Relvar Ellipta

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Hi. I got diagnosed with asthma 2021 after COVID. Now aged 59. Started on Clenil, then moved to Seretide in spring 2023and then referred to Respiratory Consultant who changed me to Relvar 184 + Spiriva and a couple of months later added Montelukast. All working well and hardly ever needed blue inhaler. Just had a lingering cough with no obvious cause. Then got referred to the Royal Brompton in London and got moved to Symbicort 400/12. I think mainly due to having needed Prednisolone a couple of times a year. After 3 weeks I got horrible tremors and shakes. GP cut it down to half dose but after a week kept needing Salbutamol (tremors had stopped though). So back on Relvar last two days. Chest still feeling a bit tight - does a Relvar not start working straight away or does it take a bit of time to settle. Feeling pretty rubbish these last few weeks and just want to be back to ‘normal’!! Any advice greatly appreciated!

[Chelle25]

Hi joinup Yes, like any inhaler, it does take a while to settle but I have found it works well for me. Now only need salbutamol if going out in cold.

Hope you feel much better soon!

[Joinup in reply to Chelle25]

Thanks!

[crille]

Hola Joinup,

Yes, you are assuming correctly. Relvar (like other corticosteroids) takes a little while to kick in. I have been on Relvar for perhaps five years now, and it works very well for me. I was on Seretide before Relvar when my Doctor change it. Furthermore, I think that the Relvar is cheaper and is better for the environment (no gas propellant).

You probably will get the benefit of Relvar after a few weeks. If not, speak to your asthma professional. Take care!

[Joinup in reply to crille]

Yes beginning to feel much better again already. Thank you!

[Xlizixx]

Yes - it takes a while. I started relvar after seretide and it's much better. I used stronger dose recently 92/184 but reverted back to lower dose because stronger one was making me cough. Hope it works.⁹

[Mandevilla]

I found I noticed an improvement much faster when switching onto Relvar than I did when switching to other inhalers, but I think that was due to the bronchodilator component which I hadn't had in previous inhalers. Generally, it does take a few weeks for a new one to settle in and know how effective it is going to be, so it's worth seeing how you are in a couple more weeks.

When you say your chest feels tight, does it get better when you use the reliever? It doesn't bother me if I need my reliever a bit more than usual when swapping between maintenance inhalers, but if the reliever isn't making a difference then you need to tell the doctor asap.

[Joinup in reply to Mandevilla]

thanks. Yes it’s actually starting to improve today 🤞 and haven’t needed my reliever at all. Other days when needed reliever it worked after couple of puffs. Thanks for your reply.