but I now have a productive cough. I don't see my consultant again until August but I think I will email him to let him know what's going on.
I'm glad tiotroprium works for you. I tried it last November. It made me cough, gave me a dry mouth no matter what I did, and by mid December my sinuses were infected (a known possible side effect). I gave it 7 weeks and quit. Hope it doesn't affect you the same way.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Haze/Fog Machines at Concerts and Theatres
Asthma related coughing fits through the night
Snap, crackle and pop
Prednisolone questions 
