Just been told that Drs will no longer be prescribing Ventolin

[cmcken30]

Hi there,

Just joined today after going for my flu jag, and being told by the practise nurse, who is also my asthma nurse that they have been told to stop prescribing Ventolin as it is no longer effective and as I only use ventolin that if I have an asthma attack it won't do anything. Just wondering if anyone else has been told the same?

I'm 30 years old and had asthma for 28 years and have thankfully grown out of it and now only use my ventolin inhaler when I need it, which is usually when I have done a HIIT cardio session, so I use it twice a week tops. Or when I have a cold I sometimes use it when I feel it going into my chest, which again isn't often thankfully. My last asthma attack was 15 years ago so feel like why are they trying to fix something that isn't broken??

Sorry for the rant but just feel like I was spoken to as if I had no clue about asthma and that was fobbed off with ridiculous answers when I asked why they would take me off something that has clearly worked for the past 28 years.

Thanks

[PMRPete]

I hope someone tells JulieVictoria about this!

[Hidden]

Hi cmcken30

Welcome to the forum. I asked the Asthma UK nurse team your query. The guidelines used to treat asthma have shifted slightly and the recommendation is to use a preventer (normally brown) as prescribed (normally daily) and people using only a blue inhaler might not be classified as having asthma hence the ventolin being stopped if you don't get symptoms.

If you are exercising and having symptoms - it's highly likely that it's asthma so the surgery would probably need to do further tests to confirm and then start you on a brown inhaler and reliever for management. For example: 2 puffs of your preventer every morning and evening and blue only when needed.

Do call the Asthma UK helpline for any advice and support, they can be reached on 0300 222 5800 (M-F, 9-5).

Hope that helps,

Dita

[Chip_y2kuk]

Hi this is because the theory is that you shouldn't need your ventolin normally unless there is some inflammation or restriction in your airways and they theory is that it's better to treat the inflammation than provide you a lifetime supply of ventolin

So they will likely want to review you and provide a steroid preventer alongside ventolin

[LeaGrave]

And what do they do when the "preventers" have never - in 60 years - done anything? And the Ventolin works perfectly?

Ignore the evidence and insist on having you breathless all the time?

I'm afraid my experience of practice nurses doubling as asthma nurses has never been good.

[Helen0304 in reply to LeaGrave]

LeaGrave I just want to reiterate your last sentence.

It drives me mad when they have practice nurses advising on asthma when they are only general nurses not specialised in asthma management.

I appreciate that they can't be experts on all issues but when I visit our practice nurse with my asthma problems she actually 'Googles' the subject to make sure that she is giving me the right advice. This can't be right.

[Anniecath in reply to LeaGrave]

I have only had one excellent asthma nurse, since I moved I have felt they know less than I do about the disease, and indeed are practice nurses with "an interest in" asthma. Tried to prevent me having a repeat prescription of Ventolin, despite me taking preventive inhalers and montelucast tablets. The clue is in the name "rescue inhaler".

[LeaGrave in reply to Anniecath]

A VERY long time ago I was pretty weezy so I got an appointment with a local asthma specific clinic. They ran all the checks and were about to send me to hospital for further tests and observation when the doctor gave me a Ventolin inhaler. The weezyness cleared up instantly. She also gave me a preventer spinhaler which I used religiously, but still had to use the Ventolin just as much. On the next visit the doctor used their stethoscopy and discovered a chest infection so she prescribed Tetracycline antibiotics - and gave me a secong dose to use if my asthma got worse again. Clearly, the chest infection was triggering my asthma because it disappeared as the infection cleared. Next time I needed the inhaler, some time later, I took the antibiotics and it cleared again.

Trouble today is that staff in GP surgeries don't want to read patient's notes

any more and just guess. Tell them you need an antibiotic and they will throw their hands in the air and point blank refuse. Clearly, they think they know better than the specialist doctors...

In fact, I'm playing the lottery. I'm changing to a different GP practice later this month. I wonder if they'll be any different???

[LeaGrave]

Well, mine went as far as claiming that she was better qualified than the doctor...

Don't get me wrong - I'm not against nurses, they do an excellent job. But sometimes they get carried away. Just for the record, I'm married to a senior, and very knowlegable, nurse.

And the "Asthma Review" was a joke. Just a general questionaire bearing no resemblance to my medical history. That's not a "review" it's a "survey"! And when I asked her to clarify some of the questions, she couldn't... I got the strong impression that the Asthma Review was more a tool to assist revenue flow than air flow.

[Hidden]

This is interesting because I was ushered into the pharmacists office for a review when I picked up my medicine this week. I had no idea that the pharmacists were charged with this thankless task now! He advised me never to take my ventolin unless I was actually having an attack. Seemed like strange advice to me. I also noticed that they only gave me one ventolin instead of the usual 2 (when I requested three, haha). I thought it was a cost saving exercise, but perhaps there is more to it.

[Superzob in reply to Hidden]

I've been told to take Ventolin whenever I need it by a consultant, and my asthma rarely troubles me. I don't understand all this contradictory advice about such a common condition.

[Hidden]

Hi all,

Thanks for sharing your stories, this is something that our helpline nurses get a lot of calls about people

In terms of definitive advice about ventolin (reliever), here are the 2 key points:

- Use it as soon as you notice asthma symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest. You should feel a difference to your breathing within a few minutes.

- If you need your reliever inhaler more than three times a week, your asthma is not as well managed as it could be – review your treatment with your GP or asthma nurse.

We know that some pharmacists are taking part in reviews, and do encourage them to always contact the helpline and talk to the nurse team if you feel you are getting contradictory advice.

Hope that helps,

Dita