your comment about being taken off combivent and put on spiriva is what my pulmo did to me. i have always missed using combivent (4 times a day, or was it twice a day) and thought it was doing a better job than spiriva. i've been on spiriva since 2005 and would consider going back to combivent instead of spiriva. i also take advair in the morning and symbicort at night. do you see any reason why i couldn't try using combivent and dropping spiriva to see if i breath better? thanks for your comment. regards.
Dear HuffnPuff,
I hope that after reading my article, you now understand why you might not be feeling as well on Spiriva alone compared to Combivent. No wonder you were "missing" your Combivent! Half of the medication you were used to taking was taken away when you started Spiriva!
But that doesn't make Spiriva bad. In fact, for most people, it's a much more effective medication than Atrovent.
You ask about going back to Combivent and "dropping Spiriva." Since (as I explained in the article) Combivent has 2 medications in it, Atrovent (the weaker version of Spiriva) and Albuterol (a quick acting rescue medication), that's why it feels to you like it works better.
Do talk with your doctor, but before going back to a medication that's not as effective as the newer one, ask him or her if you can have an Albuterol-type inhaler on hand as a "rescue" if / when necessary.
Also, I notice that you said that you take Advair in the morning and Symbicort at night. Advair and Symbicort are very similar medications so it's customary to be on one or the other, not both. One full prescription should last you a month if you take it twice a day.
I hope this helps. I know it can be confusing. If possible, print this discussion out and bring it to your doctor so he or she can see what you're asking and why.
Good luck!
Jane.
http://www.breathingbetterlivingwell.com
hi jane. thanks for your answers. i do have albutural as a rescue inhaler and do use it when needed. i tryed xopenix and found it too strong. made me dizzy.
i have the luxury of having a doctor that listens (so far) to what i say and how i feel and when i ask for a different med, he gives it to me. i use symbicort to get away from some of the side effects of advair. if i'm going to be active one day, i take advair, like construction or mowing the lawn or gardening. if i'm just going to sit at the puter all day, i take symbicort, morning and night. my method seems to work and i check off daily what i take and when. very careful and never forget to take my meds. bob
Hello Barb,
I'm glad you asked this because it brings up an important point: Replacing one med with another doesn't mean you're replacing it completely.
Advair is a combination med, which means it actually has two medications in it - a Corticosteroid which fights inflammation (swelling on the insides of your bronchial tubes) and a LABA, long acting beta agonist, which is a fancy way of calling it a med that relaxes the muscles that squeeze your bronchial tubes - but it does this for a period of 12 hours.
Qvar is just one med, a corticosteroid. So, if your doctor took Advair away and put you on Qvar without adding a med like Serevent, Foradil, Brovana, Performomist, or Arcapta (all LABA's), you may be feeling worse because you're not getting that long-acting bronchodilator.
I hope this make sense. I encourage you to take a look at my four most recent shareposts here on Health Central. They explain a lot about medicines, mostly inhalers - everything from what they actually do, to inhaler technique, care and cleaning, etc.
If you have any more questions, Barb, let me know. Good luck, and easy breathing!
Jane.
http://www.breathingbetterlivingwell.com
Taking Symbicort and Spiriva in conjunction with each other. Can you explain which is which? In other words, which medication provides which relief and why?
Dear Flora,
I'd be glad to answer that.
Spiriva: In people with COPD, it is common for bronchial airways to receive a message to tighten up and close. Spiriva prevents this message from getting through, thus keeping the airways open. Effects last for about 24 hours so it is used once a day.
Symbicort: Symbicort has two medicines in it. They are Budensonide (Pulmicort) and Formoterol (Foradil). Effects last for about 12 hours so it is used twice a day.
Pulmicort: Pulmicort is an inhaled corticosteroid that fights inflammation (swelling) on the insides of the airways. If the insides of the airways swell, the air cannot get through as easily. This medicine must be taken on schedule, everyday.
Foradil: Foradil works to relax the muscles around the bronchial airways that tend to squeeze and tighten in some people with COPD. This allows more air to flow through easily.
I hope this helps, Flora. Some people with COPD have several things going on inside their lungs to make breathing hard: Swelling, Squeezing, messages to tighten and close, and excess mucous. That's why your doctor may prescribe more than one medicine.
Take care.
Jane.
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Thank you for clarifying the difference between Bronchodilaters and Corticosteroids. I love the fire example it made it really easy for me to understand. I dont have COPD however, I am a nursing student and having problems with medications. Your article made so simple for me to understand.
Thanks again,
Gia
Thanks, Gia.
I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I love explaining things like that and I'm glad it helped. Good luck in your studies and in nursing...and always remember... be nice to the RT's. They're the ones who come running when your patient stops breathing!
Jane.