Azmacort Substitute (Page 11) (Top voted first)

Azmacort has been taken off the market because of environmental concerns (they say). There really is NO substitute. All other steroids do not work. My wife could die because of it. No one seems to care. Do you?

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Frogg232

I forgot to mention, the Advair HFA 115/21 is very expensive. If it is out of your financial range, Advair has a program available that may allow you get it, possibly without cost to you. It is called, Bridges to Access.

Go on line and follow their procedure. Your doctor, particularly if he/she is a Pulmonologist, may help speed the process for you.

If I remember rightly, they have you fill in and send a form. Once you send it, the form is no longer available. A little computer trick I use is, to copy the form by taking a picture of it with MWsnap3.

MWSnap3 is a free program you can download to your computer. It will take a total or partial picture of anything on your computer screen You can save the picture to your computer.

I use it just in case I make a mistake and cannot recover the original.

The Bridges to Access people are very understanding but they must protect themselves from fraudulent requests. Be patient with them and they will give you the utmost courtesy.

Jack

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Jack,
So sorry for your lose. I guess I missed that part of your post. I hope you can one day find peace with all this. It makes me angry when a product that helps people is withheld causing harm & the powers to be are let off scott free.

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Frogg232

Thank you for caring. It means a lot to me.

I would not want to be in their shoes - that is, the executives that made the decision. I know who they are and why they did it. Bottom line - lots of money.

It would be better if they went broke and went to jail now than pay for it in Eternity. Hebrews 10:31 - It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God

They will not be able to hide. They will not be able to excuse themselves. They will not be able to cloak their motives. They will not be able to escape. They will not be able to bluff. They will not be able to buy their way out. Truth is, they will not only not have money, they will not have one single thing - - - and they will be scared and terrified.

To be honest - I wish I could help them. I truly fear for them.

Sure, I did not like what they did. But paying for an Eternity just to climb the ladder of success and be in the position they achieved just for money! Luke 9:25 - For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?

No, Frogg 32, they will not get away.

Jack

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Hi Jack & all.
I have been on Pulmicort for a couple of months and it was keeping my ashtma in check and I had no side effects. Then last week I had a bout with crying, scary repetitive anxiety thoughts,- depression would be an understatement- I cried non-stop for 4 days and was going down a spiral - several rungs lower than I have ever gone before. I knew that I was losing it and when I had my moments of clarity here and there - I thought - Gee, could it be the inhale. It is a synthetic steroid that is very potent - It is a large sheet of paper that comes with it explaining it- I googled side effects and it did list Anxiety, Depression, Psychosis ! Well I lived 56 years without Psychosis and was getting by just fine till this - I stopped taking it Thursday and today is Monday and I am smiling and I am myself again. My husband said that it was not inhaler because I took it for 2 months - but I think it was and medicine built up in my system and affected my brain. Now, I am calling doctor tomorrow, and I bet you anything they will not believe me. But I know myself and I know this happened.
Linda

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Linda:

Your depression very well could be caused by the inhaler.

My wife took Pulmicort for about three weeks. She did not react to it very well but she thought she could tolerate it - - - at the time it was on the top of the list for possible substitutes. Therefore, she tried to force her body to accept it and it put her in the hospital.

The people in the hospital did not believe what I thought it was that put her there. They thought it was her heart condition - - - that is, right up until they gave her oxygen. that brought her out of it almost immediately.

They still did not connect the dots and concluded that they just didn't know why she was there. I took some of them aside and they confessed to me privately that I could be right.

I know I was right.

Do check with your doctor. You really do know your body better than most people, even professionals. If necessary, I would suggest you get your doctor to recommend a Pulmonologist near you.

Also, ask your doctor about Advair HFA - it is not a discus - it is an inhaler using an environmentally safe carrier.

Jack

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Thanks Jack. I called my Pulmonologist yesterday - they said that they want me on a steroid inhaler and if it isn't that one it will be another one - and to start taking it again right away. I told them all about my mental problems on it, and they said they had never heard of that. They said that happens on Prednisone, but on an inhaled steroid - it all goes to the lungs and very lttlle goes into your system. So, they did not believe me, and made me feel foolish. I did not start taking it yet - I am very afraid to. But I guess when the asthma symptoms return, then I will probably get back on it. I think I tried Advair - isn't that 2 medicines in one inhaler, like Serevent? I had a bad reaction to Serevent. Is Advair the round one? Doctors think they are right and I am wrong, and I give up !! I am feeling good right now, knock on wood !
Linda

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Linda:

The Advair YOU are thinking of is round. The Advair I am thinking of is not. It is an inhaler that is L shaped where you puff in on the bottom leg of the L.

If you have a bad reaction to Serevent, I don't think you should take it. I am not positive but I think it is in the Advair HFA. Your Pulmonologist would know. Stick with his/her suggestions.

I am of the particular belief and experience that any drug can affect your brain, if not directly, perhaps indirectly.

If you think of it, take notes on your experiences during the day so that you can had the doctor a written report - like, maybe, by the hour - even if there is no change on the next hour - write that down.

Ask the doctor if that would help a proper diagnosis.

The doctor can only treat your problem. They cannot experience it.

Keep trying. Try not to get down on he whole thing.

Jack

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Jack
Thank you for your advice - I will keep a log each day. I am feeling good right now, from asthma standpoint. And feeling good otherwise - lets hope it all stays this way. Going for lots of walks in pretty scenery. Thanks for all your ideas and help - I really appreciate it !
God Bless
Linda

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I could go 15-18 hours with 4 puffs of azmacort and not have to use albuterol. I have tried all of the others and the only one that seems to partiallly work is azmanex. But I need albuterol now every 8 hours with the asmanex. My asthma is the worse it has been in years. Qvar, aerobid, alvesco, and pulmicort had very little impact. Flovent didnt help either, although I gained 15 lbs in 10 days - doc says it was a strange reaction.

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Well I made it one week - Thursday nite at 11PM, I took the Pulmicort, due to asthma attack - then a while later Albuterol - it is stable again now.-but I am back on the pulmicort. I have to be on some kind of preventative, so I guess I will try to make a go of it. I just want the Azmacort back, because then I wasn't so worried about it all the time. Please bring it back with different propellant.

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I have a Dr appt soon to refill my RX...Have been on Azmacort for about 15 yrs..low dosage two puffs just at night, and one puff in the morning..I have an albuterol rescue inhaler that I was using before excercise(rarely use it now)..I just had 3 stents placed in coronary arteries in July, and since then have really been able to increase my excercise tolerance to 50 min a day on the treadmill(walking) Ive never had to be hospitalized for my asthma..Azmacort in a low dose has kept me stable with the occasional use of the albuterol...
I am now very worried about changing medications since the Azmacort has been discontinued. Has anyone been able to just stop with the corticosteroids and just use the albuterol when needed or on a more regular basis? And are there any suggestions as to which med would be best to try for Azmacort replacement? Since I dont have insurance Im sure it will be a battle at the docs office this week...sigh....any suggestions?
thanks in advance :)

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Hi Melody. If you have been on Azmacort all along, and now it has been taken away, your doctor will want to put you on another inhaled steroid preventative. There are a few. I tried Flovent and had bad side effects, then tried Pulmicort Flexhaler and that seems to work. There is a choice of about 3 others, I think - maybe someone can give her the short list can't seem to locate it right now. Good Luck Melody and let us know how you do.
Linda

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Melody:

If you don't have insurance you may be a candidate for free drugs through Bridges to Access - or some other program. Don't give up - look them up.

Jack

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Melody - Also AztraZeneca, maker of Pulmicort Flexhaler has a program where they give it to you FREE if you make less than $40grand a year - look it up online - Also if you are on Medicare you get the meds FREE. They are very helpful on the phone also.

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Thanks everyone...I decided to try the Asmanex..and my new doc was a sweetheart and gave me samples of that and my Proventil too...He agreed to let me try to wean off of the steroid, but if I ran into trouble then to start the Asmanex...I'll let you know how it goes :)

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Jack - has you wife had success with the Advair HFA? I have been following/monitoring this forum since finding out that Azmacort would be discontinued. I am now about to begin my 6th different drug since January. None have been as effective without any adverse reactions as Azmacort. I've tried: Advair Diskus, Asmanex Twisthaler, QVar, Flovent HFA, and lastly Symbicort. Today, I've been prescribed Dulera. I've had to take more Prednisone orally this year than ever before, just trying to breathe. -Susan Johnson

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Susan:

My wife had not used Advair HFA long enough for us to make a sure conclusion before she died.

I can tell you this, though, she was able to take it longer than most drugs. Usually she would have to stop a drug after about 3 days to a week. She did tell me when I asked her about it, that it was giving her some hope. She said she was having some problems but she thought her body might come around to it. It was not as good as Azmacort, but it seemed to be working in her favor.

In a word, she seemed upbeat about it. I felt a little bit of joy but alas - - -

One thing I can tell you; the Advair people are kind and understanding and seem a lot more willing to help. Have you talked to them? They may want you to go see a Pulmonologist before they actually send you anything for little or no money.

I do not know of the difference between Advair discus and Advair HFA except that the carrier (HFA) may have some affect on people - I'm just guessing one that.

As I wrote in a previous note, it is very expensive, but when you can't breathe - - - -. Your Pulmonologist, working with Advair, may be able to help work something out financially.

If you think you would like to try it anyway, I would ask your doctor (preferably a Pulmonologist) if they thought a prescription for it would be worth a try. If they do, you can get it from your pharmacy right away.

One further thought - our Pulmonologist had two other inhalers up her sleeve that we had not tried yet if the HFA did not work. She showed us what they were on a chart in her office but I did not make a mental note of them because of the way the HFA was going. That in itself was an emotional boost knowing that the HFA was not the end of the road for her.

I pray the Lord will show you the way and what to do.

Jack

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I also used Azmacort for many years-finding a substitute has been difficult!! First they took our CFC rescue inhalers and made them HFA and then they did the same thing with preventive measures; just want to note a few things I've learned-powder inhalers contain milk proteins, so if you are lactose intolerant you will probably react negatively to those. Now the sprays contain Ethanol(except Ventolin, but that has some newer fillers in it too) now Ethanol is corn based so if you are allergic to corn you'll react to that and ethanol is listed by the FDA as a toxin causing severe bronco spasm in some people, so how can the FDA take a safe effective drug off the market and replace it with an inferior drug??? I believe Azmacort was pushed out of the market, cost was much less than many of the others pushed by big pharma-sad to see so many of us suffering because Big Pharma and the Gov. refuse to listen. A suggestion-file a complaint with Medwatch for every drug you have reacted to negatively!!!

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Lynn - Medwatch? I will have to look into that. Thanks for the tip. I have had "some" success with the Dulera, although the propellant continues to cause mouth irritation. I still find it difficult to believe that CFCs were taken away from us, when they worked! I can guarantee that the miniscule amount of CFC propellant in the inhalers is not what has caused global warming.

Jack - thank you for your continued interest in helping all of us suffering from asthma and its complications. I can only imagine your frustration with the "industry" after watching your wife's trials. I am extremely sorry for your loss.

-Susan Johnson

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Jack I am sorry that this happened to your wife-bringing awareness to others may help someone else, so thank you.

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