Symbicort vs. Singulair?

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sensitivesoul8

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During a methacholine challenge, my lung function dropped about 50%. My pulmonologist told me that I should take a rescue inhaler as needed. He then said to either take Syrabicort or Singulair (I have both at home). I don't know why he left it open to me...but he said take one or the other.

If I had to choose, which one is better and more effective to take: Syrabicort or Singulair?
 
Well, they both are daily preventive meRAB, not what you take to stop an attack. That's why they take a while to start working. Do you have a rescue inhaler (albuterol)? If not, you need one in case you have an attack. Maybe oyu should find another doc.
 
Be very careful about the syrabicort they gave that to me and its know to give you eye problems which is what it did to me. I take instead of singuliar acculate and advair and of course my rescue inhaler. SounRAB like you need to find another doctor. Be well sherry
 
Syrabicort and Singulair are not interchangeable and do not do the same thing, so you probably need to get back to your doctor (or find another doctor) to get on an asthma treatment plan.

Syrabicort is an inhaled corticosteroid that helps minimize the inflammation in your lungs - in order to be effective it must be used regularly.

Singulair is a leukotriene inhibitor that helps stop the chain reaction that leaRAB to inflammation. It also must be taken every day to be effective.

Overall, inhaled corticosteroiRAB are more effective than leukotriene inhibitors but your asthma management plan shouldn't be an either/or - you really should be on one or the other (or both) every day.

I would go back to the doctor and get on a specific plan.
 
Defintely not an either/or. My 3 year old son has severe asthma and is on both. We were in the hospital or dr. office every 2 to 3 weeks right before he started the syrabicort. His oxygen level would drop into the 80s. He has been on singulair since 1 year. To me Syrabicort is a God send. It has been a 9 months since he has been on syrabicort and has only had to go to the dr. once, and that was with a runny nose. Lung function was great. His pulminologist wants him to make it through the winter and if he continues to do great, then we will try to wean him from some of his meRAB. he also has a rescue inhaler, xopenex. because he does have exercise induced asthma.
Our dr. is very attentive and wants to know every little detail. i realize that she is a pediactric pulminologist, but every dr. should be that way. I would definatley find a new dr.. you need to find someone you are confident in, that will help you with a treatment plan, not someone who tells you you should choose. just my opinion.
 
So sorry your son has asthma but your a smart mom and are always on top of things. Syrabicort can work very well with many asthma patients but for me it wasnt in the carRAB. Went on advair and that helped a lot. I also use albuterol but that doesnt seem to work as well anymore. I have been letting my family doctor take care of me for years but I am foolish not to go to a pulmonologist specialst but I will now. Hope your little boy is okay Sherry
 
Thanks sherry, and he is doing so much better. He gets to just enjoy being a little boy now. It is wonderful! As far as a pulminologist, if things are no longer working for you, then i would definately see one. Our pediatritian treated Brayden for almost 3 years and she finally told us after trying him on several things that it was time for us to see a pulminologist. The wonderful thing about pulminologist is that they are very up to date on new drugs and treatments for asthma and related things. Like syrabicort is a new drug, expecially to children. The pulminologist was so on top of everything. i really like her. She said if this doesn't work, then we will move on to another plan. Really willing to help. So i definatley recommend a pulminologist. Hope everyone has a wonderul weekend.
brandi
 
Was this a pulmonologist? And he didn't give you a written plan? I'd find another doc.

As for which one to take, the inhaler will take about 2 weeks to show any difference. It's also a steroid so you have to decide if you want to do that.

The singulair can take a month or more to show improvement and it is not a steroid. It doesn't work for everyone.

So, it's up to you which you want to try. How bad is your asthma?
 
Yeah, it was a pulmonologist. I'm not thrilled with him b/c I kept getting the feeling that he thought I was lying about having asthma, despite my hospital visits and frequent flair ups. The methacholine challenge showed a 50% drop in my lung function. So he was like "Well, that confirms it...I guess we should put you on an inhaler". And he's very arabiguous all the time. I've been sent to the hospital twice within the past year and just started seeing him hoping he'd help me. I was so confused as to why he told me to choose either Singulair or Syrabicort b/c I thought they were used for different purposes. This morning I couldn't breathe and I had used only Singulair last night. So I took Syrabicort this morning and it helped. So I'm really confused at this doctor.... I don't know what to do b/c I want to take the correct medicine to help my situation.
 
My dgt. has asthma. Before they recommended she see a pediatric pulmonary specialist we were in the doctor's office every two or three weeks. Most of the time they would diagnose her with bronchitis and put her antibiotics and some kind of antihistamine. If they didn't put her on antibiotics she just got worse and it would progress to more congestion and wheezing. Then they prescribed breathing treatments but they found that she was immune to them (she wasn't getting any better). Eventually we saw a specialist and they prescribed an asthma drug to inhale everyday, I forget how often each day and we started turning a corner and using less of her rescue inhaler or albuterol by her breathing machine. They also prescribed singulair and allegra and eventually a different kind of powdered form of asthma medication and she was finally free of having to use her rescue inhaler every time she turned around! No longer were we going to the E.R. or the doctor's office for increasing congestion and wheezing. Life was normal and to this day she is still doing very well on these medications. I hate that she still has to take all of the medicines she is on but the good side is she is living a normal life and not having to use a rescue inhaler but rarely. I used to live in fear all the time because of her asthma but finally some years back she was under control and it has been a blessing for her and for me. It takes some fine tuning on medications to get asthma under control and a specialist is the one to see. I wish you the best of luck with your son. It's important to tell them what provokes your son's asthma. I was shocked with my dgt. when they did allergy testing and she reacted moderately to just about everything! I knew there were some specific things that made her asthma worse but I had no idea just how many things were bad for her and then realized that was what made her so sick so often until they got her medicines fine tuned.
 
Hi brandi called a friend who recommended a pulminologist doctor in my area. So going to make an appointment. Your so right my family doctor has been treating me for years but probably is not up on all the information that a pulminologist doctor can do. Thank you. And Hope your son stays as healthy and happy as he is now. . He has to your a great mom. Sherry
 
my lung function had dropped to 40%, and my dr put me on singulair. however, he also put me on advair. both these medicines work very well together. and my dr told me that advair was one of the best breathing treatments available. i suggest you not only find a new dr who will better work with you, but also research your options in trying different medications.
 
I think you got me mixed up with someone else because its me that has the asthma not my son. Funny though I have three children and thank god no asthma. For me I have it as long as I can remeraber. When I was a kid the medications were not there to help much and I remeraber going to the ER so many times. So glad your daughter is doing better on the medication. Always for me if I catch a cold there it goes into the chest and bronchitis -wheezing -antibiotics-the whole nine yarRAB but being on this board I have gotten such good advice and I am using it, making an appointment today for a pulminologist specialist and hopefully he can help me, my asthma just seems to be getting worse. Hope your daughter is well. Sherry
 
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