My experience with Singulair

So Advair worked wonders in helping me finally obtain good control of my asthma (as I wrote about here). Now it was time to get those dreaded allergies under control.

All my life there just seemed to be nothing available to control allergies. When I was really little my doctor wouldn't let me take anything for allergies, because on the box it said, "Do not take if you have asthma."

As I look back I think how stupid that was. There were many miserable nights for me because of that stupid wisdom. Later I was allowed to use antihistamines, although they did little good.

Pretty much the only thing that worked for allergies was avoidance. Yet it was hard to stay away from my brother's house, my friend's home, and the cabin where the guys hung out. It was no fun to avoid those places, yet that was often the only option, unless I wanted to take risks (which I often did).

And the boxes I set in the basement of my new home three years earlier were still sitting down there, because every time I tackled that job the allergies would strike, and quite often that also lead to an asthma attack (although now less severe due to Advair).

So along came Claritin. And then along came Singulair. Yet, because I didn't complain enough about my allergies to my doctor, these meds were around several years before I tried them.

One day, late 1997, this topic just happened to come up while I was having a friendly discussion with a doctor friend of mine at work. He said, "I think you definitely should be on Singulair. In fact, I think every asthmatic should be on Singulair."

I went home and researched the medicine. Of course I already knew that 70% of asthmatics have both allergies and asthma, and that quite often these allergies trigger asthma. So, if scientists could come up with a medicine to stop the allergy response, then they could control asthma.

Scientists also know that during an allergic reaction a chemical called leukotriene is released. This chemical causes bronchospasm. Finally, in 1998, after spending millions of dollars and 63 years researching leukotrienes and working on a way to block their release, Singulair was approved by the FDA.

Singulair has an active ingredient in it called Montelukast sodium, which blocks the action of leukotriene, thus preventing allergies, and preventing bronchospasm caused by allergies, and, in turn, preventing asthma.

So, new asthma wisdom in hand, I had a nice discussion with my asthma doctor during my next visit. He was skeptical at first. He asked me if I tried over the counter antihistamines like Drixoral or Clariton. I said I tried them all to no avail. "Nothing EVER worked," I said, "And I can't go through one more spring feeling miserable. I just can't!

He said he was "cautious" about starting me on newly released medicine. He didn't want his patients to be a guinea pig. But, being open minded, he said, "I'll let you try it for a month."

"Doc, " I said, "I think you should let me try it at least through spring. If I can make it through spring without having miserable allergies, I'll know this medicine is working."

Finally March arrived -- no allergies. April arrived -- no allergies. May arrived -- no allergies. June, July, August... No allergies at all that summer. In fact, I haven't had allergy symptoms at all since I started taking this asthma/allergy miracle medicine in January of 2008.

Obviously all medicines come with a risk of developing some side effects, but I developed none. Thank God, because allergies held me back for the first 38 years of my life. Not anymore! Now, with the combination of Advair and Singulair, I actually feel like a normal person for the first time in my life.

I have talked with doctors that say every asthmatic should be on Advair, and every allergic/asthmatic should be on Singulair.

By the way, another advantage I've come to enjoy regarding Singulair is it works well to prevent exercise induced bronchospasm. Now, thanks to Advair and Singulair, I'm actually able to run.

So, if you're an asthmatic and allergies continue to hold you back despite your best efforts, I highly recommend you talk to your doctor about Singulair.

Now, keep in mind that what works for me won't necessarily work for every asthmatic. Singulair is simply another option for us asthmatics to try. Thankfully, for me, it worked like a charm.

My experience with Serevent

I've decided in this post to share my experience with the long acting beta adrenergic Serevent. Perhaps there's some asthmatic somewhere who might benefit from my story here.

I guess you can say that even though I've always been a gallant asthmatic for the most part, I was also a hard luck asthmatic up until about 2005. That is: no matter what medicines I was on my asthma was still not controlled (although it didn't stop me from doing much).

As a quick review here, Serevent is a long acting bronchodilator that should be taken twice daily for chronic asthma. It is a time released medicine that does an excellent job of preventing bronchospasm from occurring and thus it works to PREVENT asthma.

Actually, based on studies, the FDA now recommends if you need Serevent to control your asthma you should also be using an inhaled corticosteroid (like Flovent) to control chronic inflammation. This didn't really apply to me, though, as I was already on flovent.

Actually, if you need serevent, you might as well take Advair, which is a combination inhaler with both Serevent and Flovent in it. Another similar medicine is Symbicort.

In 1998 I was still on the same asthma preventative meds I took way back in 1985. I was taking Azmacort four puffs four times a day, I was on Theophylline 600 mg twice a day, and I had a Ventolin inhaler which was prescribed for me to used whenever I needed it.

I actually used my Ventolin quite frequently, and one would last anywhere from a week to a month. My asthma never stopped me from living a normal life, although avoiding my asthma triggers was sometimes a challenge.

So, basically here it was 1998 and I was still on pretty much the same meds antiquated asthma meds I was on in 1985, which you can see here. After I graduated from respiratory school, I moved to my current home, and in the process of moving, dust mites and molds hit me hard and I ended up the the hospital for 10 days.

Once I was feeling better I discussed with my doctor about trying some more updated asthma meds. He advised that I try Severent and Flovent. The Flovent worked great, especially since I only had to take it twice a day as opposed to the 4 puffs 4 times a day I was taking with Azmacort.

The Serevent, on the other hand, made me so jittery I could hardly function at work (it was hard to draw blood, one of my favorite duties). So after a couple weeks I quit taking it.

Actually, I moved into my current home in 2004, and in 2007 many of the boxes still sat unopened in my basement. Every time I went down there I'd have an allergy/asthma attack.

In the meantime I talked to asthmatic friend who said since she started taking Advair she no longer feels like she even had asthma. So I talked with my doctor again about trying Advair. However, AGAIN, I got very jittery and had to quit taking it.

I think the reason I was having such a hard time with the Serevent was because I was using so much Ventolin. So I decided to try something on my own. I decided that I would SLOWLY decrease my use of Ventolin at the same time I weaned myself onto the Sevevent (Advair).

What I did was I took one puff of Advair every other day for a month. Then I took one puff a day for a month. Then I started taking it once in the morning and once at night, the recommended frequency.

It worked. By weaning myself onto the Advair the Serevent was SLOWLY introduced into my body. And, as the LABA started taking effect, I needed less and less Ventolin.

Finally I felt like a normal person. In fact, my asthma was better than it ever was in my life. Still, though, I wasn't able to clean my basement due to chronic allergies, and this is where Singulair comes into play (I'll get into that in my next post).

Advair brought upon a major change in my life. Honesty, for the first time in my life I felt I had control of my asthma. Advair is simply a "miracle" medicine. And, if I hadn't worked with my doctor on weaning myself onto it, my asthma would still be "controlled" by 1980s standards -- and that's no longer acceptable.

My point by sharing this experience is twofold. One, if you are doing everything you can to control your asthma and it's still not controlled, research other asthma meds, especially the newer ones, and discuss with your doctor your options.

Two, sometimes you may need to get creative with new meds, and you need to give it a chance to work. If you tried it once and had a bad experience like I did, try it again later. If all else fails, slowly wean yourself off the old medicine, and onto the new. Be patient, and hope for the best.

If I wasn't patient like this, I'd still be those old medicines and my asthma wouldn't be as controlled as it is now. Another neat thing about Advair and Singulair is they allowed me to wean myself off Theophylline, of which I was chronically dependent on for 30 years (also an upcoming post).

Despite my header, I no longer consider myself a hard luck asthmatic. Likewise, thanks to Advair, I no longer consider myself a bronchodilatoraholic either because I hardly ever use my Ventolin Rescue inhaler anymore. And that, to me, is major progress