Asthma

[tilly]

Does anyone need to take the inhalers ventolin for their Asthma ? ? or is their an alternative because of the tachycardia contraindications ..... I have asthma and have had a flare up following a bout of flu and the cold weather is aggravating the situation ?.. I cant go out because of my asthma and I have been prescribed ventolin again and fear taking it because of my server tachycardia .... any help appreciated ....

tilly

[delphicdragon]

I have asthma and can't take albuterol because of the tachycardia (heart rate jumped up to 180 and stayed there last time I took it) Instead I take something called Xopenex which is "albuterol lite". It tends to cause much less tachycardia than the Albuterol - but, most hospitals don't stock it, so be aware of that because they will give you albuterol anyway.

I love my Xopenex. I also take Maxair, which may or may not be off the market right now. That opens me up without making me too tachy, though it doesn't last as long as the Xopenex.

http://www.xopenex.com/

http://www.maxair.com/

Sara

[flop]

I use a salbutamol inhaler without problems. if you are worried try just taking 1 puff instead of 2.

Other options to discuss with your GP would be a cromoglycate inhaler (intal) very old-fashioned and better in kids, or consider a short course of steroid tablets (prednisolone) to get calm the inflammation in your lungs.

If asthma is an ongoing problem you may do better to take a preventative steroid inhaler all year round tp prevent flare ups.

Flop

[joy]

ask about maxair, it didn't make my heart race

[flop]

Unfortunately in the UK we don't have the same choice of inhalers availabe. I''ve done a bit of research on the available bronchodilator medications in the UK.

Albuterol is called Salbutamol in the UK (brand names include Ventolin).

Maxair = Pirbuterol (not available in the UK)

Xopenx = Levosalbutamol = Levoalbuterol (not available in the UK)

The options available in the UK are:

Short acting beta2 agonists

Salbutamol (eg Ventolin)

Terbutaline (eg Bricanyl)

antimuscarinic bronchodilator

Ipratropium (eg atrovent) (takes 30-60 mins to work)

All three list tachycardia as a possible side-effect so it might be a case of trying to see which suits you best.

The intal inhaler that I mentioned earlier doesn't actually work to open up the lungs but is used for prevention of exercise-induced asthma so probably not what you need.

Flop

[tinkerbella]

I've been having to do abuterol neb treatments since the flu as needed using 1/2 of the fluid in the liittle vile per order by Dr. Castells, so my heart rate won't go crazy. Do you have a nebulizer?

GOOD LUCK!

[tilly]

Thanks for the replies ... my asthma nurse thought maybe the breathlessness could be related to my heart problems .. I was offered an angiograme but felt to scared to go through with it ...

Re the inhalers I will mention to the asthma nurse what you've said and ask about the nebulizer, she also thought a reliever may do the trick and help stop me from getting it again next winter .... thanks ...tilly

[flop]

Hi Tilly,

I do have a nebuliser that I have used when my asthma is really bad - however the dose of salbutamol in a neb is either 2.5mg or 5mg. The dose in one puff of a standard MDI inhaler is 100 micrograms (much smaller). I find minimal problems from my inhaler but that a neb makes me quite tachycardic.

I think that your asthma nurse may well be correct in suggesting a daily inhaler to stop these flares from happening. There are 3 classes of inhalers for asthma:

A) Relievers - relax the muscles in the airways to give rapid relief of symptoms, act for a few hours, eg Salbutamol (Ventolin), Terbutalin (Bricanyl).

Preventers - to reduce inflammation and prevent asthma attacks, usually steroids, eg Beclometasone (Becotide), Fluticasone (Flixotide).

C) Protectors - long acting versions of relievers (no good for emergency use though), eg Salmeterol (Serevent), Formoterol (Oxis, Foradil)

B+C) Combined preparations, eg Fluticasone + Salmeterol (Seretide), Beclometasone + Formoterol (Symbicort).

The inhalers in group B shouldn't have any effect on your heart rate so that is probably what your asthma nurse is planning. Sorry I seem to be a bit of a geek regarding asthma treatments but I used to have very troublesome asthma and I'm the sort of person who reads everything available! The Asthma UK website is a good resource.

Flop

[flop]

Oops B and ) combined make a smilie!