Fostair

[bluessapphire]

I have been taken off flutiform 250/10 as my asthma was not controlled and pf was at 150. I have been put on fostair 200/6 as well as montelukast i have read online and on here that fostair is 2xpuffs twice a day my asthma nurse has put me on 2xpuffs three times as she wants me to reduce the number of times i take my blue inhaler each day which is currantly 6-8 puffs a day and pf is still between 150-200 and also have to take antihistamines every morning for enviroment allergys. I currently have a app with the asthma nurse every 2weeks but they dont want to change any my meds anymore until they see what the resp clinic say at my app in jan

[Poobah]

How long have you been on your new medication? It can take up to 8 weeks for a new inhaler that includes steroids to become fully effective. Montelukast takes around a week to become fully effective.

The high Fostair doseage looks like your asthma nurse is trying to bring your asthma under control and if you're not seeing any improvement after 6 to 8 weeks, OR if things become worse or you feel you're still struggling, then don't hesitate to go back to your doctor or asthma nurse as you may need a short course of Prednisolone. I'm mindful that Christmas is coming up and if you're going to seek help, that you do it earlier rather than hope for the best.

It's good that you're keeping a record of you peak flow as this will help the respiratory clinic see how well your new meds are working and make changes or add on treatment in order to address any continuing symptoms. I would also keep a record of your Ventolin use too, as that will give a fuller picture.

I hope you're feeling better soon.

[Collienut]

Have you tried contacting your respiratory clinic directly and explain what's happening?

[Lysistrata Administrator Community Ambassador]

Hmmm, I see what she's trying to do, but at the same time that is more than the maximum dose of Fostair which as you've said, is 200/6 2 puffs twice a day (as an ultrafine inhaler, it doesn't need as high a dose as other inhalers). You can use 100/6 in a similar way, though that's more like set puffs plus up to a total of 8 as needed.

As Poobah has said you need to give new medications time to work. While it's good that the asthma nurse is trying to get things under control, going that high at this point, when you've just started both Fostair and montelukast, seems like a bit much. You've not been given the chance to see how the max Fostair dose and the montelukast would work!

As Collienut says, do you have a contact at the respiratory clinic you could ask about this? You could also chat to the asthma nurses here: 0300 2225800 or WhatsApp [phone] Monday-Friday 0915-5pm

Just to let you know, the consultant would have other options besides going past max on Fostair: healthunlocked.com/asthmauk...

These mostly can also be prescribed by GPs but they usually prefer the decision to be made by the specialists.

[bluessapphire]

I have been on fostair 200/6 for 5 1/2 weeks now the asthma nurse contacts me every 2 weeks to see how im getting on and i cant get hold of my resp doctor as he is having to work on the wards so i have a lung function test on 3rd jan and then have to go back on 29th jan to see my resp doctor