Yesterday I had my yearly Asthma review with the nurse from our surgery which quite frankly was a waste of my time. However what did concern me was that she tried to take away my Salbutamol Inhaler (actually there & then) telling me they do not recommend them any more as a reliever & that I am better to use my Fostair twice daily & as a reliever. Has anyone else been told this?
She also said "oh I see you have Bronchiectasis , my daughter has that. It's scarring on your lungs" I said I though it was when the airways widened through infection & or or inflammation. She said not then continued to look it up on her computer & then backtracked saying that she meant it was both scaring & widening of airways!!
She wrote down the names of my inhalers & explained what they were I said I've has Asthma since childhood I know what they are for. Then where it says on the plan other medicines & devices I use for my Asthma every day she wrote Codeine 15mgs!
I give up 🤷♀️ but was concerned about Salbutamol withdrawal.
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Otto11
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I got switched to salamol but it didn't agree with me at all, so the clinical pharmacist attached to the surgery agreed to give me the standard. Perhaps talk to whoever that is in your GP, pointing out that disrupting something that works for you may not be helpful?
Hi yes I was also switched to Salamol a while ago. The nurse was saying that Salamol (Salbutamol) is not the recommended reliever anymore & that its thought to be better to use my Fostair as a reliever. I snatched my Salamol inhaler off the desk & put it in my bag but really unsure why she said this. I think I will have to take it up with someone there. I will put it on my never ending list for when I next see a GP. Thanks.
Good for you Otto11, flipping ignorant cheek! Her poor child is all I can think, she needs to look up the NHS website for symptoms and treatment very thoroughly.
This is becoming quite a problem. If it's about our carbon footprint take it out on the real polluters, not people with lung disease.
I use Fostair, MART, yes it can be taken up to 8 times a day and as a reliever as well as preventer however I take two puffs morning & evening that leaves me 4 for the occasions I'm breathless in the cold & damp/exacerbation/infection or asthma attack.
Last year I was extremely poorly (perhaps should have called 999 or at least 111) but my ventolin was a lifesaver because I absolutely couldn't get through to GP surgery for abs & steroids - let alone someone to take the time to listen to my lungs. Grrrrr
Thank you for your reply. I'm sorry you were so poorly & couldn't access help. I believe if you contact 111 they can arrange a GP appointment for you.
I'm guessing the nurse was actually right then. (about the inhaler that is). I know it sounds stupid but I have a regime where I have my Fostair on my bedside cabinet & my Salbutamol in my handbag. She wrote that in my notes for goodness sake!
Its just the times that Fostair isn't enough and you need a proper rescue and fast. I regard my asthma as moderate so heaven knows how people more severe cope
Pete was switched from Salbutamol to Salamol as an inhaler. He was also prescribed Fostair but doesn’t get on with it so doesn’t use it. He has COPD, asthma and sarcoidosis . Stick to your guns and to what works best for you.
nurses have tried to take my Salbutamol sinse the days of Ventilin - To be fair it;s rubbish, but I felt better with that without it. I would hate to double up with my Foatair. as I am not a lover of the formoterol.
I have Atrovent which is miles better than Salbutamol - But still I carry it, it's what you get used to.
Sorry, but no way should they take away your reliever under any circumstances. Like I told my sister go back and be forceful and ask for a second opinion which is what your entitled to do. It makes my bloody blood boil. I hate confrontation but when it comes to your health the gloves come off. The mind boggles. Let us know how you get on chook 😉
Thanks. Hubby was at the Pharmacy today & asked him to ask the Pharmacist if she knew about it but she wasn't available unfortunately. I will definitely look into it some more.
Thank you. I will definitely have to look into it some more. I don't use the Salbutamol that often to be fair but it's reassuring to know its still there for emergencies.
it’s often the airways inflamed causing symptoms and not the muscle bands tightening hence the thing of using fostair, and symbicort, as reliever too. However, haven’t we always been told 10 puffs of salamol is equivalent to a nebuliser and in a crisis or waiting for ambulance isn’t that our life saver. Then the reducing doses of salamol after exacerbations. Can’t use fostair for that. Get a review again and request you keep salamol on your repeat meds list. Take care 🦊x
Thank you. I will have to check & make sure the GP Pharmacy have left it on my repeat. I can't help thinking it's a money saving exercise with our GP's. I could be wrong 🤷♀️
Your nurse obviously knows very little about bronchiectasis. You need to see a GP urgently. It would not be going too far to complain to the practise manager. For what it's worth, none of the various physiotherapists and nurses who did my pulmonary rehab course (Just finished) said anything about Salamol not being recommended anymore. Quite the contrary- we were given a talk on how to use it correctly.
That's my thoughts too on salbutamol. I will need to nvestigate further. Maybe it's because I don't need to use it that often 🤷♀️ Regarding Bronchiectasis I bet she felt a bit embarrassed.
the current trend for asthma seems to be that if you have the correct preventer you won’t need a reliever. In my case I have Aspergillosis and emphysema and my consultant has stopped my preventer and kept my reliever
Thank you. In all fairness I don't use it that often. The thing is I don't have a Consultant to ask but could ask the GP to check with Respiratory team. I was discharged as my Asthma & Bronchiectasis are mild & controlled.
Hi ive had asthma all my life and take strongest Fostaire twice daily. They tried to take mine away too months ago but i get tight airways if i try to exercise so have managed to get 1 in my 2 monthly scripts. Ive had the blue inhaler all my life but they've taken it off my elderly mum too who has breathing issues. They doing it to everyone. Karen xxx
I wonder why they are taking it off everyone. It seems odd to me but as I've said I will have to do some more investigations. I hope both you & your mum will be ok.
Hi Otto11, My salamol easi breathe inhaler is cfc free so they cant use the excuse its not good for the environment. I think as its everywhere its to do with money to be honest. But they are putting peoples lives at risk and looking to take my Montelukast tablet for asthma off me which ive managed to also keep. I feel its a battle with them all the time with other meds im on too. Take care. Xxx
I have been attending the lung centre at Wythenshawe hospital and seeing a bronch specialist, I have bronchiectasis and she has diagnosed an overlap of asthma and taken me off Seretide and put me on Fostair nexthaler but clearly stated that I carry my Ventolin (Salamol Salbutamol were useless for me) inhaler at all times in case of an attack. I dont see the nurses at my practice as they know nothing about bronchiectasis. I would see your gp and let them know how you have been treated x
I tried to get to a bronch specialist there but it didnt hap pen . Now due to go next month and dont know who i will be seeing . Can you tell me your cons name there please?
Thank you. I'm glad you have a plan that works for you. Isn't Ventolin the same as Salbutamol? I doubt I will see the nurses at the practise again its a waste of time & just a tick box exercise in my mind. It's all a bit concerning tbh though.
They say it is but it didnt work for me or many others so I demanded to go back to Ventolin. All this nonsense on climate change to replace our inhalers is crazy when most are cfc free anyway. I dont see the nurses at my practice as I gain nothing from it x
thanks. some years ago I stopped going for the review at the GP's practise but the last few years I started again because I was diagnosed with bronchiectasis in 2020. But as you said it's a waste of my time. I doubt I will bother again. I've just found out they are Health Care Assistant's anyway.
The basic ingredient for Ventolin and Salamol inhalers is Salbutamol Sulphate the only difference is the propellant, I have only every had Salamol, but I suspect that the propellant in Ventolin gives a hit that Salamol doesn’t have.
Yes I found the propellant in my new Salamol pretty useless but the new one I was prescribed a few weeks ago is an Easi-Breath which is much better. It's the same action as my Fostair Nexthaler.
Hi Otto11, I wonder with the pressure on staff now that they are giving the asthma checks to practice nurses who havnt done any additional training to become respiritory nurses. I had a similar experience recently with the asthma check - it became a tick box exercise and she was unable to answer my question about Fostair MART which i had heard about from another asthma sufferer. She referred it to a pharmacist who i had never met, and he changed my meds with no discussion with me to something totally different. He wrote a text to tell me that they are being told to withdraw inhalers that use CS Gas, and was issuing a powder one instead. Tried it - not good, and after a couple of months got what i had enquired about in the first place by saying my peak flow was down on the powdered stuff so he couldn't argue with that. It feels like they are cutting corners with their work loads, resulting in poor or non existant communication plus cost is an issue as well. It seems these days you need to muster a strong case in advance, its not a supportive consultation necessarily. It does make you anxious if they are going to whip away something that works which doesn't help at all. I hope your consultation with a GP goes ok and you get to keep what works for you.
If you are not happy with the inhaler you have been given you can ask your gp to issue a different one. They tried to take Ventolin of everybody giving the same reason but Ventolin is cfc free, I think its just a cost saving operation x
Thank you. My Salbutamol inhaler was changed to a CFC free Salamol a while ago but I found I couldn't push it down properly as I have RA & never felt I got anything out of it at all. I told a locum GP I saw a few weeks ago when I had a chest infection & she has changed it to a Salamol Easi-breath which is much easier to use. I have not had a lot of faith in our practise nurses for some time after one diagnosed me with COPD not Asthma. I had that on my notes for a year till my next review when a different nurse queried it & said I'm removing it from your notes as you definitely have Asthma.
Reviews these days are simply tickboxes aren't they ? Not really good enough is it ? Many of us wonder how useful they are and whose benefit they are really for ?
If you wish to you can feed back your experience to your local Patient Participation Group. You should find their information on the surgery website. Unless we let practices know how we feel then they can't do anything about it.
Thank you. It is a tick box exercise I believe the practise gets paid for each one they do. There used to be a patient participating group but I havn't heard of it for a long time. You are right, I do need to do something about it though. Take care
Much of your last post troubled me... Was this person a respiratory nurse ? I have Bronchiectasis (since 2012) and was told by two respiratory consultants that with Bronchiectasis the bronchial tubes become 'varicose' and lose much of their ability to expel mucous properly, therefore, allowing 'bugs' to find a comfy home in the bronchial tubes and a breeding ground for bacteria.
Thanks for your reply. It was a nurse at my GP surgery. They do a yearly review which I think is a tick box exercise tbh. I too would have been worried if it had been a respiratory nurse. Both my Asthma & Bronchiectasis are mild so I don't have access to a respiratory nurse any more. I did see one when I had Lung nodules & had access then whilst I had monitoring for 3 years but now discharged.
Otto11, I use Salbutamol to control my COPD cough its never been suggested it be changed. However they have tried many options with Seretide 500 over the years but now on my prescription it states recommended by hospital. So I agree with others when you have calmed down , as you can see we all face these problems at GP level but if something works for you make your point that that is what works for you. I ended up in hospital because of changed inhaler so I would champion the cause for anyone about willy nilly changing. At present I am struggling with muscle pains from statins but to spite telling the chemist and her flagging it now I need another appointment with my GP to review it , never mind the cancer diagnosis given from the hospital only a few weeks ago, I am waiting for biopsy. When we attended the hospital some irate woman was quite nasty suggesting we were not allowed to park on the blue badge car park. I have had a blue badge since2009 due to lung and arthritis in multi joints. We need our GPs help and management if it ain't broke don't fix it is my opinion or if a drug or treatment is working why change it because someone up high does not recommend it. These inhalers have been used since year dot, treatment is supposed to be what's best for patient, however I am aware there are some now that have two drugs in them so reducing the need for certain older type inhalers and possible reducing cost. Sorry this is long but every story has a different approach. So think carefully and try to approach the medics differently it just might work and help you keep the drugs you feel work best for you. Best wishes and good luck
Thank you & I'm so sorry to hear about your cancer diagnosis.. I do hope the biopsy is soon the waiting must be awful. I was totally taken back as had not expected it as like you I have had a reliever inhaler for years. Maybe ideas have changed as a few have mentioned so will do some investigation into it. I did wonder if it was /is a money saving exercise.
I know what you mean about hospital parking in Blue badge area. I've had looks before but nothing more at the hospital. Not nice & upsetting at any time especially when you are attending a appointment.
The hospital rang today ,they are doing the biopsy on Friday but not sure if I am going in late tomorrow or early Friday morning off for a blood test at 4.30 pm today . Then they will ring tomorrow to let me know about bed availability depends on emergencies. Let you know how it goes next week. Takes two weeks for reports to come up. So may get a break for a couple of weeks.
Hi Otto, I'm on Fostairs (2 puffs twice a day) but still have a reliever inhaler on prescription as well. As others have said think you need a second opinion! Hard work fighting for what you need. Hope someone listens to you 🤞xxx
I do get very frustrated when I hear the "one size fits all" approach is still prevalent in the medical profession; the senior partner in my practice (since retired) told me that asthma is "big business" because there are scores of inhalers around simply because they need to satisfy a wide range of people. This also seems to come in fads: firstly, everyone was transferred over to Fostair, because it's cheap, but didn't suit everyone (including me); now, there is concern about the environment, so we are being moved over to dry powder inhalers (which, fortunately, do suit me, but not others); now it's the turn of Ventolin to be replaced with Salamol (or the use of a preventer on the MART system - which doesn't work for me) because it has less propellent and therefore better for the environment - unfortunately, it seems that some people find it less effective, despite NHS websites claiming that it should make no difference with "proper" use (I think they mean it will probably work as well with a spacer, but not everyone is the same).
I'm waiting for a change to a more patient-centric approach, but I'm not holding my breath!
Thanks. You are right everything is a battle these days including getting an appointment at our surgery to see a GP! Surely if something is working it should in theory reduce the need for appointments in the future. That is where they can save their budget. I didn't know Fostair was cheap. I really need to do my homework. Definitely don't hold your breath!
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