Re Results of my asthma review today

Hi Everyone

Had my asthma review today, and came out fairly unscaved.

I am pleased i have managed to stay on my Singulair, after being told they were going to stop it, even though i have had great results from it (No attacks for the 3 months i have been on it.)

I ran out of the Singulair last week and they wouldn't issue it, until my asthma review.

When i went today my peak flow was down from my last reading of 500, down to 357, so they said i was to stay on Singulair.

They have reduced my Symbicort down from 400/12, 2 puffs twice daily, to 200/6, 2 puffs twice daily.

I asked why they were reducing that, they said because if i stay on a high dose, they have no leeway to increase my dose if i have flare ups of asthma.

Just thought i would keep you posted.

Moschops

[Hidden]

Dear Moschops,

That seems like a huge cut in dosage in one go to me, particularly when your peak flow has gone down? I would have thought that they would want you to stablise again before reducing. But thank goodness they didn't cut the singulair.

In my circumstances my resp. consultant is wanting me to be stable for 18 months before even talking about reducing my seretide and add ons, even tho' I have had no-where to step-up to except pred for the last four years except for the 3 months when I tried to reduce. I would have thought a better bet would have been to swap out 2 of the symbicort puffs for 2 of pulmicort 400, and then to try and reduce the pulmicort to pulmicort 200 before changing to symbicort 200/6. Or alternatively add pulmicort 200 to the Symbicort/6. Obviously I don't know your personal situation and your docs/ nurses but keep nagging if you are not happy, you know your body better than anyone else.

In my experience, if you start getting unpredictable peak flows, which is what happened to me last time I tried to reduce, I would quickly go back to your gp, before you get really sick. For me it is 3 years since I last tried to reduce, although have been pretty well for nearly a year now. I reckon that it has taken at least 10 months to become consistently well.

Any way good luck with the reduction

Best

Ri

I

[Hidden]

re asthma review

Hi there

I've never been on Pulmicort before.

Originally i was on Ventolin, Becotide 200mcg and Serevent 50mcg, then when i attended my asthma review they put me on the S.M.A.R.T programme, i was prescribed Symbicort 200/6 to be used as my maintainance and reliever inhaler, 2 puffs twice daily then to take 1 puff if having an attack, upto a maximum of 8-12 puffs in a day.

From day one of this i had 1 chest infection after another, was prescribed steroids. Each time i went back to the asthma nurse, she just said be patient and give it time.

Eventually, when i had had enough and didn't want to go on with life anymore, as i couldn't go out sociallising, struggled to talk and even breathe, i went with my sister in law to see a Doctor, he asked how long i had been like this, when my sister in law told him, straight away he upped the Symbicort to 400/12 2 puffs twice daily, had steroids prescribed and antibiotics and Ventolin re introduced to use during an attack.

Things settled down finally at the end of march 2009. My peak flow reached a high of 500, never achieved that before.

I was asked to attend the asthma review again and i dreaded it. Especially as it was mentioned they were going to lower my dose of symbicort and even the possibly of stopping the singulair.

The Asthma nurse took my peak flow and it had gone down to 357, i explained that i had reduced my symbicort down to 1 puff twice daily of my symbicort 400/12, for a month (Did this off my own back), just to see how i got on, and then a week before my asthma review my singulair had run out, the doctor told me that i would not be able to get it on repeat prescription, and that he was only prescribing it for 3 months. Guessing it all boils down to money and there budgets.

I will keep you posted with how i get on next month.

Kind regards

Moschops

[Hidden]

Hi ya,

Pulmicort / Budesinide is the steriod drug in Symbicort, and it can be prescribed separately, so that you add it on to symbicort instead of taking too much fometerol which is the long acting bronchodilator part of symbicort. It is this drug that doctors are more worried about high doses of.

I infact take seretide (500/50) 1 puff twice a day, but then add on another 2 puffs twice a day of pulmicort 400. but have used large quantities of Symbicort in the past. My current Resp cons. thinks that Seretide is better for some types of asthma, however like all asthma drugs it is 'dependent on the individual.

If singulair is working for you I cannot think why they would want to take you off it. Do you always see the same dr. or is it a different one everytime? I have found over the years that GP's have (unfortunately) widely different views about the treatment of asthma even within the same practice.

The Asthma help line at asthma uk is always very helpful if you are having trouble with health professionals.

Best.

RI