Luforbec counter

[Shirazmataz]

I know this has been mentioned before. I looked at the last discussion about it. I finished off my Fostair and have now been taking the Luforbec for a few days, but the counter is unfathomable. Has anyone mastered understanding this, or is it totally unreliable. This seems to be a bad design fault as it is important to understand the counter, and considering it is MART, the puffs you take per day might not be the same. Because it takes a week now to get your next prescription, you need to know when it is going to run out!

[islande]

can you write it down each time you take a puff.my physiatrist nurse told me to write everything down if I forgot things in my day

[Shirazmataz in reply to islande]

Thats good advice islande especially in relation to taking medicines.

[janedivney]

Try weighing an empty canister, & order a new inhaler when you’re approaching that weight. I do this with Ventolin. An empty one weighs about 11mg so I order a new one when it gets to 15mg. Bit of a faff but I never run out!

[Shirazmataz in reply to janedivney]

Do you have really good scales to do that? I have kitchen scales but not sure if they would be up to the job. What make do you have ?

[janedivney in reply to Shirazmataz]

They’re Salter electronic ones, fairly old now but weigh in increments of 0.1g which is fine. Strictly speaking an empty Ventolin canister is 11.81g but I rounded it down in my previous post

[Shirazmataz in reply to janedivney]

thankyou Jane.x

[Mavary]

I quite agree. I was finishing mine when it got to the red line which I thought was the end but on the last one it went on longer than the line. It is definitely not a very good counter.

[Shirazmataz]

Hi Mavery. Its really pointless having a counter if it doesnt work. You need at least a weeks warning to order your next inhaler with pharmacies being so busy. Especially as its a MART product so you might not always have the same dose every day. At least Fostair counter works and is easy to follow. Dont know why theyve made it so complicated. Its a bit of a fag keeping a written record !

[peege]

I've a pen & paper in my bathroom cupboard & tic every time I use an inhaler without a counter. Long winded I know however, janedivney's method of weighing them is a great one. Remember there's always some propellant in left in the MDI ones. My prescription now takes at least a week to fulfil. Annoying but at least mine has switched to every two months so only have to reorder 6 times annually. My practice has argued that if I'm on MART then I don't need ventolin 🤬

[Shirazmataz in reply to peege]

Yes, i have the same Peege ... No ventolin. If you become very short of breath you need a quick fix which Ventolin would do for you.

[peege in reply to Shirazmataz]

I know, luckily I only need Ventolin when having a severe exacerbation &/or infection when 8 puffs of Fostair are not sufficient. What are we supposed to do, it makes my blood boil. I've now got two Ventolin and a course of clarithromycin bought in India for emergencies (£7 the lot)!

[Shirazmataz in reply to peege]

Great you can get it on your hols. How was Goa?. I hope you recovered in time as i remember you were ill before Christmas. I have bought antibiotics in Italy, got several packs that are past their sell by date now, but really an insurance policy in case no chance of rescue pack or slow response from surgery. Its an uncomfortable situation that people with breathing problems have to go to these lengths to look after ourselves. 🤔

[peege in reply to Shirazmataz]

Goa was lovely - clean too and flights easy because my friend had booked premium class plus taxis to & from Goa to our small hotel which we'd been to before 20 years previously - a mile from the beach but a lovely walk. Some of it was tiring @ 34° so I was happy to read in the shade while the others went on jaunts. A lot of tropical flowers so needed the ventolin I bought. The most knackering was staying a week either side of hol with my family who looked after the dog beautifully 💕 (3 young grandchildren). My life is one of pacing myself so not fully back to my normal yet. Lovely memories though and I survived 🌴 🌴. Thank you for remembering the pre-xmas virus (I actually got to see the gp (felt like a miracle) but hopes were dashed when he refused steroids & abs because "it's impossible for a virus to become a bacterial infection". A dear kind friend sent me a pack of abs & I took my winter Azithromycin every day after those for 3 weeks.

Just to add , the other three drank (a lot) I dont, it doesn't bother me that others do but it got a boost boring. One of them ended up in hospital. Diabetic , started on double vodkas at 4pm daily became dehydrated with sun & heat stroke then D&V. She refused to eat & drink, we called a doctor who left a good prescription and warned her & us we had to get her to eat & drink urgently. I got her to take the anti-emetic & electrolytes but still refused to eat or drink or take the anti diarrhea or antibiotic so we called doc back (only £20 per visit) so my poor friend took her to the reccomended hospital for drips, tests etc. The hospital was exemplary. 2.5 days, nights, drips loads of tests and scans was £600 so all in all not bad for an ex-nurse who hadn't bothered about insurance. If I was a scriptwriter I'd write a comedy!

[Shirazmataz in reply to peege]

Oh good god, you do not expect all that to happen on a holiday. I.hope your friend recovered, and also will pace herself another time and drink loads of water. Those health costs were manageable at least! Glad you had a wonderful time and were not suffering from the blinking virus for too long. I remember you going as i went there once for the 70th birthday party of a lovely friend. How to do your birthday in style, and a lot of us all went from Uk. I went on up to Rhajesthan afterwards, it was pretty amazing, but poverty a shock and strays etc. Very good memories.😁x

[peege in reply to Shirazmataz]

To add to the story one of the other guests stood on a stray dog, he didn't feeling with his prosthetic leg & foot. The dog attacked his good leg so loads of stitches and a course of rabies injections poor thing (the man that is not the dog, the dog was fine)!You must have had a great time on your travels.

[Shirazmataz in reply to peege]

thats very unfortunate. Poor guy!

[janedivney in reply to peege]

Quite, what are asthmatics supposed to do?? It makes me really angry. Surely everyone should have an effective reliever, which acts FAST. Otherwise they have no means of coping with a severe attack. I don’t use the MART system, I’m on Fostair 200/6, but even that doesn’t noticeably relieve a tight chest. Luckily my gp is happy to continue prescribing Ventolin, but I worry about all the other asthmatics who are being denied any type of blue inhaler on the grounds that if they’re on MART, they “shouldn’t” need it. What rubbish!

[Patk1 in reply to janedivney]

I agree with u jaynedivney.i was told my hospital pharmacist in acute attack,I'd need salbutamol as opposed to fostair