Topic: Needing a little assistance with inhaler questions, please...
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Good evening all,
I have had asthma off and on for years, and it always seems to flare with Babs issues for me.
I've been using my Albuterol inhaler for a long time, but have also used Intal as well.
My asthma is steadily getting worse to the point of waking me at night and bothering me most of the day...so I am now needing to do some preventative again as well as rescue.
I was recently prescribed new inhalers of Intal, Singular and/or Aerobid.
However, I already have access to Nebulized Albuterol, Advair and Spiriva.
I have had a few nebulized Albuterol treatments in the ER, so know that is a good choice, so my question is if the Advair or Spiriva would be a good substitute for the Singular and/or Aerobid?
My current protocol as of today is Mepron and Zith, soon to add Plaquenil and Art.
So, I would really appreciate some help in sorting this out from you experienced asthma folks.
started using 2 months ago a CPAP w/nose pillow cushions for sleep APNEA; have you tested for that?
this past 2-3 wks., seen big changes for me!
used to get plugged up all night long and would use above; NOPE, not any more.
used to cough all night long; rarely cough and not very long;
getting up earlier mid morning vs. noon - 2 pm ....
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Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Hey Miss B,
Thanks for your input. I'm pleased that you are finding relief from your symptoms. No, I have not been tested for Sleep Apnea, but suspect that may be part of the issue, as I have been an awful insomniac most of my life.
Recently, my internal clock is set to about 3am, so I usually am wide awake then, regardless of what time I finally close my eyes the night before. Now, I am averaging only 3-5 hours at most, and I know this is taking a toll on my healing.
But, with the recent foot cramping and asthma, sleeping is even more elusive. Last night I finally closed my eyes around 2ish...and awoke to horrific cramps around 3. That tearful episode brought on an asthma attack that lasted for another hour.
I think I finally faded back away for another half hour, then was wide awake again. Obviously, something has to give.
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
using nebulizer for actual tx is very good. albuterol is usually every 4-6 hr. (the machine, add liquid med, and air pressure makes it aresol...using mask or pipe)
then the use if puff type inhaler for resue.
spiriva /singulair are for more daily mantinence meds to keep u open.
sometimes albuterol can make u jumpy, wired. when that happens xopenex is very good (expensive) alt. choice. most ins. will require auth. and basically note from dr saying patient unable to tolerate albuterol. and is longer acting.
no daily after 7pm. sleep at 30 degree angle or what suits u.
make sure to replace nebulizer filters every few mo. when in use. pharm. usually has behind the counter.
use of deep breathing.... several times daily. slow and easy.
-------------------- i am not a Dr. any info is only for education, suggestion or to think/research. please do not mis-intuprest as diagnostic or prescriptive, only trying to help. **
dx in 08:lyme, rmsf, bart, babs, and m.pneumonia. Posts: 422 | From TX | Registered: Oct 2008
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posted
Melanie, I'm not that up on the different inhalers. I did find out something the other day.... Be sure to use the albuterol first.. then wait 10 min or so before using the other inhalers.
It will open the passageways and then the other stuff can get in better.
Also... I USED TO HAVE foot and hand cramps. No more!!! I began taking Mega Multi Mineral supplement and the cramps have never returned.
Mine is by Solaray. Get some today!!!
I hope you get some real rest very soon!! Got any Ambien?
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Thanks for the advice and suggestions Miss Toots, I have tried Ambian in the past and it did not help. I do have a script for Elavil though that I will try to fill today. I'm just so tired of so many years of these liquids, sprays, cremes, powders, shots and pills... that I am of the mind set that less is more for me right now. I guess I need to get over it.
Thanks to you as well 3boys, Yes... the Albuterol does make me jumpy and adds to my tremors, but the alternative is not so pleasant. I currently have no insurance, so making these inhaler decisions is purely based on economic reasons.
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
EEK! Those inhalers are so expensive too! YIKES.
I know one thing. Albuterol keeps me awake even if I take it early in the evening. It would prob counteract any Ambien if taken during the night.
I hear the less is more thing. I agree. But I take my sleep very seriously. I don't compromise there.
Elavil may help. I take trazodone, which is similar.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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glm1111
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 16556
posted
Hi Melanie,
I had very bad asthma from the time I was 25 in my last month of pregnancy with my first child. Over the yrs had many severe episodes. I was always using my albuterol inhaler.
It got so bad that i had 02 at home. Anyway, after much digging around on the internet, there seems to be a correlation with asthma and lung worms.
I have been symptom free since treating for this for several yrs. I believe Hulda Clark has info on this as well.
There was info on here recently citing a Dr. Kaplow (I think) finding a connection to these worms with a lot of CFS patients.
I think if you do a search either on here or google it, you will find the info. Sorry, I don't know how to cut and paste.
Also, in the meantime for you I have brought myself out of severe attacks using black coffee (no cream).
Coffee contains natural theopholine. Also keeping the colon moving is very important. Hope this helps some.
Gael
-------------------- PARASITES/WORMS ARE NOW RECOGNIZED AS THE NUMBER 1 CO-INFECTION IN LYME DISEASE BY ILADS* Posts: 6418 | From philadelphia pa | Registered: Jul 2008
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My son as asthma and Lyme. I am now wondering if the asthma is from Lyme. It is very mild.
Once I realized his inhaler was a steriod I stopped it. He has been fine without it so far.
Not only do I think it is why he is so sick but it might be why his test results weren't more positive?
Steroids suppress your immune system and cause you body to stop making antibodies for Lyme.
Anyone else have any thoughts on this?
My LLMD told me not to take steroids unless it was to save my life!
-------------------- My lyme disease blog: http://lymetimes3.blogspot.com/ One BIG Lyme family! I tested CDC + 10/08 My mom Igenex + 11/08 & My brother Igenex + 4/09, My 2 boys some + & IND bands, clinical diagnosis 3/09 (youngest has Aspergers too) Posts: 470 | From Painesville, Ohio | Registered: Mar 2009
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Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Hi Amy, yes, some are steroidal...and yes, in general we should avoid them...but at times they are necessary. My doc only wanted me to do the steroid one for a month to see how I would respond, hoping to halt the steady worsening progression.
Her reasoning is that because it is absorbed in the lungs, it does far less damage than other meds absorbed through the digestive track.
Thank you for the added information and coffee suggestion Gael. I'll have to give that a try.
Yes, Miss Toots, sleep is so important to our healing, and I know that when I was finally able to get some decent sleep after a few years into treatment, it really made a huge impact on my overall improvement. I just need to keep tweaking meds again to find that right combination that will work for me this time around.
I'm still waiting for my doc to get back with me about these choices. But have done some more research on them in the meantime. It seems that the Advair comes with the most warnings concerning interactions with other meds (antivirals, antibiotics and antidepressants, ie Elavil), so that one may not be a good choice afterall.
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
perfect timing ... went to weekly health course at hospital; it was ALLERGIES & ASTHMA today and dr. was hilarious; a regular jay leno, etc. been there 30 plus years
he stated they are steroids and they had been studied well and they do NOT suppress immune system.
"steroids do NOT affect the lungs or airways" ! **************************************************
i didn't get a chance to ask specifically about lyme & them; after Q/A he returned to his waiting patients.
2 benedral pills = .08 alcohol level !!
LITTLE INHALER works best; not the bigger one!
for low income folks; email the company; many will give you these FREE and most have $20 coupon online to print off!
he said topical ASTROPRO, sp??, nose spray works really well.
he showed using a SPACER; hook it up to your inhaler and blow/inhale thru there. i asked that it be passed around, but it never got to me!
canning salts, baking soda, and WARM water work good and especially the NETTI POTS!! cheap and effective.
he had no written notes; this is all i took since we had so many Q/A in 1 hr. he was there.
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Thanks Miss B, I appreciate you taking notes and offering them here. Yes, it does seem as if allergies go hand in hand with asthma. Both are pretty severe with me.
I did try the Neti pot. Although, when the allergies hit, it is impossible to use as the flow is blocked. And, I am awful at thinking of it as a preventative. But thanks for the reminder... I will try to be more consistent.
My doc , bless her heart, is lovely at handing out samples when she has them. Unfortunately, none were available at my last apt. But thanks for the coupon tip.
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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lymeparfait
Unregistered
posted
My daughter, teenager, has exercise enduced asthma, that coincidentally started when the lyme symptoms started. She is a competative swimmer, so she notices when she cannot breath! It's easy to monitor her progress.
She has been using many inhalers and needed them more progressively as her lyme symptoms progressed from age 12 to 18.
After a year of lyme and co-infectin treatment,age 16-17, her use of the inhalers has deminished...to almost nothing at age 18. She was on albuterol, and now xopenex.
But hasn't used it at all for several month...during her high intensity swim workouts and meets...as was always needed in the past. She actually needed it every day during her middle school and most of high school years.
I do believe it is all related. My believe due to our move to whole body treatment for body balancing along with lyme and co-infectin treatment, is that it all stems from the gut.
The immune system, and allergies that form from dis-regulation of our cells from lyme and co, and from poor nutrient absorption, cause this.
Once we started working on healing our intestines and our absorption of nutrients, everything started to improve. Especially the asthma and allergies.
She also has been HIGHLY allergic to cats and dogs most of her life...and now she is not! Also highly allergic to trees, molds, pollens and rag weed...now not! This is all resolving with treatment.
There is definately a link with healing your gut, the immune response and allergies!
We are lucky our LLMD is a DO, who understands the need to balance the whole body. I would highly recommend anyone suffering with asthma, try to find a LLMD who can help regulate the immune system...not just do antibiotics. You need a complementary approach to heal this.
Anyone else have experience with this and seen improvement with asthma?
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Good morning LP, interestingly enough, my asthma began in my early 20's as exercise induced too. I was then running 5 miles a day and the Albuterol alone was pretty much controlling things for me. Of course, what I didn't know at the time was that I was also battling TBDs.
As I got progressively worse, the asthma did as well. It is no longer induced by exercise as I can't exercise any longer.
It does fluctuate tremendously depending on my current state. At my recent worst 2 years ago, my doc declared that I was on the verge of COPD. Extended babs treatment brought me back out of that to where, for example, I went almost a year with barely even thinking about where my inhaler was.
Yes, concurrently at that time, I had just awful IBS issues, leaky gut, TBD anorexia, adrenal issues, etc. I SO agree that it is all connected and feel very blessed to now be working with a doc who is willing to address all these aspects to my overall health picture.
SO many times, I think we feel like we have to tackle only one thing at a time, when in reality... there are always several issue in play, and we need to address those 'back-seaters' too, before they take center stage.
I'm so pleased your dear one is doing better!
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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lymeparfait
Unregistered
posted
Thanks Melanie...
I bet there are more stories like yours and my daughters...
This should be a study done on TDD's and asthma.
One day, the dots will be connected to all the crazy things caused by TBD's.
My daughter is trying the Allergie Immune Treatment drops that some others are doing on lymenet. Hoping to further resolve the disregulation of allergy and immune response in the DNA, both inherited and newly acquired. Time will tell if she gets any further relief and change.
If so, I will post the results, and get her tested again at Columbia U. where her asthma specialist is and she was originally tested and treated...and where they don't believe this is caused by lyme....
posted
I've had atypical asthma all my life. After 12 weeks on Minocin, I no longer needed any of my inhalers. I noticed that the steriod inhaler was making my candida flair.
One of my labs at the FFC of Detroit showed that I had very high IgG & IgA antibodies to CPN or chlamydia pneumonia. Many of the Abx used for Bb also treat CPN.
After cutting out sulfites completely and adding molybdenum (a high potency capsule not the liquid w/alcohol tincture) plus the above Abx, I've been inhaler free for 2.8 years.
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Hi Miss Carol, no...I haven't yet gotten the infamous salt pipe! I promise I will look into it...and thank you for reminding me, really!
Lots of good info, Munch, thank you for adding it! I'm a bit worn now, but will look it over tomorrow.
Once again, thanks so much to each of you...
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Just a little update...
I couldn't get in touch with my doc last week, I guess my message got lost or something...and so I tried calling again Friday, but by that time she was already gone for the weekend.
So, anyway, I finally broke down and went to the pharmacy yesterday with my new scrpts and bought the Singular and Intal. My asthma was getting so bad, constant coughing and very short of breath.
Anyway, I took my first Singular pill about an hour ago...and WOW...I can already feel a difference! Is that even possible???
My chest no longer feels constricted, and absolutely NO coughing! This is the first time in many months that I can actually take a deep breath w/out causing a cascading attack.
Where has this little pill been all my life, and more specifically, WHY didn't any other doc help me with this? I'm SO grateful to have this new doc!!!
Does anyone else take Singular? I would really like to know your experiences with that, if you would care to share.
Thanks again so much to each of you for your input and help! M
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
RELIEF ..... oh how sweet it is!
i believe i was on singular at one time; can't remember anything since i've been on 10-22 RX meds!
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