I was dignosed with asthma within the past year. It is primarily of the viral-induced variety with some indication of exercise-induced as well. I have been on Flovent (Fluticasone) and Flonase for about 7 months. Two months ago my doc added Singulair.
I swear the Singulair gives me a crazy sore throat and makes me congested in the back of my throat with that thick gunk.
Has anyone had any similar issues with Singulair? Is there any likelihood the effects will dissipate?
And, is there any reason to believe that Pulmicort (Budesonide) will be more effective than Flovent? I am feeling like the Flovent may not be doing enough. And, I want to stay away from the long-acting bronchodilators like Salmeterol. I had crazy palpitations after one dose of Advair - which was the first drug they tried on me. If Salmeterol did that, is Foradil likely to have the same effect?
Yes, I know, why am I looking for medical advice on a tri forum, blah, blah blah. Actually all I am looking for is anecdotal information. I am curious to hear what others have experienced. This has all come as quite a shock and a downer.
Try a search on asthma, you’ll see quite a few discussions in past.
I use advair now, its the best so far for preventing EIA that I’ve tried, though a common side-effect is fungal growth in the throat and back of mouth from the steroid component. A good rinse with listerine after dosing seems to work fine for me. My daughter has been on singular for 3+ years with no problems like you describe. Haven’t tried flovent or flonase, but if either one contains a steroid, could trigger the fungal problems that might explain your back of throat problem.
From my experience, Palpitations are common with fast acting bronchiodilators, it beats not being able to breath.
any of the inhaled corticosteroids can produce yeast infections in the mouth/throat (= chronically sore throat), it’s more likely the Flovent/Flonase than the Singulair. As unclerock says, rinse and gargle with something after dosing, should prevent that at least. Different bodies respond differently, so typically the docs will try different meds until they find something that agrees with you, or at least doesn’t disagree violently.
I did not find the Singulair helped at all, and seemed to be depressed more than usual. There was a lot of anecdotal information on Singulair leading to mood changes, anger/irritability etc. No reputable documentation on it though.
Albuterol/Salmeterol always makes me shaky and wired for the first 15 minutes or so. I’m using Combivent for a bronchodilator now, which is a combination of Salmeterol and ipratropium bromide, seems to work fine without the palpitations. I’m lucky in that my asthma seems almost entirely exercise-induced, so I’ve dropped all the long-term meds and just use Combivent before races or TTs. Read the whole sorry history over here.
I take Advair and I find that it works best for me. I previously took two separate inhalers (Serevent and Flovent). The Advair, as I understand it, is really just a combination of those two medications. The inhalers always gave me a sore throat, even with rinsing afterwards. The Advair diskus isn’t an inhaler in the true sense because it doesn’t have a propellant. It is an inhaled powder. I rinse afterwards and I’ve never had a sore throat or any othe problems with it.
Advair “cured” my asthma. Flovent did nothing. Singulair did less than nothing. I actually just “stepped down” to only flovent (1 of 2 meds in advair) and am having no probs whatsoever. I’ve had asthma since I was 2 (now 40)…numerous trips to the hospital, almost killed me 3 times in jr. high. Advair was a miracle for me. I’ve been taking inhalers since the word was invented and never had a throat problem…never rinsed either. Can’t hurt to rinse if you have probs.
Ditto on the albuterol type making my a bit shaky.
I’ve had severe asthma most of my life, but the combination of Singulair tabs and Advair has been an absolute miracle cure for me. Have not had an honest asthma attack since I started on them several years ago.
I have not had the Singulair or Advair side-effects that you are describing, but I have been on some form of asthma meds for 30-years, so I’m pretty immune from the “upper” affects of the meds.
I have had asthma since the 70’s. Mostly seasonal, never a severe attack just a steady wheeze. I also have Excema so I believe I owe it to my Irish heritage. I was on Advair for a number of years, last summer I noticed PVC’s or Premature Ventricular Contractions, they also showed up on my stress tests. Doc changed to Singular and Asmanex.
My body did not do well with the Singular. headaches, general feeling of malaise. So now I am on (since Aug.07)Asmanex only (unless Albuterol is needed). I haven’t noticed any PVC’s although I will not be certain until another stress test. I got the flu shot in November. I have had the worst sick spell of any winter. I have three young kids, but my training volume has been cut to notheing for hte last three months due to cold, upper respitory illness. I don’t know if it is a correlation to the steroid, but I would rather deal with a tough cold and flu season than PVC’s…
i developed asthma from a viral lung infection several years ago. i use flovent regularly and albuterol as needed (some days are worse than others). i’m always concerned about my long training days as well as my races so i’ll have my albuterol on hand just in case but other than one fast-paced 5k on a cold, rainy day i’ve never had any incidents. my doctor recommended that i use flovent and severant before my races and carry the albuterol w/ me. so far so good with everything from sprints up to ims. oh, and i haven’t had any problems with the sore throat but i always make sure to rinse afterwards.
at first i hated the thought of having to use an inhaler because i didn’t want to be dependent on medicine (i’m a triathlete which means i’m tough, right:)) but the horrible feeling of not getting enough air to breath got me over that pretty quickly. fortunately i seem to have it under control now.
The attached string has some points. Asthma, and meds is a complicated issue. Advair is NOT necessary for most patient, although most FP’s feel Advair is a good choice because patients do so well on it. HOWEVER, the Serevent portion can hide the root cause of the disease. Asthma is an inflamatory disease and thus, the inflamation needs to be controlled - when you control the inflamation, your symptoms subside. Thus, often one needs to increase inhaled steroids accordingly. These include Pulmicort, Flovent or once-a-day Asmanex. Albuterol should be used very rarely, if you use it a couple of times a week, your inflamation is not under control. As for Singulair, it has been shown to create remodeling of the airways, not good.
Bottom line, find a pulminologist.
Why are you on Flonase, you made no comment regarding allergies.
I have exercise induced, and the best blend for me is
Pulmicort in AM, winter ONLY (temp changes = swelling)
and
Proventil Inhaler (not crappy generic red one) before exercise only (if racing IM take every 4 hours). Your method of inhalation can impact the results so learn how to use the shooter right. The little red albuterol with no cfcs is garabage IMO
The GOOD news is that with proper medication, precautions, and training your performance won’t suffer. I’ve been asthmatic my whole life - I go 2-flat in Olympic, sub 430 in halfs, and run 5km pretty regulaly in the 17’s . If you go PRO you will need to get TUE’s for USAT and ITU (theraputic use exemptions)
i’ve also had great results with advair and singulair. recently, after a bout with bronchitis, my doctor switched me over to symbicort. don’t know why, but as long as it works, i’m okay with that.
Similar problems in Milwaukee. I treat with Advair for Asthma and Flonase for allergies. Problems worse in winter, but with those two, I have zero symptoms. I just don’t like being on steroids for that long, as I’ve been told that it can affect the immune system. However, I rarely get sick. With the severe cold we’ve been having, mold and mildew are pretty nonexistent.
Hope your training is going well, and additionally, hope your practice is going well. Drop me a line sometime. Several attorneys here in Milwaukee are starting to do some training together, and I will be doing some bike racing in Madison in a few months (if the freeze lifts).
Just a note or a word of caution. I have done IMOO twice, in the heat of 04 and the cold of 06. If I could do 04 over again, I would have taken my Advair in T2. I had an asthma attack at mile 20, and felt like crap. Spent an hour taking albuterol in the finish line hospital afterwards. I think with a 7 am start, that by 1 or 2 p.m., with steady exercise the whole time, the affects of Advair’s first dose have worn off.
The cold and rain of the 06 race negated the need for this earlier T2 does. Best of luck in your IMOO prep. Will be doing it again in 09 with my meds in the bag.
As you can see by reading the above posts there is no magic pill/inhaler that fixes all kinds of asthmatics issues. To me Singulair is the cats whiskers. Most asthma regimes use some sort of stacking of drugs to reduce symptoms. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what you need to take for the best one for you. Don’t discount some drugs by what the internet peanut gang says, find an MD that works with you and stick with it.
John,
seriously man. Kill the cat or get rid of it. It’s one or the other. Asthma is nothing to fool around with and if the cat is the problem get rid of the stupid thing or move.
I did IMOO both of those years too. I carry albuterol during the race but never needed it. I hit the advair 1 time the morning of the race and no probs. That stuff just “cured” me. I used to take albuterol during hockey every other shift. Screw the 1/4hr rule. After not doing anything my whole life b/c of it I just said screw it I’m going to live. Now with Advair I take albuterol only if I have the misfortune of getting around a cat or dog.
this is one of the ST serious threads, but, i just have to say this…
i must have trained a bit too hard today and need some sugar, cos when i read the thread title i thought it said…
Astana Meds - Questions from an Astana Newbie
eh?.. are they asking for drug advice on ST now!!!
I have exercise induced, and the best blend for me is
Pulmicort in AM, winter ONLY (temp changes = swelling)
and
Proventil Inhaler (not crappy generic red one) every 4 hours. Your method of inhalation can impact the results so learn how to use the shooter right. The little red albuterol with no cfcs is garabage
The GOOD news is that with proper medication, precautions, and training your performance won’t suffer. I’ve been asthmatic my whole life - I go 2-flat in Olympic, sub 430 in halfs, and run 5km pretty regulaly in the 17’s
If you go PRO you will need to get TUE’s for USAT and ITU (theraputic use exemptions)
DUDE…! Go see a new doctor - you have uncontrolled asthma, you should ONLY be using a maximum of 2 (two) albuterol inhlations a week. Sounds like you use it as therapy and not as a rescue. Don’t listen to me, read the documen below - page 236.
New medicine out in the last year or 6 months: Symbcort (spelling may be off, I dont have it hear with me). Basically does the same as Advair, without the gunky dust that can build up. I believe Advair has come under some scrutinization for those side effects, actually contribuiting to someones death. Anyway Symbcort is a more like a typical mist inhaler. Ive been on it for 6 months and it has basically given me no side effect and improved my lung function by +/- 25%. Ask your doctor is you are right for Symbcort. That last part sounded like a comercial.