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Post by Lorraine on Jul 5, 2013 13:45:04 GMT -5
went to emerg on sunday june 30 the doctor gve me atrovent to take 2 puffs 3 times a day for 3 days. along with antibiotic called sulphamethoxazole ......... and prednisone. I am also taking Spiriva and symbicort and salbutamol every day... the doctor said if you don't get better come back and so I did on Wednesday july 3. the doctor that examined me gave me ventolin took a blood test and looked at the xray from sunday said it was clear, now I was there for 9 hours , they released me and told me to continue with my regular meds and take atrovent if I find it helps..... I am so confused because one doctor says for 3 days... but my main concern is should I stop Spiriva. while I am taking atrovent.?? I have no family doctor,,,,,i have an appointment on july 11 to see a respiratory specialist. what should I do inn the meantime?  also can I take up to 8 puffs of salbutamol a day..... ? any one that could shed some light for me> I am thinking I should stop Spiriva and just take atrovent along with my other meds till I see the specialist...... please any one that can shed light on this matter. thanks you Ann Lorraine |
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Post by Blossom/Jackie W. on Jul 5, 2013 15:28:30 GMT -5
Ann; I'm reluctant to say anything in this case. After all; we're not Dr's here and I'm certainly not....
Sometimes, depending on the meds, and given the patient and the situation, Dr's go "off label" or whatever. And Spiriva and Atrovent are in the same family so yeah; your reasoning/rationale is correct. But; I have heard of it.
Annn; today is the 5th of July... you were there on the 30th of June and July 3rd. Does this mean you're not feeling better yet even being on the anti's?
Were you put on Prednisone at all during all this?
Atrovent, by itself is used a little bit more (dosage wise), and more frequently. BUT that's If you're not normally taking Spiriva.
As for the salbutamol...... 8 puffs a day is not a biggie when you're needing it. IMO. Heck; look at the package (box) and read what's on it and they're being smartly conservative.
What I would do? Call your pharmacist in your situation.
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Post by Lorraine on Jul 5, 2013 17:57:39 GMT -5
 Blossom; yes when I went to emerg on june 30th the doctor gave me a prescription for 5 days of prednisone 50mg also a prescription for atrovent and a prescription for sulfamethoxazole. he told me to take atrovent 2 puffs 3 times a day.... but only for 3 days. I did this and found my breathing was inproving . took my prednisone and sulfamethoxazole 1 pill twice a day. this is still not finished I have to take for the 7 days.. on wednesdy morning I took my regular Spiriva then later my symbicort then since the doctor had told me not to take after the third day I did not take atrovent. shortly before noon I needed to take 2 puffs of salbutamol ,,, felt a tight pain and having trouble getting my breath. ..not even 2 hours later had to take more salbutamol..... was getting worse , husband called 911 and was picked up by ambulance...... they ran blood test reviewed x ray from june 30/13 cardiogram gave me ventolin and basically after 9 hours of emerg. the doctor said to continue with prednisone, sulfamethoxazole and if I found that atrovent was helping to take it.... this is what I have been doing... but I think I should not take my Spiriva just take atrovent till the 11 of july when I see the respiratory specialist. thank you so much..........
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Post by sandy07 on Jul 5, 2013 19:39:56 GMT -5
Ann...I had trouble with Spiriva. It sort of seized up my lungs after I'd been using it for over 4 years. I switched to Atrovent. After 6 mos. or so I tried Spiriva again (just easier than Atrovent). Worked okay for a few weeks then did it again. So back on Atrovent. I'm still on Atrovent but waiting for Tudorza Pressair to be available in Canada. It's a 2 times a day instead of 4-6 Atrovent.
Also.....do you feel worse after taking the sulfa pill? Does it get better then worse after taking another? Some people are allergic to sulfa drugs.
If I was you I'd just use the Atrovent for now since you can use it up to 6 times/day. But if you think the sulfa pill is doing harm then I'd go to the ER again. Maybe ask if a different antibiotic would work better.
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Post by Blossom/Jackie W. on Jul 6, 2013 9:00:44 GMT -5
You might also very well need to continue a bit longer with the Pred. I know personally I've seen myself feel better by around Day 3 & 4, the start to feel worse or as bad as before I started. I've then had to take the Pred (50 mg) for longer than my usual 1 week.
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Post by jim on Jul 6, 2013 23:07:54 GMT -5
Hi Ann, sorry I can't help much, whilst I take Spiriva I have never taken Atrovent.
I did run them both through Drug Digest and it says they have no interactions, but that is all I can contribute.
I hope you hang on until you see the specialist, with no more trips to ER.
You are in my thoughts, sending you some bighug[1] and beating-heart
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Post by judi on Jul 7, 2013 1:01:05 GMT -5
You might be having some rebound constriction from trying to stop the Atrovent because that plus the Spiriva has given you a higher dose of medication. I got that just trying to cut down on the amount of Spiriva I used (some of us don't use it every day). I don't know how much Atrovent you were using, can you try to wean off more slowly? You could try taking a smaller puffs so you don't get as much and wait as long as you can to dose. I would ask the druggist too.
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Post by Lorraine on Jul 7, 2013 8:47:16 GMT -5
thanks everyone for the help...... sandy how many puffs of atrovent do you take in
a day? wondering . thanks Jim for the hug.... I really needed that...... and thank blossome for the info.
wishing everyone a great day.
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Post by sandy07 on Jul 7, 2013 23:34:25 GMT -5
I take 2 puffs....at least 4 times a day and if I'm having a bad day I'll use it once or twice more.
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Post by Lorraine on Jul 12, 2013 6:06:45 GMT -5
good morning everyone:
well seen the respiratory specialist yesterday. he seemed to think I had caught a virus of some sort and that
is why for the past 4 plus months I have had big problems.....
I am taking atrovent to replace my Spiriva like I had mentioned before, the doctor does not think
that Spiriva would cause my lungs to sort of seize up and like I told him feel like stone. but anyways I am going to take atrovent for 3 months and then perhaps retry Spiriva and keep a close observation of how I am feeling. this morning I am going to the clinic for prescriptions refill. the specialist was very nice and has scheduled another lung function test in late October, and then will see the specialist for a result. also wants a blood work, which I will do next week.... I am happy to finally have a specialist........... wishing everyone great day.
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Post by jim on Jul 12, 2013 7:03:38 GMT -5
Hi Annann8888, I'm pleased to see things coming together for you and you getting some answers, so to speak. I sincerely hope that this will make life easier for you, nothing worse than not knowing and having our minds jumping to all sorts of conclusions.
Take care hun. beating-heart
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Post by sandy07 on Jul 12, 2013 11:43:06 GMT -5
Ann...no one thought the Spiriva was doing it me either. All I know is that it slowly got worse until one morning it was so bad I decided enough was enough and switched to Atrovent. I was better in a day. I've re-tried it as well. It seemed to be okay for a month or so and then my lungs got real tight again. I stopped again. I may have quit too soon since I've been thinking it may have been something else the last time. But the first time was definitely the Spiriva. There are a lot of inhalers and meds that we use that have a side effect of "trouble breathing". It must be happening to a number of people or they wouldn't be reporting it as a side effect. This is from www.drugs.comCall your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as: wheezing, chest pain or tightness, trouble breathing; pain or burning when you urinate; blurred vision, eye pain or redness, seeing halos around lights; rapid heart rate; sores or white patches of your mouth, lips, or tongue; or Read more at www.drugs.com/sfx/spiriva-side-effects.html#S5pvv3a7s2Xv7bFX.99 |
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Post by Lorraine on Jul 12, 2013 11:47:57 GMT -5
all went to the clinic to see my regular family doctor that is there on Friday mornings. this doctor said yes it is possible . perhaps, I should take atrovent all I know is I am feeling pretty darn good compared to just a week ago... wishing everyone a great weekend . thanks Jim Sandy and everyone Hugs.......
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Post by Blossom/Jackie W. on Jul 12, 2013 11:50:04 GMT -5
Anna8.... I think the fact that you finally have a specialist is great and I hope to God he's good, rather than the "functionary" ones we sometimnes get and see once a year. Your health is what the important thing is.
Forgive me but I'm a tad bit confused here....
I understood that the Dr at Emerg KNEW you were on Spiriva. But... this last post today indicates that maybe he didn't? and that's why you were asking us should you take it (Spiriva and Atrovent) together. (I have heard of it but it's not the normal protocol for the average COPD patient/person and in crisis (breathing) situations the norm can change and situations dictate otherwise)
If not... why were you asking.
"Normally" it would be one or the other and frankly Atrovent alone nis more than a couple puffs a couple /few times a day.
Initailly you said....
Would you please clarify this
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Post by Lorraine on Jul 12, 2013 17:30:00 GMT -5
Blossom/Jackie the doctor at emerg knew all the meds I was on. which were; symbicort, salbutamol, and Spiriva. and of course pradaxa (blood thinner) he just wanted to take extra the atrovent 2 puff 3 times a day for 3 days only, the nurse said if I did not feel better to go see my family doctor ( which I don't have ) , or go back to emerg after 3 days. on that Wednesday started and took all my meds but not the atrovent because the three days of taking it were over....... well I felt that I was having difficulty breathing and went to the hospital by ambulance, later in the afternoon, also had a pain in the middle of chest that also worried me. from july 03 to july 11 I chose to just take atrovent till I seen the specialist who said yes okay just take the atrovent then...... hope I clarified it a bit ......
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Post by Blossom/Jackie W. on Jul 13, 2013 8:14:48 GMT -5
O.K. That's what I originally assumed Ann8. Thanks for clarifying.
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also can I take up to 8 puffs of salbutamol a day.....
Blossom; yes when I went to emerg on june 30th the doctor gave me a prescription for 5 days of prednisone 50mg also a prescription for atrovent and a prescription for sulfamethoxazole.
