What is the difference between Flonase and Veramyst?
I have severe allergy and asthma problems every August and Sept. Last year I was pregnant so the physician had me use Astelin instead of Nasonex. It did not work as well for me. So this year I used the Astelin during August and it was not working well enough so I asked the P.A. for a RX for Nasonex, since I am not pregnant. She asked me if I had eye symptoms too which I do...and I use Patadol. So she said she would like to give me Veramyst. She said, and I quote, "It is new and it helps relieve the eye symptoms too." Well I'm all for that since even with the Patadol twice a day...I still can't where my contact lenses. The pharmacy gave me my RX and I used it in the car. I smelled flowers! Flowers bother my allergies and I am hypersensitive to a lot of smells including flowers and perfume. My son smelled it too. It was the RX. I thought this was odd that she would prescribe something with such a strong smell to me. So I read the Patient Prescription Information Sheet and it says it is "Fluticasone Spray - Nasal Common Brand Names (Flonase)". Well Flonase is not new. I used it before the Nasonex. The doctor prescribed Veramyst because it treats the eye symptoms too. I have been to Veramyst's website and Flonase' website. Veramyst treats more symptoms. They both contain fluticasone. But Veramyst also lists "furoate". The only thing my web searches come up with is other drugs that have "furoate" as the second part of their drug name. So if they are not the same....how can the Pharmacy give me something else without asking me and/or my doctor? They said I have to come back tomorrow for my son's RX because it was "out of stock" so why didn't they just order my Veramyst too? Like I said I asked my doctor for Nasonex NOT Flonase so I can't see her saying ok either. This is not the first time they have given me the wrong medicine. Twice they did not reconstituted my toddler's medicine, nor did they provide instructions for me to reconstitute it.
Hi,
I'm not sure what your pharmacy gave you, but both Flonase and Veramyst do contain the same corticosteroid, fluticasone, as you discovered. And they're both made by the same manufacturer, so I'm wondering if it's possible that your pharmacy DID give you Veramyst, but it's not clear in the enclosed patient information sheet you got.
The difference between the 2 preparations is that in Flonase, the fluticasone is bonded with propionate and in Veramyst, it's with furoate, as you said. Those are not meds in and of themselves, just chemicals that help the fluticasone do its job. That difference probably accounts for the smell vs. nonsmell.
As far as I can tell, there's no significant difference between the 2 medicines, though studies proving Veramyst's efficacy with eye allergy symptoms enables it to market that. In reality, though, anecdotal evidence pretty much shows that most nasal steroids help with eye symptoms too.
If you really want to know what the pharmacy gave you and why they made a substitution (if they did), I'd ask them. Substitutions can be made if the doctor checks off OK on his prescription form. Health insurance may also specify a substitution.
Hope you find some relief,
Kathi
- Thank you for your input
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annieoakley
Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 10:12 AM
I just wanted to add that because of my new insurance I had to switch from Veramyst to (generic) Flonase. It smells exactly like rose oil! I noticed right away. Luckily, the smell doesn't bother me, but for me personally Flonase certainly does not work as well as the Veramyst. I am extremely sensitive to smells - especially dust, dirt, must - and suddenly my whole house smells dirty to me! Yes, it is an older home, but A) I keep it as clean as possible and B) Never smelled anything like this until the script switch. Plus, no one else who visits ever smells the smells that I now can.
Also, I am more tired now. Since the switch I have been napping every afternoon - can barely keep my eyes open.
So, my deduction is that they are definitely NOT exactly the same and I don't think it is fair that it is allowed as a substitution for Veramyst. If Veramyst didn't cost so much without insurance I would just switch back and pay out of pocket. Unfortunately, even after months of trials and errors with allergy meds (I also currently take loratidine - Claritin - and occasionally Astelin) and finally finding the "perfect" mix, I've got to start all over again!