Struggling with asthma

The last few years I’ve been struggling with asthma I’ve tried different inhalers but I just need new options now any help?

[Minushabens]

Hi there & welcome. Could you share a little bit more about the options you have tried? Have you been on a wide range of medication or ever been prescribed additional medication than inhalers (e.g. Montelukast)?

It's hard to know whether you haven't found the right plan yet, or if there could be other underlying problems that are firing your asthma up. Either way, it sounds like you probably need a detailed conversation with your GP/nurse. It's hard to offer suggestions without knowing more about your history, but giving the AsthmaUK nurses a call would be a good place to start & to get a picture together of how to approach this.

[Hidden in reply to Minushabens]

I’ve tried pretty much all types of blue inhalers eg.. ventolin but always struggled using the inhalers felt like once I’ve used them there would be no relief. Also been using purple and brown inhalers but again had no relief from those

[Minushabens in reply to Hidden]

OK, it sounds as though you've probably never really had a detailed or thought-through management plan.

Good asthma management is about finding the right medication to prevent attacks first & foremost, with extra medication to relieve it should you develop problems. If your focus has generally been on the blue inhaler, which is a reliever, that is to some extent (& I obviously don't know your full medical history) getting things the wrong way around.

I think you definitely need to have a proper conversation with someone at your GP practice. You would also benefit from giving the AsthmaUK nurses a call, as they will give you lots of useful information to take into your consultation.

Your surgery might also want to do things like spirometry tests & other things to build up a picture of the severity & reversibility of your asthma, partly to guide treatment & partly to check that it is asthma & not something else.

Good luck, & please keep asking any questions you have.

[Hidden]

I was prescribed Incruse Ellipta and Relvar Ellipta a few years back and I don't get chestiness as I used to. We call them "Friskies" inhalers as they look like cat food containers. I would look them up on Google or, maybe, here... I also take Montelukast one at night

[Superzob]

Unfortunately, there is no "one size fits all" solution to this as we're all different and react differently to different inhalers (which is why my GP described asthma as "big business", keeping the pharmaceutical companies busy making scores of alternative products). I was lucky in that my surgery allowed me to try 5 different preventers until I finally settled on Symbicort (it's a dry powder inhaler, as I seem to react to the propellant in others). My advice would be to keep trying until you find the right combination for you.

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador in reply to Superzob]

Definitely agree here! It may take time but keep with it until you find the right combo for you!

PS it’s nice to know of another asthmatic who struggles with MDIs... my specialist said it’s odd for an asthmatic! The only MDI I have is for ventolin but I have a DPI too - my GP struggles with the fact I use both (MDI for more severe attacks always through spacer), and won’t prescribe both for me 😒 (my old GP did!)