Bad inhaler
Hi again. So I was diagnosed with emphysema this week and they put me on Symbicort and Spriva. Now since I’ve been taking the Symbicort it doesn’t help my breathing, to me it makes it worst. My heart rate goes up and I feel some minor chest pains. The Spiriva seems to do the trick. Should I get a new inhaler prescribed or is my copd getting worst? How long does it take for you to see a change with an inhaler?
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I can only speak to my own experience with inhalers. I was diagnosed with COPD with mycobacterial pneumonia last October. Once I got out of the hospital, I was prescribed Symbicort and Proair HFR. I notice a difference immediately with the Symbicort and with the Proair. Both helped me breathe easier right away. I would contact the doctor if I were you and tell him what happens when you use the Symbicort. He would be able to provide an answer I am not qualified to answer. I would imagine each individual reacts differently to inhalers. Definitely contact your health care provider asap. GOod luck and God Bless!
Hi. Thank you for your post. II see you received a response above from and I agree with her recommendation to talk to your doctor. Sometimes it takes time to determine what combination of medicines works best. I had a similar experience with symbicort, and I talked to my doctor about it. In my case, he had me take 1 puff twice a day instead of 2 and that seemed to do the trick. Another option he offered was to try a different but similar inhaler to see if that would help. So, these are the options my doctor offered me. Your doctor may have similar or possibly even better ideas to help you feel better (and with less side effects). What do you think? John. copd.net community moderator Thank you for the update. Glad to hear you talked to your doctor who came up with a solution that is working for you. Good job! Here is wishing you all the best of luck that this continues working well for you. Wishing you all the best. John. asthma.net community moderator. In my defense it is early Sunday morning and I am only 2 sips into my tea. That previous response was supposed to be to not myself lol. And I'm John. copd.net community moderator.
I am using Trellegy the best inhaler I've ever used I believe it's only for emphysema.
I was prescribed Symbicort, and Spiriva for a couple years. Weather changes really bother me, and I'd needed to add a five day regime of prednisone tablets about once a month. I switched to Trelegy and it's working better. Only needing to use it once a day is great. The cost, with a Rx supplement Medicare plan, is about $142.00 per month with a three-month refill for the Trelegy. That's expensive, but the co-pays for the Spiriva, and Symbicort were also high. It took a couple months before I could really tell of any of these inhalers were helping. It takes time.
