Nucala vs Fasenra

[Lourdas]

I am male 69 years old and I have been diagnosed with eosinophilic asthma ten years ago. My astma was controlled by budesonide+formoterol, as well as, fluticasone+vilanterol. During the current year my asthma became worse and I was prescribed Nucala, which was a great improvement. Unfortunately, it caused me severe arthritis, more specifically pain in my joints and general fatigue. Is there anybody who has suffered the same side effects? I was advised by my doctor to try Fasenra. Is there anybody who switched from Nucala to Fasenra? What about any side effects from Fasenra? I would greatly appreciate your posting any experiences.

[Patk1]

I'm on fasenra.ive not had any aggravation to joint probs.the main prob for me is it wears out 2wks early but whn out works,it makes a big difference.i would recommend trying it

[Lourdas in reply to Patk1]

Thank you Patk1 for your reply. I assume I will give a try to Fasenra. I wish you all the best.

[Patk1 in reply to Lourdas]

It started working towards end of 1st week )) .it also took eosinophils down to 0.0. The 1st 3 injections are monthly,then ea 8 wks

[Pipsqueak77]

Hi Lourdas

I was on Fasenra for 2.5yrs and found it very effective for my asthma with no real side effects.

However I was swapped to Dupilumab about 2yrs ago because (as Patk1 has said) the 8weekly injections were not frequent enough and my symptoms returned before my next injection was due.

I would def give it a try… it’s great for eosinophilic asthma! 😊

[Patk1 in reply to Pipsqueak77]

How're finding Duplimabab? X

[My_fairy in reply to Pipsqueak77]

yes please could you tell us how are you finding the dupilumab as I have the option to start after omalizumab failed so we need to know it’s eosinophilic asthma and very bad symptoms. Thanks

[Pipsqueak77 in reply to My_fairy]

Hi Both

Dupilumab is pretty good so far. I wouldn’t say that it’s a miracle drug for me as I have still had hospitalisations whilst on it but not so many as before!

It’s a fortnightly injection, which I administer myself.

I have a few problems with dry eyes( a known side effect) but also sometimes have eosinophil spikes which come out of the blue and sometimes end me in hospital. This is also a possible side effect which my tertiary team are aware of. They have offered me Tezspire but I am not keen to keep swapping bios and so have decided to stay put for the moment.

It’s def better than not being on a bio!

Give it a try.. good luck!😊

[My_fairy in reply to Pipsqueak77]

thanks for the reply wish you best of luck too yes it’s just not easy to keep swapping biologics as response of different for everyone … I feel eosinophils attack at certain time aswell I have noticed as you said out of blue but sometime like same time after 24 hours … it’s horrible symptoms for my daughter she’s staying strong but not easy with so many exacerbations… she doesn’t want to go for biological as yet incase it fails again but if she keeps worsening we have to give it a go … hence informed decision to which biologic would be the best option

[Patk1 in reply to My_fairy]

I'd recommend biologics.when they work,makes big difference to asthma.fasenras gd, for me - just the last2wks are hard.im waiting to change to tezpire which is a monthly injection so could b better for me x

[Biggles2612]

hi

I am on Fasenra and have no side effects. I haven’t switched though

[My_fairy in reply to Biggles2612]

Is it for eosinophilic asthma?

[Josephone]

Iv been on nucula for about 10 years and works for me perfectly well.

[My_fairy in reply to Josephone]

What type of asthma please?

[Josephone]

eosinophilic asthma, I had a terrible time, constantly on antibiotics and prednisone and since I started nucula my life has changed for the better. Hope that’s helpful. Good luck

[hoven]

Hi, I had joint pain like you on Nucala and switched to Fasenra. that was even worse and now I can hardly walk. just very unlucky I guess!

[Lourdas in reply to hoven]

Hi hoven, and thank you for your reply. I am so sorry to hear that Fasenra failed. As I understand, having arthritis with Nucala it's more likely to have with Fasenra as well... How are you doing now? How do you treat your asthma? Was Nucala a real game changer for you, as it was for me?

[Patk1 in reply to Lourdas]

⁰I've arthritis and spinal problems but thankfully fasenra didn't aggravate it.hope yr joints settle down hoven

[PNWisBest]

I made the switch from Nucala to Fasenra a year and a half ago and continue to take it once every 8 weeks along with my affair inhaler. I have bad arthritis back, hips, and right knee and have had zero issue with fasenra making it works. I also had huge improvements with the switch, with my lung capacity increasing a great deal. I haven’t noticed any issues with it wearing off as long as I make sure to pay close attention to when I need a refill.

[PNWisBest in reply to PNWisBest]

Going to add that the physician that had me change to Fasenra is a doctor at the hospital/facility that was part of the clinical trials for Nucala. He said it’s an amazing medicine and was the first of its kind, but that Fasenra and some of the newer ones are shown to be even a bit more effective.

[Lourdas in reply to PNWisBest]

Hi and thank you for your reply. As I found out, Nucala was extremely effective in my asthma condition and had been taking it for a 12 months period. Simply, during that period, I noticed a lot of joint pains arise and thought that it was a side effect of Nucala. Now, it has been 3 months I have stopped taking Nucala and I am back to montelukast and fluticasone/vilanterol inhaler. Unfortunately, my arthritis insists and I wait to see how the situation develops. As far as Fasenra is concerned, and since I keep my asthma controlled, I am planning to keep it as a back up assistance forthe future. I forgot to mention that I have done all the necessary blood tests for autoimmune diseases and everything was OK. I have been told by my doctor, about the Fibromyalgia disease and I am thinking of it... Thanks again.