New inhaler not working.....anyone else have this problem?

Question

I have had asthma for a long time. I had to switch inhalers, (albuterol) the new one is called PROVENTIL HFA and at first it was working fine. now it seems to almost make things worst. I almost feel panicky! I am going to see my Dr. this afternoon. Has anyone else experienced this? or any idea why this is happening? Thank you for any information, I am concerned.

Answer 1

My sister had the same problem with the new inhalers, but the old ones aren't allowed (or made) anymore.  Something to do with the environment... go figure...

Anyway, her doctor changed her maintenance inhaler to one that included a steroid, and it made all the difference.  Are you on maintenance drugs?  If not, they're inhalers (or pills, sometimes) that you take once or twice a day whether or not you need them.  They decrease the # of times you need a rescue inhaler, such as albuterol.  Some examples are Advair, Symbicort, Foradil, Spiriva, and I'm sure there's many more.  They say the new proventil HFA is the same drug as the old one, just with a different propellent, but my sister agrees that it doesn't work as well.

See your doctor, in any case.

Good luck, hope this helps!

Answer 2

Both Albuterol and Proventil are actually salbutamol, just licensed under different names. They are the same drug.

Is your new inhaler CFC free? Apparently, the gas used to propel the spray can sometimes cause an asthma attack.

If you're worried about your medication, see your doctor. There might be a good reason for changing your inhaler, but, from my experience, they normally prescribe the cheapest, not necessarily the best, ones.

--Edit--

Read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proventil#B... it's quite informative, and might explain why your medication was changed. It doesn't explain why your new inhaler would cause you problems, though