Singulair

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mac2
  • Start date Start date
M

Mac2

Guest
Hi and thanks for all your replies.

I am glad to see that singulair has not caused any serious side effects for all of you. That is good news!

I already take benadryl which has acrivastine as the active ingedient, this is in pill form and I use beconase nasal spray.

The nasal spray has actually helped to lessen my asthma symptoms. Is it ok to use singulair with these other meRAB? I don't really trust my GP and like to do my own reasearch - lol!
Stonepile - I am interested to know more about the Nasacort AQ, what is this? Does it have anything in it which could cause damage. I have used vicks nasal spray for years and really you shouldn't use it for more than a week so it would be good if I could get something that would help me breathe at night.

Thanks again.

Mac2
 
Hi SP

That's such a sad story. I often read stories in the press about people who have died because of asthma and you wonder if they did have their meRAB with them because they never actually tell you that part. Or they will say oh well she never took her asthma seriously. But, it is such a serious illness. My husband often says that I don't have asthma (caring soul that he is), so what is it I have then. Many a time I have had to sit up half the night because it just will not relieve. I must just be pretending!

Well, it is so sad all these poor people, but you must take care of yourself and keep that inhaler with you!!


I have just started to take singulair which I hope is going to help with my allergies as my GP thinks that my astha has been worse lately because of the post nasal drip I have. So fingers crossed it will get better.

Take care

Mac2

My gerbils say Hi!!
 
Hi

This is the first time I have posted on this board.

I have asthma and allergic rhinitis which has resulted in severe swelling inside my nose. The post nasal drip is also causing my asthma symptoms to worsen i.e. chest tightness and difficulty breathing.

I have been prescribed 10mg singulair per day by my GP and have not taken them as yet. I have been doing some research into side effects etc and do not like what I see.

Have any of you taken this drug and what side effects have they caused? Also how long have you been on this drug?

I really would like an answer to my problems as I also suffer from a damaged inner ear which is very sensitive to the extra mucous and causes dizziness and balance problems.

Thanks

Mac2
 
Hi

MountainReader

Yes, I agree with you, I don't think I'd be very confident with not using my preventer inhaler every day but it would be nice to maybe get it down to once a day. I would be happy with that.

You are also right about allergies and asthma being interrelated which is something I didn't really know until my GP told me that the post nasal drip I had (which is probably caused by allergies) was making my asthma worse.

SP - yes, you do like to talk - you must have writer's cramp have you - lol!
Aaah the little kittens sound so cute. My daughter wouldn't have let me take them back - mind you she wouldn't look after them either! She's actually at the cinema now watching the same movie!

Did you find that the singulair was of benefit to you when you were using it and did you miss those effects when you stopped? I have taken three doses so far and this morning had a really sore throat. This, I think, is one of the side effects. But once I had got up and showered it subsided. Don't you just dwell on stuff more when you are lying in bed!! Anyway, I haven't died yet - haha!

My eyes were stinging like mad today but the local council was cutting all the grass in the public areas and I think that's what it was. Been a bit of a dull day here today and very windy. Two days of sunshine and two weeks of rain and wind that's what we get! Lovely British weather!

I am glad that you enjoy posting on the boarRAB and that you feel it is helping you. It is good when you know you are not the only one!
Mac2
 
Mac2,
I guess I didn't really think about you not having access to the same meRAB that I do. There are a lot of things that I don't catch due to me being a relative newbie on HealtrabroadoarRAB. It's really awesome to get to "meet" you when you are living so far away from me. :) I've been watching the BBC channel's Antique RoaRABhow some lately. If you are ever on there be sure to wave, O.K.?

I googled asthma worse at night and found a few things that might give you some things to think about. (There were LOTS of matches for those worRAB.)
One suggestion about why asthma is worse at night was made by a gastroenterologist who said that often asthma is worse at night because of gastric esophageal reflux. An RN that specializes in asthma also confirmed that point. I'd never thought about it before, but I guess it is very common, and easily treated. He said it might take several months for it to improve once medication is started.

A new study has just reported that high levels of melatonin are associated with night time asthma. So they are warning asthma sufferers to not take melatonin to try to help you sleep better. (They didn't talk about this, but aren't there fooRAB that are supposed to increase melatonin? Maybe it would be good to avoid them especially late at night.)

Of course, most people would respond that night time asthma is either due to the fact that the actual lying down itself causes more pressure on the lungs and therefore less air exchange. I'm sure that you already are aware of the effect of dust mites in pillows, bedding, and mattresses on asthma sufferers.

Then there is the problem of cats, dogs etc. that we love oh so much and allow them to get on the furniture or bed. I have both a cat (siamese) and dog (poodle), but my bed is off limits to them.

Oh, another thing I saw was the idea that we often come into contact with a lot of our triggers during the day and so that causes our lung function to decrease later, at night. It seemed like a fairly accepted idea that the lung function of asthmatics varies throughout the day.

Maybe you didn't intend for someone to really answer your question, but I enjoyed looking it up anyway. I hope that you are doing better, but at this time of year I don't have much confidence in that. :( Do you know what allergens cause you the most problems? Did you recently change your environment. I see that you didn't have them during childhood. (Lucky!) :)

Well, I'd better quit. Sorry for the long post.
 
Hey Mac2,
Isn't it hard to understand how those people closest to us can take an asthma attack so lightly. You mentioned that your asthma is a relatively new problem. Maybe your husband will come around when you are able to get your asthma under control so that he can see/hear the difference. My brother and sister-in-law used to have horses and they'd come to get togethers at my parent's house usually later in the day after they'd gone riding. It only took a couple of severe asthma attacks before they began to consider my severe allergy to horses when they came over. Like I mentioned, my Dad has finally changed his opinion that asthma is all in my mind.

I did think of something else to ask you. Has your doctor ever tried putting you on prednisone (the step down version)? Or, have you ever used a nebulizer for your asthma? Those are the medications that my doctor puts me on when my asthma gets out of control. (Not the acute, life threatening kind, but the chronic cough/wheeze that I just can't seem to get rid of and keeps me up at night. :) Sound familiar???? :) I'm just teasing you.

Well, I'll try to break a record and keep this on the shorter side for me. :) I hope that you are having a great weekend! We are having a three day holiday weekend and so far the weather has been fantastic. We're hoping to get our boat out tomorrow.

What are your gerbils' names?

Take care,
SP
 
Singulair did absolutely nothing for me...like taking a sugar pill. Why not take zyrtec or claritin since they are OTC and seeing how they work? I realize the singulair has the asthma component but getting your allergies under control could help that as well.
 
I have taken Singulair and have had no side effects. The only time it really helps me is when I take it at night time because that's when my asthma can keep me from sleeping well. Through my research and I know everyone is different, I have found that if I keep my allergies under control, my asthma doesn't give me too many fits but now we have moved and the pollen here is ugly!! So, I am having problems now myself! Hope you feel better!
 
Hi Katielyn

Can I ask how long you took the singulair for?

Sorry to hear you are having problems because you have moved. I've had asthma for a long time, about 12 years but only mild until the last two years or so when everything seems to have gone haywire. Mine was always cold air which triggered it but now I am finding that I have allergies which is triggering it too. I seem to be worse in the evening, I don't know why this is. It has only hit me a couple of times through the night.

How can you go through life with no allergies at all and suddenly start getting them (all year) in your mid-forties, strange!

Take care

Mac2
 
it did nothing for me either. zyrtec is helpful, but it can make u drowsy. i think neil med sinus rinse is the best thing out there next to allergy shots
 
Mountain Reader -
Thanks for the input and the list! I did go look it up and was simply amazed at the list. I too have had asthma for a long time and I would never have connected most of those signs/symptoms as early warning signs of a pending asthma attack.

I was going to copy your list and paste it in and give you credit for the list, but I don't know what the protocol is for this on these boarRAB.

Does it seem like those are something you notice on a fairly regular basis? It read like my life story nearly every day of my life! :) (Well, I don't have a fever every day or eczema, but everything else is close friend.) I will be more observant to see if this list will give me an even quicker heaRAB-up.

Mac2 -
I'm sorry to hear that you had a sore throat this morning! I do hope that you are not getting a cold and is just a temporary side effect of the Singulair. I do not remeraber any side effects when I started the Singulair nor when I quit. I do remeraber that I felt better when I was taking it, but honestly, I don't remeraber feeling worse when I quit. I did take it for a couple of years.
I also had about four years of allergy shots at the same time. So maybe that's why I didn't notice much when I quit taking the Singulair. Like Mountain Reader I wouldn't quit taking my Advair for much of any reason. It has worked better for me than anything else I have tried in 35 years of Asthma. I am supposed to use it twice a day, but I do great on just once usually. If my asthma starts to kick up then I start using it twice a day, but usually it requires prednisone and nebulizer treatments. Now I'm hoping that the list that Mountain Reader gave will alert me earlier and I'll be able to catch those times before they gain momentum.

I've heard the you all have rather alot of gray and rainy days. We had a sixty percent chance of storms today and right now it is sunny, warm and sky blue. I'll send some of that sunshine over for you to use. I haven't looked, but how much time are we off? I'm on Eastern time. I don't think we're exactly opposite, but I'll bet we're at least eight hours different. So, here's hoping that you have a great day tomorrow! :) What did your daughter have to say about the movie?

SP
 
Hi Stonepile

Thanks for your reply - much appreciated, and don't apologise - it is so nice that you have taken the time:)

Antique RoaRABhow, mmm, hope you don't think we Brits are all like that - lol!

All your comments make sense to me. Mine is usually most bothersome in the evening before I actually go to sleep. I usually watch TV at about 8pm and I do lie on the bed to watch it. This is when my chest starts to tighten, so the explanation about the lungs being compressed is a good one. Also when I am trying to sleep and my chest is starting to tighten, sometimes I can relieve it by turning over. Funny thing, years ago I had pneumonia (I started to be asthmatic after this), and when I was getting my lungs x-rayed, the nurse who was doing it said I had very long lungs, maybe there is not a lot of space in there and when I lie down I am compressing them!

I don't have any pets apart from 2 wee gerbils, and yes, I do get symptoms when I am cleaning their cage or sometimes just if I am near them but I don't let them sleep in my bed -lol!

You are right - I am very lucky in that I have not had these allergies etc all my life - I feel so sorry for those of you that do, it is so awful.

Thanks again.

Mac2
 
Mac2, I had to do some looking before I responded to your questions about NasacortAQ. Nasacort AQ is a steroid that is localized to the nasal passages. I went and looked it up and there are some possible side effects/adverse reactions listed, but the only thing that I personally have noticed is that it makes for a really dry nasal passage in the winter time. Sometimes I skip a day here and there in the winter because it gets so dry, but I can't quit using it altogether because my sinuses end up getting packed and I end up with a sinus infection if I do. I have used it for probably six years and essentially on a daily basis with no problems other than the dryness.

When my asthma is not in control the first place I notice it is at nighttime. Usually it begins with a cough. That's when I know that I need to act quickly. The last time I had a problem I had quit taking my allergy medicine because they all made me so tired. That's when she had me try the R-TANNA. It's a twice a day allergy medicine, but it doesn't make me sleepy and the other positive about it is that it is supposed to help with eliminating the coughing symptom.

I get so tired of taking all of the medication, but I end up paying for it in the long run when I do. My allergy doctor once told me that asthma is a result of both inflammation and oversecretion of mucous. She said that you have to control both in order for the damage to be controlled. (I take Advair and she was talking about the two medications that it contains.) Anyway, she said that if I didn't take my medication and prevent the inflammation and resulting scar tissue that when I was older that it wouldn't matter what medication she had at her disposal because none of it would work. Ever since then I've tried to take my medication every day.

I hope that you are able to find the exact regimen that will enable you to get your asthma in control and that you'll be able to get a good nights sleep again! :)
 
Singulair helped me a bit as a second daily use asthma med. I use it as a fourth allergy med, but it doesn't do much by itself. I've taken it for years and haven't had any side effects.
 
Hi SP

Second day on the singulair and no side effects, no headaches or anything so thats good news.

My asthma is pretty good at the moment so fingers crossed it will stay that way. And my allergies seem to be under control, just the odd sneeze and stinging eyes but I'm tough, I can handle it! Haven't used my rescue inhaler in a week so it is definitely improving.

For the first ten years or so my asthma was pretty mild and was controlled with the odd puff of bricanyl (my blue inhaler) and then for the last two years I have used a preventer (my brown one), two puRAB twice a day, but a couple of months ago this was up to 8 puRAB a day because I was so bad and then using my rescue inhaler sometimes 6 times a day!

My GP never offered me any nebulizers or anything like that - maybe she was waiting until I was nearly dying - lol! How long have you had asthma?

We have had wonderful weather too, it has been amazing today but I think I have had too much sun. I'm not a sun worshipper but I have been painting the garden fence with the sun beating down on my very fair skin!

My Gerbils are called Chicco and Cody (named by my daughter so I'm not guilty). They are little darlings.

Take care

Mac2
 
I have had asthma for around 35 yrs. and so I've taken lots of different medications over the years including Singulair which I took for several years with absolutely no problem. I eventually quit taking it just simply because I was tired of paying so much money in medications every month. (Actually I quit taking all my asthma meRAB, but that wasn't very smart as I ended up in trouble and back to the doctor.) But after that incident the doctor switched me to Advair and Nasacort AQ. I love the Nasacort AQ. I take it at night before bedtime and within just a few short minutes my nasal passages open and drain and I can breath again. I've recently switched allergy medicine to something called R-TANNA (I think that's the generic name, but not sure.) which I take twice a day. It doesn't make you sleepy and it helps to eliminate a constant cough that I couldn't seem to get rid of before taking it. (My doctor said it is an old allergy medicine and that a pulmonary specialist is the one that introduced her to it.) I tried Zyrtec for a long time and when I quit taking it, all of a sudden I seemed to have all this extra energy. I was wired until after midnight. That's when I realized just how tired the Zyrtec had been making me. I'm new to this board and I hope I haven't rarabled and shared too much. I hate it when my asthma is out of control and hope that you find something that will help you.
 
Hi Stonepile

Thanks so much for your reply. It really helps to know what others do to relieve their allergies.

I'm not sure whether Nasacort is available in the UK but it does sound a similar system, (mine is also a steroid), to what I am using now although the active ingredients are different. The one I am using at the moment which is actually providing some relief, though not complete relief as I am still using my rescue inhaler now and again, is only supposed to be used for 3 months. If I do have to discontinue it I shall ask my GP for the one you are using.

Why is it that asthma always gets worse at night? I'm not saying I don't suffer through the day, but it is more troublesome at night.

Thanks

Mac2:)
 
Mac 2 - Naaaah, I know better. Britts can't be any more the same than we are. :) (Variety is the spice of life, ya' know.)

Hey, have you been able to identify to what you are allergic? Have you ever been tested? Dust and horse dander are the worst for me. I'm a big 5+ for dust, horse, cat, dog, and mold. I'm also allergic to lots of outdoor stuff. On my honeymoon we went to Gatlinburg and one of the shows we went to see was the Dixie Stampede. I didn't know much about it, but we had heard that it was really good. EnRAB up the show is a contest between the North and the South and the soldiers are all on.......you guessed it, horses. By the time the show was over I could hardly breathe. I was wheezing something fierce. Of course, my husband had never seen me in a full blown attack. He was freaking out and of course, it was late and we didn't know any medical facilities in the area. We spied a pharmacy and as I walked thru the door the lady saw and heard me and sprinted down the isle to grab me an inhaler. (Taking me inhaler with me on my honeymoon was the last thing on my mind!)
:) Now I'm very careful about that kind of thing. It was a little scarey.

My daughter has had gerbils and I know we had to buy wood chips for it. Do you use them too? They usually have a pretty strong scent and that might be what causes your asthma to act up. Any strong scent can set my asthma off. I have a difficult time with perfumes. My husband, unfortunately, loves strong scented perfume. I rarely wear it unless it's a special occassion. (He loves the flowery smelling ones and they are the worst. I can do a fruity scent most of the time.)

Well, I'd best go for now. Take care, SP
 
Stonepile,
Glad the list was helpful. I had no idea about many of those symptoms until I had a bad flare a year ago. I went in to my doc thinking I was starting in on a new sinus infection. I was getting ready to go on an out of town vacation and wanted to catch things before leaving. As much as I monitor my asthma, I was surprised when he said my "allergy/sinus" symptoms were actually pending signs of a bad asthma attack instead. About 5 hours after my doctor's visit, my asthma flared big-time. I was lucky I'd already filled my Prednisone prescription when it hit. It was a bad flare. Now I know.

I realized my other thread was about a year old. I started a new thread with some of the same info on the asthma board.

Seeing a Pulmonologist in addition to your allergy doc is good as well. Everyone should have a written asthma plan. I'm to the point that I can fill varying strengths of Advair when I need to adjust and have standing steroid and antibiotic prescriptions so I can self-treat when a bad asthma attack hits without waiting for a doctor's appointment.

Take Care.
 
Hi - I don't know for definite what I am allergic to but I am definitely worse in the morning with my eyes. They sting like mad so I guess it is probably bed mites - yuk!

Cold air is one of my worst triggers during the winter and I always have a scarf around me when I am out to cover my mouth. Also when I don't have the heating on in the house, I can feel my chest starting to tighten as the air gets colder even though I don't actually feel cold. I am one of these people that is always hot and I actually love the cold air, but I can't take it! Yes, I do use wood shavings for the gerbils and I know this is a trigger but there is no way I could get rid of them - they are my babies! They are in my daughter's room and she takes no notice of them whatsoever! If I am in a particularly dusty place, that also starts me off. Bleach is horrific and I never use that if I am already feeling chesty and yes, some perfumes, but not all do set me off. People just don't understand that there are poor sensitive souls out there and they seem to drench themselves in it! I have never been tested for allergies by a professional.

I hope you now take your inhaler everywhere with you. That attack on your honeymoon must have scared the living daylights out of you. And, your poor husband. I never ever go anywhere without my inhaler and I get a bit panicky if I do forget it.

Take care:)

Mac2
 
Back
Top