symbicort

i have been on Symbercort it works well but mt Doctor has just taken me off and put me on Inspiolta Respimat because this is once daily.to early to evaluate

Hiya, Violet,

I have been on it for 3 years and counting,but does work well I'm on the 160 dose there is also a 80 just note as they say you need to do as prescribed in oder to get any benefit,no side effects to speak of,what works is that I  use a neberlizer with Sodium Chloride frist to move the sputum and then use the sym and that seems to keep me at bay.

Regards,

Charlie

I'm also on the lower content 160/4.5 Symbicort inhaler - for nearly 3 years from the date I had my first adult pneumonia, following detection of a shadow on my lung (the shadow was of ten unknown cause following dismissal of lung cancer fears), but I clearly had a sputum/coughing problem that ultimately proved to be broncX). Initially and for a long time I was on a dose of 2 puffs 2 times daily.

Symbicort is actually an asthma/COPD staple drug helping to keep the airways clear, but some pulmonologists also recommend trialling it in broncX.

The 200 micrograms of budesonide in your 200/6 variant inhaler is an anti-inflammatory drug (corticosteroid hormone) which intends to reduce inflamation of the airways - inflammation can narrow the airways and inflammatory cells encourage sputum (with the intention of lubricating mechanical movement I think - but don't quote me on the latter). The 6.0 micrograms of formoterol is a long-acting beta-agonist bronchodilator which widens lung airways for easier breathing.

Your variant has more drug content per delivered inhalation compared to my 160/4.5, but it may be that you have been prescribed a lower number of inhalations than me.

Either way it seems to be relatively low impact to take - ie I have not noticed any side-effects (yet?) and it was only when I dropped the dose down to 2 x 1 (one puff twice daily) that I eventually (maybe after a day or so) detected what I thought was a reduced quality of breathing. Since I have been on the antibiotic Azithromycin, my standard dose is down to 2 x 1, but I occasionally revert to 2 x 2 on the infrequent occasions when I get a flag of impending exacerbation (more sputum, coloured up sputum and/or a bout of tiredness being my usual early flags that something's amiss). I have been on a prophylactic dose of Azithromycin for the best part of 3 months and only twice have I had those flags and, though I got to the brink of taking the full dose, my immune system finally did it's job to settle me back down to a rather mild level of bronchX. Doubling the Symbicort dose back up to 2 X 2 might have contributed to that reversal but might not - I'm not prepared to experiment at keeping on 2 X 1 if I'm feeling something coming on!

Experienced doctors tend to tell 'old-hand' broncX sufferers that they are their own best medics in terms of the pharma and physical side of their treatment and that encourages us to self-experiment with our doseage - so don't be afraid to do so in modest steps. In answering this post I looked back at my Symbicort drug leaflet and realised I really should now be trying to see whether I actually need both the corciscosteroid and bronchodilating elements of Symbicort. Reckon I'll have a go at gently dropping out the formoterol. Both elements are available individually (in much cheaper form) and I see that the leaflet encorages asthma sufferers to try dropping out the formoterol if they are on the lowest (1 x 2 or 2 x 1) dose of 160/4.5 and comfortable. Not sure that will work - as I still get a tad of wheezing (bronchodilation) when I press down hard on expiration  - but reducing any yet unseen side-effects makes such experimentation worth a try.

Hope you do well on the Symbicort. Hope you have free healthcare or insurance - it's quite an expensive drug, which I don't mind paying for one bit (I'm a Brit with private insurance, but I'm now non-resident so I happily pay!)