Life long asthmatic, dating from the 1960s when asthmatics were often told by medics that it was psychosomatic! Needless to say, my asthma was badly controlled up to the early 1980s. I moved from home to a job, I had one of my usual asthma attacks and was finally taken to A&E (a first for me, even though I'd gone blue as a child ...) and the Doctors there couldn't believe I wasn't on Ventolin inhalers. Was wheel chaired in, and not long later was able to walk out. Preventers were also added. And now, at an asthma review, the nurse has persuaded me to see if Fostair might be helpful. Would love to hear people's experience of Fostair, and if they have any tips. It sort of sounds (literally, as it clicks, plus you inhale without any help from an aerosol) a bit like an Oldee Stylee 1960s Spinhaler to me. The latter being more or less useless for someone in continual asthma attacks where exhaling and inhaling was rather a problem ... Fortunately, the Ventolin inhaler will still be prescribed, otherwise this wouldn't be happening.
New to Fostair ...: Life long asthmatic... - Asthma Community ...
New to Fostair ...
Hi tegels I am on fostair 200/6 nexthaler which from what you describe the kind of inhaler you have been given. I switch from seretide 250 beginning of last December. I have found it very easy to use and just as effective the seretide. Hope this is helpful.
I have just been put on fostair as of Tuesday as according to my nurse many people have had positive changes on it. My salbutamol I felt wasn’t helping as much as it should have been, and this change came at a good time. My PF is up higher than it has ever been before and I’m finding I’m feeling a lot better. I‘ve to see how I feel at my next review but so far it seems to be helping 
Sounds really good! My PF is a bit pathetic at the moment, but nurse said it was due to the very cold weather (I'll take that and hope the PF improves like yours)
Just taken my first dose - lungs are wondering what hit them! Strange feeling lower down the lungs than normal, I think. I note that my Fostair is a 100/6. A lower than the dose of preventer (Clenil) than I currently take. Shall be monitoring very closely ...
I think the reason you have a lower does is the particles of preventer in Fostair are smaller than clenil so get much deeper into you lungs. Therefore you can get away with a lower dose of preventer.
I was swapped to Fostair from qvar a few weeks ago. For the first few days I felt like I had been on 10+ puffs of ventolin (unbelievably jittery), but have since pretty much got used to the side effects. All worth it though as pf has increased by nearly 100! Hope you feel the magical benefits from Fostair soon🤞
The dosage is less than half on previous medication, so I feel honour-bound (on behalf of pussycat asthma which could decide to be a lion if treated badly) to be very vigilent. Am currently wondering where I put the PF meter so I can give myself evidence all is fine!
I've been taking two puffs of 100/6, twice a day. It does feel like it gets further into my lungs than Flixotide - I guess that's the smaller particles. I take the aerosol variation via a spacer, though.
I've got new highest bests on PEF since I started taking it (though I lost my old ones and took new ones already symptomatic). My asthma isn't controlled as yet, but I'm not as bad as I was.
There's a stronger version 200/6 which might be worth trying, though the PFs sound hopeful. Hope your asthma gets under control. With this new stuff, I won't be tolerating any mucking about - if the asthma is uncomfortable, I'll hike back to my old medication in short order. I'm too old and grumpy to put up with stuff if I know it's fine on the old meds. Could see the nurse bracing for trouble when she suggested the Fostair - think she was surprised when I said I'd give it a go; 'a go' in my asthma book is a week!
I've got a medication review in... 10 days, I think. So, I'll see about asking then as I've been considering it. I think usually my asthma reacts to viruses (I've got one now, turned out I had a temperature when I was in the surgery), problem is - I work in a school and my colleagues and I have been near continuously ill since November. I'm never really well for more than a week or two at a push but when I am I get a nice clear run near my official best (430 - even managing some 440s and that 450!).
Unfortunately, I'm due to move from 'cold season' to 'hayfever season'.
I was told the Fostair could take two weeks to work, but yeah - no point messing about if it doesn't work and your last one did. I'm sure the nurse was relieved, haha.
Urgh! Sorry about the illnesses; schools have lots of bugs, and the asthma will play on that like a creaky old violin. Like you, I hate bug season, and then it goes to hay fever season. Though for the latter, I've found the hay fever is less due to cutting out wheat and going gluten free; happened by accident due to what actually turned out to be problems with a non-asthma related medication. Eczema improved too. Ah, the nurse didn't tell me about Fostair needing two weeks to settle in, so will give it two weeks! She did say I'd need to go back to review it though. My PF is around 350, and has been like that for ages, so may be more a ginger tom than a kitten ... (flogs the comparisons!)
I was on Fostair from March 2016 and it was working fine all the way till Novemeber 2016, thats when my asthma became unconrolable, the Fostair was the powder form that clicks when you inhale but it wasn't working for me no more, i had to force my Athma nurse to switch me to something diffrent because it was a daily struggle to breathe from November 2016 to April 2017, i was put on Flutiform 2 puffs twice a day and its been brilliant and under control now some people react different to drugs so i just wanted to tell you my experience, anyway i wish you all the best
Thank you - it's very valuable to hear other people's expreiences. I have a stash of preventative inhalers which I will keep in reserve till they are out of date (all the more so due to what you've said). I know the medics don't like to over-medicate, but under-medicating is just as bad, especially when certain patients can't actually breath properly! Glad you've got something that works properly now.
I like it, by not having an aerosol the stuff seems to go where needed not the roof of your mouth or back of the throat and being on the 100/6 I find it more flexible as I can go up to double the usual dose depending how I feel without having to try and get a GP appointment. It also seems much more pleasant to take.
You can double it up? I increased Clenil and Venolin doses when appropriate. As I'm so new to Fostair, I'm not sure what the usage parameters are yet. Will ask about it when I go to the review - thanks for mentioning that aspect. I can taste the Fostair stuff - feels almost gritty. But I do get flashbacks to the Spinhaler/intal debacle (due to the clicking and the very active inhaling with Fostair) so am having to overcome the misgivings that causes.
I'm taking 100/6 x 2 twice daily of the aerosole variety, through a spacer. If my symptoms had improved long enough, I could have stepped down to one puff twice daily and then increased back to two puffs in exacerbations.
I think higher doses than that are meant to be more closely monitored, but I'm sure they exist. My doctor asked whether I'd talked about increasing my inhalers with my asthma nurse because at the moment I just go onto steroids.
I was also told that my area's policy is no longer to increase inhaler doses, but to switch inhaler by step.
Hi tegels, monitor closely and if you are not happy insist on switching back. You are the expert on how your body behaves/is feeling. I have had to fight tooth and nail to stay on a regime that works for me. I use Qvar, Serevent and Montelucast tablets. The Montelucast was a revelation for me as up to when I started taking it I had constant bad chest infections every winter. Since I started on it have had hardly any chest infections. But every one is different. I was pressured into changing my inhalers and ended up in a hell of a state and had to argue with asthma nurse and pharmacist to switch me back to my original regime (whilst struggling to breathe of course). It isn't cost effective to switch to a cheaper medication if you end up having to be carted off to A and E ! I wish you good luck in getting sorted.
Yes, I do think the medics often reckon they are in charge of our illnesses. But we're the ones who have to go away and live with the consequences. We are the experts for this type of chronic afflictions. I'm giving the Fostair a go to see if it works, but it's definitely not staying on it if I don't get a similar level of control of the asthma that I had before. Only having the prednisone once a decade (on average) is pretty good, but this might be giving the medics the idea that my asthma's not that bad. Nah - the main thing is, I had the tools to manage it well. Any drop in that level of control (and if prednisone is taken more often) then Fostair will be indicated as the problem. I'm glad you got your meds sorted!
Is Fostair cheaper than other meds in general? I had a quick search, and got the idea that over the counter it might be more expensive than certainly ventolin and clenil, even combining both costs. Has there been a general drive to get people on Fostair?
Yes, Fostair is one of the cheaper variations and so it's very much preferable at the moment. I can't find the recent drugs tariff I saw that showed it, though.
Here's the preferred drugs choices for my area, though: ljf.scot.nhs.uk/EducationAn...
I've seen the actual drugs tariff with prices (bearing in mind that Fostair, Qvar and some others have fine particles and therefore fewer actuation needed despite looking a comparable dose) and another article somewhere (BTS/SIGN?) which showed inhalers in order of preference based on cost-effectiveness.
I was put on it last week ....last 2 nights no sleep feeling sick shaking and my anxiety gas gone through the roof ....at the review last week nurse told me to go back to brown inhaler if it didn't agree with me ...I'm scared even to take it again tonight .
Oh no, that's not right 
I'm so sorry to hear that. I note on the instructions it says 'do no take if you think you are allergic to any of the components' or some such. Trouble is you won't know till you get a reaction! Sounds like you should go back to your brown inhaler, if only to get some sleep. I know my lungs sort of tingled slightly, especially lower down on my first dose of Fostair, and if you're lungs are already twitchy, it could set off all sorts. You've got a Ventolin inhaler too I hope? Bounce back to the surgery I think. Take care x
Thank you so much for answering........yes I have a blue inhaler that works ok for me ....ive been sat here all day scared stiff (I'm 59 and live alone) ...you have made me feel a bit better knowing that it's ok to go back and not to keep putting myself through another night ....I never thought I'd react so quick tomthe side affects I didn't read the side affects bit in the leaflet...like many I believe it can make us worse .....I just hope the nurse doesn't think I gave up to quickly on it .
Hope you get some good quality sleep tonight. The nurse doesn't have to take the stuff, so he or she can just naff off! Have you got a friend who can go with you to the next appointment so you feel supported?
lol I love the naff off bit made me smile and that's so true .......I have a friend but she has a hubby 3 kids and 2 jobs so doesn't have much time ...it was her that took me last week ...I also have agoraphobia so find it very hard to leave my house ....so I'm going to phone nurse on Tuesday as there's no clinic on Monday and tell her x
I’m on fostair 4 puff twice a day. As my asthma is stage 4, I don’t know if it’s helping or not, but know that a lot of people have been changed to it.
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