Braltus v Spiriva

[barbs47]

Hi has anyone else been given Braltus instead of Spiriva. Looking them up it appears to be the same but cheaper. Just wondering if anyone has experience of Braltus? I would be grateful to any comments please. Barbs

[jeanmol]

hi ,yes i was changed from spiriva to braltus and i don't find any difference,hope you find the same

[barbs47 in reply to jeanmol]

Thanks for that I'll give it a try. Barbs

[skischool in reply to jeanmol]

hi,i was also moved from spiriva to braltus,although they are both tiotropium i felt that spiriva was a better product as sometime when i empty the used capsule there is still some residual medicine/powfer left in the capsule.Ithink it is actually the dispenser which is not as robust as the spiriva one?best wishes

[barbs47 in reply to skischool]

Thanks for your comments x

[Meggiqwa in reply to jeanmol]

Spiriva has 18mcg of tiotropium and Braltus has only 10. That’s almost twice less. I’m just trying to find out what’s the reason... I’ve noticed that doctors are trying to prescribe as many Braltus as possible, even for those patients that stopped taking spiriva year ago...

[bigben123 in reply to Meggiqwa]

They both deliver the same dosage

[Hidden in reply to Meggiqwa]

Meggiqwa this MHRA document explains mhra.gov.uk/home/groups/par...

[davgo in reply to Meggiqwa]

A Pharmacist should know then that whilst each capsule of Spiriva contained 18 mcg only 10 mcg are actually delivered...which is the same dosage delivered by the Braltus inhalator. Plus you get a new inhalator each prescription of Braltus. Spiriva is no longer purchased by the NHS.

[Ccupcakes in reply to davgo]

Yes it is.

[jaclin in reply to davgo]

Oh yes it is.

[miljo37 in reply to davgo]

yes it is up to a couple of months ago but m husband received letter today, about reviewing his medications, and would like to change to Braltus

[Ccupcakes]

Hi barbs47

Yes I was changed from spirits wince to Braltus, no one told me why, and no I don't like it.

The capsules don't always empty well, and the residue feels a lot more powdery in my mouth. I don't feel that its as effective, but that could be down to deterioragion i spose.

Sorry, not a very positive review.

[Ccupcakes in reply to Ccupcakes]

Aaaargh flamin predictive text! Try Spiriva, and deterioration!!!

[barbs47 in reply to Ccupcakes]

I will watch for that thanks x

[Darkymcgee45 in reply to Ccupcakes]

Thanks for that I am now finding the same problem my mouth very dry and I have to take water to rinse out my mouth which makes you not getting the full amount of 10mcg.

[lottylaine]

I have changed too found no difference

[barbs47]

Thanks.

[Hidden]

Hi barbs47 I was given Braltus instead of Spiriva and it was the worst thing that could ever happen to me. Since Braltus my mouth becomes very dry, because Braltus does something to your saliva glands that reduce their function. How can 10mg of tiotropium, Braltus, be the same as 18mg of tiotropium, Spiriva. The only good thing I can honestly say about Braltus is that the capsule is clear so you can see if there is any powder in the capsule. I'm trying my hardest to go back to Spiriva.

[barbs47 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the reply. I'm lucky that it was the pharmacy who change my prescription not my doctor. She was quite happy to change me back to Spiriva thank goodness. Tell your doctor about the problems and ask to be changed back. Barbs.

[Glasweegie]

Just received the inhaler first thing that struck me was that you get a new one every prescription? That seems expensive and environmentally unsound. Perhaps the tiotropium is less expensive as the inhaler is more efficient in usuage. Would benefit for opinion as we should be saving unnecessary NHS expenditure and not creating more plastic!

[Gabi8125]

Hi. My mum has copd. She was taking spiriva for a year and now nhs decided to change her medication to braltus. It does not work for her. She was taking braltus for 10 days and she felt worse. She was couhging throug a day a lot, so she got back using spiriva as she had some a home. Today I have visited Gp and I told them how she felt. They advised to come back to spiriva.

[barbs47 in reply to Gabi8125]

Yes that’s what happened to me. Barbs

[Peter61 in reply to Gabi8125]

I was using Braltus for four weeks and became more ill than when I started. I am coughing and wheezing a lot more and struggling for breath more than I was.

[Kayjay82]

I have never got on with powder inhalers I have awful coughing fits and sends my lungs into spasm immediately ..I was prescribed the spiriva after going back to respiratory clinic and along with other inhalers fostair ventolin etc and then my g.p switched it to that braltus told me it was the same is it heck !! I felt so much betteron spiriva it makes me so angry we get reffered to specialists whom privide us with medication which helps to then have it taken away due to cost and become I'll again !! Finally got it back but for how long ... My whole life is like this with specialist refferels giving medication and then having it taken away it is so wrong !!

[NatsirT]

After a few months on Braltus, my breathing deteriorated severely, I finished up on oxygen 24/7. My GP said it wasn't very good, and changed it to Seebri. After 3 days my breathing has improved, I'm only using O² occasionally now. I wish the government would stop penny-pinching with people's medications, Spiriva worked great for 2+ years, of course reducing the dose by almost half was going to have a negative impact.

[Allison01]

Changed to Braltus from Spiriva by the GP. Within 3 days my peak flow had dropped 150 points and I was up all night coughing. Use of my reliever increased from once a day to 5 times a day. Vomitted food back up due to the phlegm / mucous increase. Checked inhalation technique with pharmacist and all fine. Had to double the dose to reduce symptoms. Even taking a dose every 12 hrs still nowhere near as good as Spiriva for me. Huge increase in symptoms and excacerbations. Had a couple of Spiriva capsules left - stopped the Braltus and restarted the Spiriva. Within 6 hours condition improved. Within 24hrs was managing to sleep lying down. Back to GP to get it changed back to Spiriva. Braltus did NOT work for me.

[pugrobin]

My medication was changed from Spiriva to Braltus on the grounds of cost. I hated the Braltus which made me cough and seemed to affect my voice. i also did not consider that it helped as much as the Spiriva as regards breathing. After a great deal of hassle i have now been changed to Spiriva Respimat. what was your view of Braltus

[angelwingxxx]

I'm just looking at the comments and the way things have changed over the last 5 years. I was on Braltus and my doctor took me off it and prescribed Spiriva for me. Hope you're all well.