Re: Great results with Symbicort-

April 1, 2008

Hi Barb,

Foradil takes action quite rapidly, within a few minutes, but the

effects last for about 12 hours. Serevent has a somewhat slower onset

of action, more like 20 minutes, but also lasts for about 12 hours.

Although foradil has a rapid onset of action, it is not considered a

rescue med. Neither foradil or serevent should be taken alone, they

always need to be taken with an inhaled steroid. The black box warning

for both meds from the SMART clinical trials came from deaths occuring

in patients who were taking only the long acting bronchodilators (LABAs)

without a steroid. The theory (as I understand it) is that the LABAs

bronchodilating effect masked the symptoms of worsening inflammation in

the lungs, leading to a fatal asthma crisis. Inflammation needs to be

treated with steroids. They are paired with inhaled steroids in Advair

and Symbicort. Symbicort has been available in Europe and other

countries since 2000.

I personally have only seen a few patients on symbicort where I work,

but I would think it might be worth a try if advair is not working or

causing side effects. Doctors are very used to Advair, and I think it

will take awhile for many to change prescribing patterns. They go with

what they are used to using. The side effect profile is very similar to

Advair, but sometimes one medicine works better for an individual than a

similar one. I noticed several people have posted recently about liking

the symbicort. It would definitely be worth discussing with your doctor

if you aren't liking the Advair. Hope that helps!

Have been on Advair 500/50 for over a year

> > and recently have not had

> > > good results. For the last month or so, I've had to use a

nebulizer

> > > 2 - 3 times a day along with 2 or 3 uses of an albuterol inhaler

> > daily.

> > > My pulmonologist had me switch to Symbicort - 2 puffs twice a

> > day. By

> > > the second day, I was off the nebulizer and albuterol.

> > >

> >

>

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