I have mild intermittent asthma. Brought on by exposure to pets (allergy, mostly cats), smokey air (wildfires, poor air quality), cold/flu. I rarely take or use any inhaler on a daily basis as I have no issues or symptoms unless one of the above. I do my trainer and outdoor rides and never use an inhaler as well.
However, I completed a lung function test today and to my surprise my numbers went up following 4 puffs of Ventolin. Based on this the respiratory therapist said I should do 2 puffs of Ventolin 15 minutes before every ride and that my Dr will decide on which corticosteroid inhaler to prescribe me (for daily use).
I have used some other inhalers in the past, Alvesco, Advair, Flovent.
I am thinking I do not want to take Advair as it is both a corticosteroid and a long acting bronchodilator. I would prefer to have the 2 drugs separate to be able to only take one or the other, as needed.
I have used Alvesco in the past to try and I don’t believe I felt it had any improvement.
I was then given Flovent and never really ended up using it as I thought my asthma was well controlled enough I really didn’t need a daily inhaler.
The respiratory therapist told me a common corticosteroid is symbicort.
I have also heard of spiriva.
I understand every person may be different in their reaction to a drug, however, as there are so many corticosteroids out there, I am curious on people’s success or lack thereof with different brands.
My only motivation for considering taking a daily corticosteroid is if my lung function numbers would increase with use and without the use of Ventolin. I guess the only way to test this would be repeat my lung function test after a loading phase of a corticosteroid and seeing if my numbers improved following the ventolin.
Thank you for any comments or feedback on your experience.
This is a lot of specific medical advice for a cycling forum. You should be asking your doctor these questions. Seek out a doctor that specializes in asthma and respiratory issues, perhaps a pulmonologist.
FWIW, I have asthma and used many of these drugs over the years with varying degrees of success. Taking puffs of albuterol before exercise is one of the easiest ways to manage mild asthma. However, there is no way to tell you over the internet what you need.
Noted @ciarrai, good point and just looking for anecdotal experience. Will have appointment with Dr in couple weeks once they have been sent my test results.
Anecdotally: For 10 years I rarely used my albuterol inhaler, but then past 2 of those I’ve lived in the US Mountain West and the poor air quality due to wildfires and inversions has wrecked me. I have been on the trainer wondering why a SS interval was so hard, take a few puffs of albuterol and instantly feel normal again.
I have tried Symbicort but it didn’t really do anything for me. I got off Advair mostly because it’s expensive and I felt like my breathing was well controlled as long as I avoided allergens. If some of these drugs weren’t so expensive I’d be open to trying them longer term. The Symbicort Rx was going to be $1200/yr IIRC. Anyway, land of the free…