Asthma Problems

Ugh, I am so sorry since I know how awful that is! It is not something to fool around with as you know. Since you have no insurance, see if your doctor can hook you up with samples. Inhalers are so expensive now that they changed the mechanism (the pharmaceutical companies ways of getting around their patents having expired) so no generics. No generics means I pay through the nose for inhalers and I do have insurance! You need to talk to your doctor and together figure out a way to get you on the preventative inhaler! You will be so much better! Good luck to you. No home remedies, just want to add that acid reflux can aggravate asthma as well as allergies/cold acting up. Either of those a factor?

You need to see an asthma specialist this week.

For flare ups, they have my son use his preventative medicine (Asmanex) 2x a day and his rescue inhaler.

No "home remedies", but I can tell you that my son went on a corticosteroid nightly inhaler for a while that really helped him, when he first was dealing with asthma (exercise induced, for him). He had never had any asthma issues (to our knowledge) until he had double pneumonia a few years ago. Then a few months after he was recovered from that, he had his first asthma attack at a martial arts class during sparring.

He went on Asmanax (sp?) for about a year, maybe slightly less. It was pricey, too. Even with insurance, it was about $30 per inhaler (which contained about 30 doses, so a month's supply). But it really did help. Now he rarely has any asthma issues. The last one I think was in February when he was under a lot of stress and sparring at a tournament, and it was very hot inside in the building, too.

You should definitely be taking an inhaler daily to reduce the use of your Albueterol. What's important to realize is that your lungs are inflamed and that reduces the flow of air inside them. You need to be on a steriod medication to reduce the inflamation. They will likely suggest an inhaled steriod. I use to use Azmacort and it worked well for inflamation. After the newer drug Advair came out they started to prescribe me with that medicine when I had trouble, however right on the Advair informational website it says you should only use it if other inhaled corticosteriods don't work for you.

You will need to take an inhaled steriod for a few weeks to make the inflamation subside. I could usually stop taking it when I had little or no problems breathing after a few weeks but check with your Dr. first.

The good news is that I now have a prescription for Advair to use when I have flare ups such as when I have a chest cold. I use it regularly for a few weeks until I feel better and no longer need my rescue inhaler. I've had my asthma since I was 9 so I am very good at reading it.

I rarely use either one these days. I still carry a rescue inhaler but I use it less than 10 times per year. And I use the Advair for a few weeks about twice a year. I hate using drugs unless they're absolutely necessary but no home remedy can help your asthma! You can take pills for allergies that might reduce the symptoms but that's it.

My problem is that since they changed the inhalers to be environmentally friendly, they dont work. I used to be able to use one puff, now I have to do 3 - 4 and I still dont get very good relief. Most preventatives take a few weeks to start working so while it would be a good idea, it wont give you immediate relief. I used the one that was purple and circular shaped, cant remember the name. I stopped using it because it was so expensive and it didnt seem to help. For me, taking a daily allergy pill helps a lot. Its a lot cheaper and you can buy them otc.

I also have asthma and i was using my inhaler and nebulizer all the time until i got a preventative. I got Dulera. A lot of doctors will still give you samples, so if you go and ask for a preventative ask if they have any samples. My Dulera has 124 measured puffs and that usually lasts a few months for me. And also a lot of times the companies that make the inhalers will help you pay for them if you quailify for it, ask your doctor about that too because my doctor told me and gave me the form for the financial help.
Hope it works out!

I agree with the other posts that you need to get to the doctor sooner rather than later. In the interim though, I found this article interesting and it may be of some help to you.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Coffee-Drinking-and-Asthma-Reli...