Wixela inhaler

Posted by tommyboy @tommyboy, Oct 26 5:22pm

I finished around of SMZ/...... a week ago prescribed for Staphylococcus aureus a week ago. It has been a struggle. I have mild COPD, mild bronchiectasis and apparently sinus. I wish I was aware of the sinus component sooner. I just started doing the saline rinse up to three time a day. I am finally getting some relief.
I was prescribed Wixela a couple of days ago. I am leery of getting pneumonia.
Any comments

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jbud12 | @jbud12 | Oct 27 10:05am

I take Wixela as well. Why are you worried it will give you pneumonia? I have not heard that…

tommyboy | @tommyboy | Oct 27 4:27pm

In reply to @jbud12 "I take Wixela as well. Why are you worried it will give you pneumonia? I have..." + (show)

says it's one of the side effects

jbud12 | @jbud12 | Oct 27 9:14pm

In reply to @tommyboy "says it's one of the side effects" + (show)

Oh, well, I have not heard that. So far, no pneumonia for me and I have been on it for 3 years. I don’t know if it really does anything for me tho….

siosal | @siosal | Oct 28 8:32am

Wixela seems to affect my vocal chords and changes my voice. Weakening it.
Anyone else? Any fixes for that?

irene5 Irene Estes | @irene5 | Oct 28 12:14pm

In reply to @tommyboy "says it's one of the side effects" + (show)

I have read it increases your risk of infections, but all steroid inhalers do that. (irene5))

irene5 Irene Estes | @irene5 | Oct 28 12:16pm

In reply to @siosal "Wixela seems to affect my vocal chords and changes my voice. Weakening it. Anyone else? Any..." + (show)

I was on BREO for years and was switched to Wixela because insurance wasn’t covering it any longer. Wixela is ok , but I prefer BREO. ( irene5)

lvalenti | @lvalenti | Oct 29 12:31pm

In reply to @siosal "Wixela seems to affect my vocal chords and changes my voice. Weakening it. Anyone else? Any..." + (show)

I don’t think that’s unusual for steroid inhalers. I have the same effect with Advair.

siosal | @siosal | Oct 29 12:52pm

Thank you.

jwool89 | @jwool89 | Oct 29 1:43pm

Please forgive me, I don't have a lot of knowledge about Staphylococcus aureus or SMZ and the link between sinus issues & pneumonia. I am an Alpha-1 patient (so are my kids) which is a genetic condition that causes major lung issues such as emphysema, COPD, and brocheastasis. The regular inhaler I am on is Symbacort (increased to 3x/day when sick) and my daughter takes Wixela with a lot of luck. So far no side effects for either of us. Last year we both battled a lot of infections and since starting at Mayo Clinic with a pulmonologist we have rocked it this fall so far (daughter is even an athlete in college & has dodged infections.) Here is our game plan in case any of it will help you. I can say switching the nasal rinses to the Navage was a game changer (we both have major sinus issues). Hope this helps.
1. Airsupra 2 puffs every four hours (this replaced Albuterol & think really helps)
2. Wixela: 1 puff 2x per day
3. Sinus rinse 2 per day when sick
4. Zyrtec 1/day
5. Montelukast (haven't added this yet due to us having anxiety but may consider in the future)
6. Daily Mayo sinus spray
*Mayo makes & ships a 3-ingredient nasal spray that replaced our Ryaltris (2 ingredients). Both are better than Flonase IMO. If you are a patient you may inquire about it. I am a huge fan.

catsmeow1959 | @catsmeow1959 | Oct 30 8:35am

In reply to @irene5 "I was on BREO for years and was switched to Wixela because insurance wasn’t covering it..." + (show)

I was also forced to take wixela in place of Advair because insurance refused to pay for Advair. The Wixela did absolutely nothing for my Asthma. It was like I was taking nothing at all. Mr dr. switched me to Trelegy Elipta. It works better than Wixela but Advair worked much better.

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