Seretide 500 not lasting long enough

[AbductedByAsthma]

Hi,

I’m taking Seretide 500 twice a day. While it works, it works well, but after about 9 hours I start to have a return of symptoms. By 12 hours they are becoming full-on symptoms on some days, with wheezing and broncho-constriction etc.

Is it possible to take Seretide 500 three times a day, or are they more likely to move me to another drug?

EDIT: It goes without saying that because of this problem, I’d already studied videos on Accuhaler technique from AthsmaUK and athsma.net, just in case I had not been inhaling the full dose correctly.

[PMRPete]

You need to add on a dose of Serevent 50

[AbductedByAsthma in reply to PMRPete]

Hey PMRPete, whether or not they go down that route, it’s very interesting to know that Serevent 50 is an add-on for Seretide. Thank you for that!

[PMRPete in reply to AbductedByAsthma]

You could certainly try taking Seretide 500 every 8 hours as a trial. You sound rather over cautious!

Perhaps when your GP returns you could ask about a SMART regime?

asthma.org.uk/advice/inhale...

[AbductedByAsthma in reply to PMRPete]

Hey Pete, I am pretty cautious because I don’t know what I’m doing. I was diagnosed around a month ago.

[PMRPete in reply to AbductedByAsthma]

I have 84 years experience of Asthma and pointed in the right direction you will get control of it. Well worth reading plenty of information from reliable sources. Best wishes. Peter

[AbductedByAsthma in reply to PMRPete]

Thanks Peter.

[Hidden]

Do you mind if I ask what else you are on? what they’re likely to do depends on what they’re already doing to an extent

If they did want to increase the inhaler frequency, they’d be more likely to change to an inhaler with a different long-acting reliever — likely formoterol — which is more flexible. Fostair is a common inhaler with this long-acting reliever, but Flutiform contains the same steroid as Seretide so would be a better move in my opinion as the steroid would stay the same but the long-acting reliever dose would be more flexible. You can take salmeterol (the long-acting reliever in Seretide) more frequently but it is considered less safe to do that (not unsafe, just more likely to cause side effects than formoterol is)

[AbductedByAsthma in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your reply. It’s really just standard asthma stuff that’s going on. Tight chest, coughing, and what I mentioned above: wheezing and difficulty breathing.

The wheezing is like a little mouse choir out of my mouth when I exhale. I can also feel lower musical tones inside my lungs.

The difficulty breathing feels as if my lungs and trachea have constricted. If I wasn’t taking any drugs, I suspect it would very quickly become a medical emergency, but Ventolin works wonderfully, although using Ventolin more than twice a week means my asthma is uncontrolled. Hence my question.

My doctor is away for a few days, so in the meantime I was curious what the options might possibly be.

[AbductedByAsthma in reply to AbductedByAsthma]

Hey maindours, I apologise for answering the wrong question. I answered “what else is going on?” instead of the question “what else are you on?”.

Nothing other than Ventolin.

[Emer1000]

Same issue, I reckon I had become immune to it. 10 years of servent and flixotide followed by 10 years of seretide, two a&e s in 6 months plus ambulance to house. Consultant changes me to what he called Seretides grand daughter one year ago and now I have perfect breathing. 1 puff Relvar Elipta 92/122 per day and Sungulair 10mg and zero issues