New puffer

[Willow7733]

Hi, for around 10 years now I have had asthma. Recently, my lung function is dropping. This week it is at 41%. I am having trouble catching my breath, and blood tests show I am not getting enough air. Was put on Breztri aerosphere. It is a three medication puffer. Has anyone taken this for their asthma. When I look it up online, it says it is for COPD. Which is weird because I have never smoked my whole life and I am youngish - 50. Just scared of the future if my lung function is dropping so rapidly. (Last December it was at 65%, then in June 46%, and a month later 41%).

[Poobah]

I haven't taken Breztri, but the additional long acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) is now licensed to treat asthma and acts differently to the long acting bronchodilator that is also in the inhaler. I've tried 2 different LAMA inhalers before and they can transform things for many patients. It certainly relaxes the airways and does this by blocking the nerve signals that make the smooth muscles of the lungs contract.

As with all meds, there can be side effects. So you should have a review in a few weeks to see how your progressing with the new inhaler. I would say, check your blood pressure occasionally and get regular eye tests, just to ensure the inhaler isn't affecting your BP or your eye health (eye pressure). The majority of patients don't experience these side effects.

It's horrible to experience a rapid decline in lung function, especially without understanding why it's happening. I was going to suggest talking with one of the Asthma UK nurses, but I see you're in Canada. I'm wondering if the WhatsApp route would work for you? The number is 07999 377 775. UK office hours, Mon to Fri. I think you need to explore what's happening with your lung function decline and the Asthma UK nurses are best placed to do that with you.

Hopefully others will share their experiences with LAMA inhalers and their lung function. I remember saying to my manager, after starting a LAMA inhaler, that I felt like an Olympian (I certainly didn't look like one). I know exactly what affects my lung function and it's my weight. But that's just me and in a way I'm lucky that it's something I can control, albeit reluctantly. I got equally good results by losing weight and I was able to ditch the LAMA inhaler.

I also have to avoid omega 6 rich foods, sulphites, preservatives and artificial colourings. There're all huge triggers for me, but it was a difficult at times to figure out what the culprit was. Just using soya milk as a substitute for cow's milk made me very ill, very quickly (over months). It hever occurred to me that something natural could be so bad for me. Low humidity is another trigger. I got very ill once my workplace had AC installed. The system dried the air so much, I was ill most of the time. It seems obvious now, but not at the time as we had no idea that the humidity was so badly affected. In summary, cause and effect.

Doctors may say, "it's just one of those things". But sometimes there's definitely something that has changed that is now affecting your health. It's important to rule out cause and effect.

[Willow7733 in reply to Poobah]

Oh wow! Thank you for your help. It seems you have a great system of support over there in the UK. I am also starting to look at what I eat and how that affects my health. Last night I watched so many informative videos on YouTube. I. Off on vacation all week. It is amazing how much the food industry is getting away with! I have a follow up pulmonary function test and appointment with my pulmonologist in four weeks to see how things are going. He was talking about biologics? But really, it sounds expensive. Long term prednisone is a no for me right now. I don't need to effects since I already have a cataract in my left eye from being off and on it for a while. And the weight gain. Don't get me started. Lol

[Poobah in reply to Willow7733]

Do you know what phenotype of asthma you have? Eosinophilic, non-eosinophilic or something else? Biologics are great for eosinophilic asthma. They are expensive but can be transformative. It's difficult to qualify for them in the UK because of the expense to our national health service. So we too have challenges with service access and rationing. If only everything was available just on a clinical basis!

I've been able to understand my asthma better, knowing the type of asthma that I have. And understanding that things have changed or evolved since my 20s. Now that I understand that my asthma doesn't respond well to Prednisolone but does very well with Azithromycin, it's helped me with flare ups that can go on forever. I've reluctantly accepted that weight is a major factor and continue to work on that. Again, it really affects my type of asthma (I'm non-eosinophilic). I know now that I have fewer infections if I keep my Vit D levels up. And so on. It continues to be a learning curve. And I've learnt so much from this forum.

[Willow7733 in reply to Poobah]

I am realizing everything is not so easy to diagnose with this. I have no idea what type I have, but my recent blood tests show my eosinophils are normal. No sign of increased white blood cells. My red blood cells (hematocrit, hemoglobin,and eurythocytes) are all high though.