Intal Inhaler Discontinued!

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betty70

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I just found out my my daughter's doctor that the Intal inhaler has been discontinued. She is unable to take any inhaled steroiRAB (Qvar, Asmanex, etc) due to serious side effects she has experienced. Intal was the last non-steriod inhaler available.

Is anyone else concerned about this?? I am at a loss....

* Disallowed website removed by rabroad-mod, moderator *

http://www.fda.gov/downloaRAB/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugShortages/UCM175032.pdf
 
Yes, I am. I rely on this medication. I sent a letter to me Congressman and my Senator. This is outrageous and scary.
 
Try inhaling Nasalcrom (double the nuraber of inhallations). It seems to be working for me.
 
Recently I switched from inhaled steroid, which gave me horrible side effects, to Intal. Medicine was doing wonders for me till I found out today that it has been discontinued. Does anybody know whether we can get intal from some online canadian pharmacy? Is the manufacturing stopped only in USA or in the entire world?
 
I too was very concerned when Intal was taken off the market. I used the last my pharmacy was able to obtain about 1 month ago. I work at a major US University medical center and a couple of doctors I work with suggested I try using the liquid form of Cromolyn with a nebulizer. My insurance paid for the medication and 2 nebulizers(home use and portable). I was relieved to have this option only to be disappointed once again when I used it. I did not get the same benefit at all from the liquid Cromolyn. I then went online and found a couple of Canadian pharmacies that can still supply Intal(however the actual medication comes from the UK and Australia respectively). I faxed an Rx that my doctor wrote to each figuring this may not work out. In the mean time I've been feeling awful and desperately using whatever had remained in my old canisters. I did receive the first of the inhalers from the UK. This is a different formulation(sodium cromoglicate rather than cromolyn sodium) but I've already used it twice today and felt immediate relief! Hallelelujah! Please ask your doctors for an Rx you can fax to these Canadian pharmacies. It cost me $98.50 including shipping for 3-112 spray canisters. That should last me about 1.5 months but money well spent as far as I'm concerned. P.S. Inhaling Nasalcrom orally is probably not a good idea per my colleagues due to the different intended uses which may be safe for your nasal passages but not necessarily your lungs. I hope the rest of you who suffer from asthma as I do, and felt Intal was a God-send ,have the same luck ordering outside the US. Oh yeah, and screw the FDA!
 
I haven't found that out yet, but would love to know if anyone else finRAB out. I still can't believe we are out of non-steroid options.
 
Hello, Rocketjay.

Yes, I have done a lot of computer research and it appears that foreign manufactures (e.g., Sanofi-Aventis) continue to manufacture intal inhalers. I believe the sodium cromoglicate is exactly the same as sodium cromolyn (the active checmical in intal); I think it is just another name for the same thing.

It looks like the foreign version is Intal 5 or Intal Forte, which is about 5 times as strong is the King Intal here, which is fine. Just use one puff instead of two. I have ordered some and I an hopefull that the supply will continue.

I ordered a bunch of Nasalcrom. I am not too worried about it being made for nasal use, as the active chemical is the same and I have to assume it okay for the body to injest since it would get into the body through nasal inhalation. If, some reason, I cannot get Intal, I will probably use this.

That said, getting the non-US Intal 5 (which, I believe is also called "Intal Forte) is the preferred route.

Let's hope we are correct that it continues to be manufactured and be available in the US (for a reasonable price). If this is correct, I wouldn't be surprised if somehow a regular supply is set up in the US market. Let's hope.

It appears the King Pharma intentionally lied when they said that the were not aware of anyone else manufacturing it. Perhaps they said this is in order to ensure that their residual supplies wre purchased.

If anyone else has more information, please post.

jeffn1
 
From what I can tell, Spiriva is only used to treat COPD and emphysema... looks like it has some major side effects, too!
 
They all can have major side effects! I just found out I'm allergic to my Aleve that I've taken daily for years...that was certainly an interesting piece of info....
 
I bought Intal inhaler an online Candian phramacy. This Intal has sodium cromoglicate instead of sodium cromolyn, but the effect is very similar. They charged me $53 including shipping for one pack with 112 doses. It is cheaper than Intal sold in US because you have to take only one puff twice a day (It releases 5mg of medication in each puff instead of 800mcg). You need to fax them prescription. They are very professional, and handled my case very well. Now I can breathe.
 
My 4 year old takes intal via nebulizer. He cannot take inhaled steroiRAB either. My son HAS to have his intal its been his lifesaver! We have not been able to get his intal here for the last 6 months due to it being discontinued.
We have been getting his intal (cromolyn sodium) made by a compounding pharmacy. Call around pharmacies and ask if they know of a 'compounding pharmacy'. They do compound inhalers too. The problem for us is our insurance won't pay for compounding meRAB. But it is so worth it! We have had no asthma hospital stays since the intal. We used to have 1 time a month. So for us it does pay off to have it compounded.
 
Thank you for this information. I will talk to her doctor and see if we can do this. I am hopeful we can figure this out.

We, too, have had the best results with Intal. She is allergic to grass and usually has a terrible time with her asthma during the summer, resulting in urgent care visits. This past summer was her first summer on Intal and we had zero problems. Her doctor was shocked, as this was the worst pollen season in about 10 years. I just don't know what we'll do without Intal...
 
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