Pulmicort not working?

A

anonymous

New member
Hello....

OK, so I've been doing pulmicort (and not advair) for the past week and a half and feel really sob almost all the time! I thought it was supposed to be better and longer lasting than advair (according to my doc).....

Has anyone else felt this way? Also, how long is a long enough "trial" where you think I could just go back to my advair and tell the doc it didn't work for me? She mentioned trying it for a month, but I just feel lousy. Do you think a week and a few days would be enough to really tell?

Also, I stopped the Atrovent about the same time.... should I start that back up again? Or, should I start atrovent and keep on with the pulmicort or vice versa to see which one was making me sob? Has anyone felt much worse off of atrovent? The doc thought I'd feel better cause atrovent dries most people out, but I just don't know.

Any experience and/or thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks,
Sonia

AKA ladybug.... I'm on a different computer that doesn't auto-sign me on. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
J

JazzysMom

New member
I think you need to give it a good 2-3 weeks to be fair. I am the opposite. I didnt/dont feel a difference with Advair, but love the Pulmicort. I know its frustrating.
 
A

anonymous

New member
Jason is actually doing better on advair than he did no pulmicort, esp. throughout the night. I def. don't think you should do both as the advair has a pulmicort type med in it. Are you doing pulmicort 2x a day? Are you doing it around the same times of day that you used to do advair? Also are you using albuterol or xoponex too? Maybe the difference for Jason is the additional long acting bronchodialator in addition to the albuterol he nebulizes. He also tried flovent and that didn't work as well either. As far as how long, I think a few weeks to a month would be the best way to tell. How is it that the pulmicort is making you feel in comparison to when you were on atrovent?

JoAnn
 
A

anonymous

New member
Definitely do the atrovent because it's a totally different class of meds than pulmicort. Also, the advair is an inhaled steroid like pulmicort but it also contains a long acting bronchodilator called serevent (salmeterol xinafoate for non-US). There is a lot of controversy with serevent, but basically, it works like albuterol only is slower starting and longer lasting. Since you're no longer using serevent, you probably do need more albuterol. If the atrovent doesn't help enough, I'd call your dr to see if he wants to add another inhaler like servent, foradil, or spiriva (You can use atrovent with serevent and foradil but I don't think you can with spiriva since it's a similiar class??) Also, I've heard of people nebulizing the foradil. It's a capsule, you just break it, mix it with saline and nebulize.
 
A

anonymous

New member
OK, I think there is a bit of confusion as to which meds I am taking, so I will break it down.

I AM taking:

Albuterol nebbed
Pulmicort nebbed

Doc told me to stop taking:

Adviar 500/50 (while on PULMICORT)
Atrovent nebbed (she says it usually dries people out)

<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> Guess I should have been more clear.

Since starting Pulmicort INSTEAD of advair, I feel crappier. I also STOPPED atrovent at the same time, so am wondering if that would be doing it? Anyway, I hope this clears things up. I don't know if I can go another week or two feeling so crummy and sob. Wouldn't 1 1/2 weeks be enough if you see a marked difference right away? Would your body take that long to tell you with a nebbed med?

Anyhoo... I'm basically looking to see if anyone has less results with pulmicort than with advair and if anyone stopped using atrovent and felt worse as well.

JoAnn, I do appreciate your experience with advair vs. pulmicort. I do do them at about the same times and after my albuterol neb. Is pulmicort as long acting as advair was? Maybe that is part of the problem?

Sonia
 
H

HairGirl

New member
I'm also having the same problem! I started Pulmicort about four
weeks ago, and I felt better after the treatment but I've been
sooooo junky lately!!!! I mean one cough and it's a lot of
mucus!!!!! I normally am not a big cougher, or lots of mucus! This
could be a good thing which I was thinking until I started coughing
up blood!!!!!! So I then switched to doing it once a day. It's
gotten better, not as much mucus but still a ton!!!!! And since
I've been coughing more I don't feel good!!!!! I'm also on Advair,
maybe I should do it more often. And Hypertonic, but after starting
the Pulmicort and coughing so much (including blood) I've slacked
off on it, don't want to cough too much and risk more blood.
 
T

thelizardqueen

New member
I'd say try it for 3-4 weeks. When I first started Pulmicort, I didn't notice a good difference till I had been on it for about 3 weeks or so. Now I'm on Symbicort, which is Pulmicort and something else mixed in it (can't remember what), and I noticed a difference within a week. A lot better then Pulmicort.
 
J

JazzysMom

New member
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>littledebbie</b></i>

This may be a dumb question but...what is pulmicort?</end quote></div>



Its a nebulized meds with steroids in it. Often used in Asmtha patients or anyone with airway restrictions. Reduces inflammation.
 
A

anonymous

New member
Symbicort is similiar to advair. Advair has 2 components to it: flovent (inhaled steroid similiar to pulmicort) and serevent (long acting bronchodilator). Symbicort also has two components: pulmicort and foradil (same class of meds as serevent.) I honestly think the reason you're having problems is because you're no longer getting the serevent portion of the pulmicort. My other question is, what dose of pulmicort are you on?? Unless they've changed since my children were on them, pulmicort respules only come in .25 and .50. TO be equivalent to advair 500/50, you'd need to be taking 1.0 BID. Or, basically, 2 of the .50 respules two times per day. Hope that helps.
 
A

anonymous

New member
Sorry, that should say "I think you're having the problem because you're no longer getting the serevent portion of the <b>advair</b>".
 
T

thelizardqueen

New member
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>anonymous</b></i>

Symbicort is similiar to advair. Advair has 2 components to it: flovent (inhaled steroid similiar to pulmicort) and serevent (long acting bronchodilator). Symbicort also has two components: pulmicort and foradil (same class of meds as serevent.) I honestly think the reason you're having problems is because you're no longer getting the serevent portion of the pulmicort. My other question is, what dose of pulmicort are you on?? Unless they've changed since my children were on them, pulmicort respules only come in .25 and .50. TO be equivalent to advair 500/50, you'd need to be taking 1.0 BID. Or, basically, 2 of the .50 respules two times per day. Hope that helps.</end quote></div>


Pulmicort and Symbicort can also be taken in urbo inhalers and not just nebs. My dose was 2 puffs twice a day.
 
L

ladybug

New member
anon,
I am taking the respules .50 2X per day. Interesting that they'd changed me to something that completely takes away a med I was used to doing. I guess I always said if its not broke, don't fix it. I never had problems with Advair in the first place. Ugh. Yesterday, I was wheezing like crazy.... I just don't know why I'd have to give something 3 weeks if after 2 I feel terrible and my asthma symptoms are 10X WORSE.... ya know?
 
A

anonymous

New member
Sonia - If it is getting that bad, I think you need to either make the change back on your own, maybe leave out the atrovent. You can always try later. I know this is a bad time of year for Jason with the asthmatic symptoms. As you said, if it wasn't broken, don't fix it.

Jo Ann
 
L

ladybug

New member
Jo Ann,
Do you mean I should leave out the pulmicort? That's the only new one I'm doing. The atrovent they actually took me OFF, and I felt worse, so went back on it.

Sorry if this is confusing. I know we all respond to meds differently, but it seems I (and maybe 1 or 2 others) are the only ones who don't like pulmicort. Anyone else have any experience with it?

Thanks.
 
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