Posted by starion on 3/2/2008, 4:13 pm, in reply to "Re: Medications"
72.253.0.8
I would suggest you carefully discuss this with your doc. If s/he has a sample of Spiriva, it might be a good way to see how that works for you.
I would suggest that if you get adequate symptom control with Spiriva + Flovent, that would be great and sufficient, with albuterol for rescue as needed.
Advair containts Flovent + a long-acting beta agonist, Serevent. It CAN be helpful for some patients while for others of us, the medication causes more side effects than benefits.
I would also ask the doc about your bone density. My docs have me taking supplemental calcium because I'm on inhaled steroids & have a thin frame and am peri-menopausal (all increasing my risk of bone density problems).
Inhaled steroids are good for those of us with low lung function that respond to inhaled steroids (particularly those of us with some component of allergic asthma as part of our COPD). For folks who don't have exacerbations, don't respond to inhaled steroids, or have higher lung function, inhaled steroids might not be as helpful, but this is something to discuss with the doc.
Starion
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