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Onbrez
Nov 21, 2012 22:22:05 GMT -5
Post by shelley on Nov 21, 2012 22:22:05 GMT -5
Saw my respirologist today and am going to give Onbrez a try. It would seem that although approved here in Canada, it's not being used much. At this point in the game, as she said to me, we can be creative and give anything a try.
I will still be using my other puffers and uniphyl but the the hope is that it will provide enough relief so that I don't have to use Oxeze twice a day on top of my twice daily symbicort and spiriva and uniphyl 600 mg.
Has anyone else tried it yet?
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Onbrez
Nov 22, 2012 8:13:31 GMT -5
Post by susanny on Nov 22, 2012 8:13:31 GMT -5
I'm not using it, Shelley, but would be interested in hearing how it works for you. I, too, am at the point where anything might be of help. My dr. said we've exhausted all options, but he didn't say anything to me about this drug. Maybe it's not approved in the US? I wish you good luck!
BTW, what us uniphyl?
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Onbrez
Nov 22, 2012 9:05:30 GMT -5
Post by Blossom/Jackie W. on Nov 22, 2012 9:05:30 GMT -5
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Post by shelley on Nov 23, 2012 10:29:59 GMT -5
Not sure where to post this as I just saw the older thread but I'll post here for now. FYI Susanny, my Fev1 is 23% and I am in oxygen 24/7 but still very active. Uniphyl is also called Thephyline (sic) and is not prescribed much anymore but I was started on it about 15 years ago and can't come off it. It has its pluses and minuses. It is an oral bronchodilator. At this point for me it's all about comfort/quality of life and I've run the gambit of meds. So getting creative with things is an option. I seldom have lung attacks and I have no mucous normally. Therefore I am not on an antibiotic daily but I do have all my meds sitting at the drug store in the event I catch a bug. I had big trouble making the transition from Atrovent to Spiriva years ago but did change over. However it has always seemed that when I use my Spiriva my lungs take a hike south. My other doc at the transplant clinic has had me now change to taking Spiriva at night to see if it makes a difference. Onbrez, as I've been told has not yet quite found a home with docs. In my case, as I use Symbicort day and night which contains Oxese, I was also using Oxese twice a day in between to open up my breathing. There was no real concern about this as in the test scenario it was used up to many more times than that a day without incident. At this stage of the game, if it works do it. Neither ventolin or bricanyl do anything for me. Remember that these are Canadian names. Anyway, we talked about it and decided to give it a whirl. Not stopping anything else but at the same time hoping it would stop my need for Oxyese during the day. Yesterday was day one and nope, no need for Oxyese during the day. Interesting! Time will tell. One has to always keep in mind that there is a psychological effect both positive and negative when meds are changed. I'll let you know how it goes. One thing I did find out is that it is being used when someone can't take Spiriva. . I've been saying for years that I'm having trouble with Spiriva but it seems that people are only now coming forward and questioning it. Anyway , will let you all know how it goes.
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Onbrez
Nov 23, 2012 10:41:09 GMT -5
Post by Blossom/Jackie W. on Nov 23, 2012 10:41:09 GMT -5
That's interesting Shelley (your last paragraph) Off the top of my head I'm thinking Sandy and maybe a couple others. I'm confident she'll see your post.
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Onbrez
Nov 23, 2012 21:35:13 GMT -5
Post by susanny on Nov 23, 2012 21:35:13 GMT -5
Thank you for your information, Shelley. I hope this works for you.
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Onbrez
Nov 24, 2012 8:37:28 GMT -5
Post by sandy07 on Nov 24, 2012 8:37:28 GMT -5
Shelley....yes, Blossom is right. I've had trouble with Spiriva. The problem seemed to creep up on me. It started to tighten up my lungs until one morning it seemd they turned to stone...immediately after taking it. I switched to Atrovent in April. Then a month ago I thought I'd try it again. Seemed okay for a while but then I started to feel the tightening again....so stopped. Yes. the doctors look at me funny when I tell them what happened. I also tell them that it may not have been tested long enough to discover the problem. I'm waiting for Onbrez too since taking Atrovent 4 times a day is a pain.
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Onbrez
Nov 24, 2012 23:52:03 GMT -5
Post by ronwtor on Nov 24, 2012 23:52:03 GMT -5
i will be going on it as well, far better than spirva
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Onbrez
Nov 25, 2012 17:01:49 GMT -5
Post by chrisw on Nov 25, 2012 17:01:49 GMT -5
I would like to remind people that Onbrez is a beta-agonist bronchodilator, so it is in the same 'family' as Salbutamol, Oxese, Foradil, and the bronchodilators in Advair and Symbicort. It is in a different 'family' to Atrovent and Spiriva, which are anti-muscarinic bronchodilators.
In other words these 'families' each "push different buttons" in the lungs to open up the lungs in different ways. So there is benefit (in many people) to taking both an anti-muscarinic such as Spiriva AND a beta-agonist such as Onbrez. There are also people who do not benefit from one of the drugs in a family but do benefit from an other. So some (like Sandy) benefit from the anti-muscarinic Atrovent but not from Spiriva, although they both "push the same button"!
We are all different, and we all respond slightly differently. This is why we need to work with our doctors to figure out the best, or at least a satisfactory, drug regime that works for us. So switching from Spiriva to Onbrez might help someone because 'a different button is pushed', but they probably would be even better to ADD Onbrez so that 'both buttons were pushed' (if they were not previously taking a beta-agonist bronchodilator)!!
A good combination for most people with severe COPD includes a good long-acting anti-muscarinic such as Spiriva, a good long-acting beta-agonist such as Oxese and a good inhaled steroid such as Pulmicort. The beta-agonist and inhaled steroid are often combined together in one inhaler such as Symbicort.
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Post by shelley on Nov 25, 2012 22:36:57 GMT -5
Well, it's day 3 and for the first time in well over 5 years I haven't had to use a puffer during the day. It had gotten to the point that I was taking Symbicort morning and night, Spiriva, Theophyline and Oxese on it's own at least twice a day. Started Onbrez and no more Oxeze during the day. Given my stage of the game I would say I'm feeling pretty darned good and my sats are staying nice and steady. So, for me, it's doing something good.
I have switched my Spiriva to bedtime to see if it stop the bronchospasm or at least to sleep through it. That also seems to be working. That was on the advice of my Pre Transplant Doctor (no...not yet....holding steady at 23% and still kicking up a storm most days). All I can say is that Onbrez is good for me. I'll see how it goes over time
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Onbrez
Nov 26, 2012 1:04:01 GMT -5
Post by chrisw on Nov 26, 2012 1:04:01 GMT -5
Hi Shelley, Really glad this is working for you! Are you still taking the Symbicort??
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Onbrez
Nov 26, 2012 6:54:56 GMT -5
Post by John on Nov 26, 2012 6:54:56 GMT -5
Glad to hear the good news Shelly . I take Spiriva ,Advair 250/50 & uniphyl 200 mg(for wheezing ). It's stop the wheezing . I also use proair as needed for shortness of breath .
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Onbrez
Nov 26, 2012 8:08:16 GMT -5
Post by susanny on Nov 26, 2012 8:08:16 GMT -5
Chris, what 'family' is Brovana in? I'm currently using (by nebulizer) Pulmicort and Brovana twice a day, and Albuteral and Morphine by nebulizer up to 4 times per day when having an exacerbation. I also use Spiriva. Am I getting the beta-agonist bronchodilator that Onbreze is?
Thanks for your answer. Sue
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Onbrez
Nov 26, 2012 10:58:21 GMT -5
Post by sandy07 on Nov 26, 2012 10:58:21 GMT -5
Just a note here.....I used Spiriva for 4 yrs. before it turned on me. Things were fine until then.
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Onbrez
Nov 26, 2012 22:50:01 GMT -5
Post by shelley on Nov 26, 2012 22:50:01 GMT -5
Hi Chris. Yes, I'm still taking Symbicort but I have had no need to use Oxese by itself twice daily on top of that. The interesting thing is that by pushing the Spiriva (which I'm still questioning the effectiveness of as I've always had trouble with it shutting me down) to bedtime and adding Onbrez before unch, not only have my sats held nice and steady but my heart rate is no longer getting the big spikes that I was seeing each morning after using Symbicort and Spiriva. We'll see how this goes over the long term.
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Onbrez
Dec 2, 2012 16:13:07 GMT -5
Post by shelley on Dec 2, 2012 16:13:07 GMT -5
Well, it's been a little while now and still have not need to use Oxese during the day. So....for now.....I'd say Onbrez is working. These things are always a little difficult to tell for awhile.
I just heard yesterday that something else is coming down the pipes in Canada but don't know what it is yet.
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Onbrez
Dec 3, 2012 10:15:25 GMT -5
Post by Blossom/Jackie W. on Dec 3, 2012 10:15:25 GMT -5
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Onbrez
Dec 3, 2012 10:56:09 GMT -5
Post by sandy07 on Dec 3, 2012 10:56:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the update Shelley. I'm going to ask the doc for it when I see her on Wednesday. The pharmacy has told me it's not available yet. I wonder why Ontario has it and Alberta doesn't. Maybe the guys here just didn't check well enough. I'll be calling them today.
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Onbrez
Dec 4, 2012 22:00:49 GMT -5
Post by shelley on Dec 4, 2012 22:00:49 GMT -5
Sandy it's available but a lot of pharmacies just haven't ordered it. If you get a prescription....they simply have to order it. My pharmacy here had issues but I simply told them to either look it up or call Novartis directly. No prob.....3 months here within 2 days. Guess it wasn't that hard to get after all. ! Hope it works for you.
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Onbrez
Dec 4, 2012 22:04:54 GMT -5
Post by shelley on Dec 4, 2012 22:04:54 GMT -5
! Funny that you should mention Seebri as I was just talking to someone this morning who is in touch with the different pharma companies and we were discussing that it's going to get very confusing for awhile. Onbrez has been available in Canada for almost a year I believe but hasn't really found a place with doctors. It's sort of like a real bad marketing plan or something, no one knows how or when to prescribe it. Everyone has been relying on Spiriva and suddenly they're presented with possible alternative but are unsure as are patients. As confusing as this all is, I think it's good news because at least they're working on something. Someone is taking notice of how large the market is.
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Post by Terry Pawluk on Dec 3, 2014 12:31:41 GMT -5
Been taking Spiriva and now Onbrez in AM ,both seem to be ok so far, but nothing seems good enough at some time!!
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Post by puffin on Dec 12, 2014 20:54:40 GMT -5
I recently started taking Onbrez in addition to Spiriva. So far I like it. The see through capsules are an improvement I think. The design of the inhaler seems better too.
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