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strange type of asthma

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Posted 9/28/2008 5:38 PM (GMT -8)
Hi, I am new here and have mild asthma but lately have experienced asthma after taking certain medications that I appear to be allergic to and then have asthma attack and then that can cause asthma havoc/episodes for a good 2 months occurring daily.  I take all the ususal inhalers(QVAR/Serevent, singular,etc daily and then xopenix as a rescue inhaler when episodes severe.  Wondering if this has happened to anyone and when these episodes occur if there is a way to straighten things with medications etc. so I am not suffering thru months of these episodes-my drs. don't seem to have answers. Thanks, retrn
Posted 9/28/2008 7:14 PM (GMT -8)
If I take meds that upset my stomach and cause problems with my acid reflux I have ended up having problems for months with my asthma. The last one causing problems was one week on a Crestor and 3 months to get my asthma and stomach straightend out. My asthma was so bad that I ended up in the ER 2x and couldn't even be outside for long. They tried all sorts of stuff and nothing really worked. I just had to ride it out by taking it easy and staying away from any triggers that cause attacks. It's an awful feeling to have your asthma so out of control. Right now I am having lots of problems with my asthma because my daughters dog is here and keeps peeing in my house. He moved in mid May and ever since my asthma has been out of control. It really sucks when my asthma is like this because when the asthma medicine doesn't work then they think it is my heart and they have to go in and look at that even though I insist it's my asthma as was the case on August 5th when they went in and found my arteries and stent to be pristine. So at least I got some good news out of all that pain. Sorry I couldn't be of much help. Let me know if you do find something that does work. I am going to get something natural to try in addition to my meds. Good luck.  
Posted 9/30/2008 9:44 AM (GMT -8)

Hi Retrn, I noticed you use a xopenex inhaler for rescue.  My dr. gave me a prescrip and I used it but it ony barely helped me.  And it took an hour before I had any relief and then just temporary relief.  I use albuterol for my rescue and azmacort for daily med.  How long is it supposed to take for the xopenex to work?  I have heard it takes a while for it to kick in. But in the meantime I am wheezing like crazy and don't have relief.  I use a spacer with my inhalers as have had a lot of problems with sore throat and hoarseness if I don't.  If you have any answers I would really like to hear from you.  Thanking you in advance for your help and hope you can reply.

Aurora

Posted 10/1/2008 2:30 PM (GMT -8)
Yes I have asthma and presumed secondary to the gerd.  MY asthma is not too bad mostly just some slight trouble getting air inand feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest.  I find if I take a xanax(tranquilizer) and 2 puffs of Xopenix I get releif in 10-15 minutes.  It is supposed to be a rescue emergency inhaler and very similar to Albuterol.  Sorry, it doesn't work so well for you. 
Posted 10/1/2008 6:21 PM (GMT -8)
I've never even heard of that inhaler Xopenix. It sure doesn't sound like it works very well. When I take my rescue inhaler I have almost instant relief. I took albuterol until they discontinued that one and my doctor then put me on Proair and it works just as well as the abuterol. I just took an asthma education class my lung doc wanted me to take and I learned that the spacer if so much better at delivering the medication to your lungs so I now carry mine with me at all times and use it when I need too. I learned alot of stuff I didn't know or realize about asthma from that class. I'm glad I went. Have you ever tried the proair inhaler for a rescue? It might work better. That would really scare me if it took that long for my rescue inhaler to work. Barb

Posted 10/2/2008 10:19 AM (GMT -8)
Hi Barb, I do use a Proair inhaler and it actually is albuterol, just without the CFC, it now is called HFA.  The proair does help me a lot.  And I learned the hard way that it is really necessary to use a spacer.  I got so hoarse I couldn't talk and my throat hurt badly.  Unfortunately it took a trip to the emegency room after a bad asthma attack to find out about the spacer.  They asked me if I used one and I said I didn't have one so they gave me one.  It has made a tremendous difference. I can talk again!  When you spray the inhaler directly into your mouth the med ends up more on the back of your throat and doesn't go into your lungs as much.  With the spacer you release the med and then breathe in from the spacer which puts the med into your lungs.  But I am sure you have learned all this. I had heard good things about xopenex and got one but have only used it once.  It is a new type of rescue inhaler but similar to albuterol.  It doesn't make you as jittery. My asthma is starting to improve so when i'm not too bad again i'll give the xopenex another try. I know when I get nebulizer treatments from my dr. that they put xopenex in the nebulizer and that really helps me.  Hoping with a hard freeze all this mold and pollen will go away and we'll all be able to breathe better.

Posted 10/2/2008 2:56 PM (GMT -8)
I think I will ask for Proair as well as the Xopenix-they prescribed that because I have a heart rhythm problem and most rescue inhalers make my heart beat too fast! This is a bit milder and definately less jittery
Posted 10/2/2008 4:19 PM (GMT -8)

Hi Retrn,  The Xopenex is much less jittery than the Proair.  Proair is actually a brand of albuterol and it does make you jittery and makes your heart beat faster for a while so if you have a heart problem you might want to talk to your dr. first before switching.  I use the Proair(there are many different brand names for albuterol, like Proventil) and I use the albuterol as my asthma can be so bad I can't get any air in my lungs.  And the albuterol works very fast.  So if your asthma isn't so bad and you can get relief from xopenex you might want to stay with that. Best to check with the dr. to see what you should do.  I also use a maintainance inhaler called an azmacort.  It is a steroid inhaler and is meant to keep away inflamation in my lungs but is not a rescue inhaler.  I use it daily to prevent inflamation which in turn can constrict the airways. Hope this info helps you.

Aurora

Posted 10/2/2008 7:59 PM (GMT -8)
My doctor probably told me that but I just forgot about the Proair being albuterol. I never used my inhaler as much as I have this year so I never had problems with the sore throat thing. I learned all about the spacer in the class I took. I'm alergic to mold and pollen so I'm hoping my problems go away with those irritants and  my daughters dog is out of the house on the 18th. I may still have problems once I go for my vacation to North Carolina as they are still having warm weather. We leave for there on the 21st to go see our grand daughter and grandson. I go see my regular doc on Monday to talk to him about trying something else besides Zertec and benadryl because they are not working. I really don't want to go on vacation like this with all that junk draining down my throat. I've even been doing the sinus rinse 3 x a day and I still have the draining. It does help for a while. My asthma doctor asks his patients to use the rinse because when your sinus drains down your throat it irritates your asthma.  I had already been doing it though. It does help for a while before the draining starts again. I just hope the doctor can give me something stronger that will work. Barb   
Posted 10/3/2008 10:36 AM (GMT -8)

Hi Pandacrazy, I use Allegra for my allergies but don't know if that will help you any more than the zyrtec.  Allegra is still prescription.  Another allergy med I used a while ago is called Atarax.  It worked very well for me but boy did it make me sleepy.  So this whole allergy thing is 6 of one and half a dozen of another.  Don't know how we win but hang in - hard freeze is not too far away depending on where you live and that will kill the pollen and mold.  Also, have you ever had the air ducts in your heating system in your house cleaned out?  It can be expensive but I understand it really cuts out the dust. Also, do you have a filter machine like a hepa filter?  Those are supposed to be really good.  Keep me posted and take care.

Aurora

Posted 10/3/2008 6:39 PM (GMT -8)

Hi Aurora, I used Allegra and it worked really well but I had the side effect of horrible low back pain. I suffered with that for a whole year until I saw a commercial for Allegra and the side effect they mentioned was low back pain. When I quit taking it the back pain went away. Zertec makes me very  redface tired so I take it at bedtime and it helps me sleep better. We had a freeze last night and are going to have another one tonight. I really hate the cold but it would be nice to have my allergies and asthma better. I'll have to try one of those filter machines. I'm willing to give just about anything a try at this point. I'm afraid if I don't get this under control when I go on vacation in 2 weeks if either of the grandkids are sick I will end up very sick. I've ended up in the ER more than once on vacations. That's not something I want to do again. Barb

Posted 10/3/2008 7:41 PM (GMT -8)

Hi Barb, I'm sorry you had such problems with the Allegra. I didn't know back pain was a side effect.  That hasn't happened to me.  I used to take zyrtec when it was prescription and then my insurance wouldn't pay for it any more.  But zyrtec is over the counter now so easy to get.  I think you will get used to the zyrtec and the real sleepiness will eventually go away.  It did with me.  As far as the spacer goes I think it is a good idea for you to get one.  You can buy them at your pharmacy.  Ask the pharmacist to explain carefully how to use it.  Used properly you will  probably get more relief from your rescue inhaler.  It has made all the difference for me.  When you use it, however, it almost feels as if you are not getting any medication but trust me, the med is getting into your lungs.  You may have to give it 10 or 15 min to work completely but it does work and you will feel so much better. I hope this helps and I hope you have an enjoyable vacation.  Let me know how it goes when you return. All the best to you and your family.

Aurora

Posted 10/6/2008 5:27 PM (GMT -8)
Hi Aurora, I do have a spacer. They gave me one in my asthma education class and showed me how to use it and every thing. My rescue inhaler works right away with that. I do agree it works so much better than with out it. I saw my new primary doctor today and my peak flow was down. He also said my nose showed signs of infection and alergies. I never knew they could tell that from the different colors in your nose. Where it was red was the infection showing and then there was kind of blueish and pink were the alergies. I also have a fever. He said sometimes the antibiotic doesn't get it all at first which I have already happened to me. So I am on another round of those. He also told me to try taking 2 Claritin since one didn't help. He did mention Alegra, but of course I can't take that. I have enough pain from my accident in my back and I don't need to add to that. It's too bad because that did really work well for my alergies. I always have the most remote side effects and always any stomach related problems if that is a side effect from meds. I don't mind the sleepiness from the Zertec because I take it at bedtime, but it hasn't gotten rid of my problems so it's time to try something else I guess. I just hope this antibiotic gets rid of the problem because I leave 2 weeks from tomorrow for my vacation. I can't wait to see my grandchildren. I'll use my son's computer when I'm on vacation to check in. Barb 
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