Albuterol inhaler vs nebulizer?

Posted by lvnl @lvnl, Oct 31, 2024

Hi, I've been prescribed Albuterol to try to calm worsening coughing that may be a sensitivity reaction to inhaled Arikayce. (This after chest X-ray found nothing new & multiple-virus nasal swab was negative.) I got an inhaler. I noticed a lot of folks here nebulize Albuterol. Do folks find a benefit to nebulizing vs inhaler?
Thanks once again to all!

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@lvnl It depends. i cannot use albuterol at all bacause it causes tremors, so for years I used levalbuterol. Noy I have formoterol. Now, if I am just trying to stop coughimg spasms, the inhaler works best, and is far faster. If I am fighting an exacerbation and mt lungs are fully inflamed, the neb is more effective.
If you ask10 people, you might get ten different opinions.

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I usually use a nebulizer for my albuterol, but my pulmonologist said it’s ok to use the inhaler with a spacer when I travel. Nebulizers are a little more reliable for getting the medication in. Inhalers require a more careful technique, but can be equally effective.
I have another med via inhaler and if I’m in a hurry, I occasionally catch myself not timing it correctly.

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I cannot speak to the inhaled Arikayce. There are a bunch of posts here in this forum that can be easily searched about peoples' experiences with Arikayce.

For bronchiectasis, I've switched to using an albuterol puffer before 7% saline and airway clearance instead of nebbing levalbuterol, the later made me ironically wheezy. The puffer helps my asthma a lot so I carry it around with me when I will be away from home for the several hours etc.

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@scoop

I cannot speak to the inhaled Arikayce. There are a bunch of posts here in this forum that can be easily searched about peoples' experiences with Arikayce.

For bronchiectasis, I've switched to using an albuterol puffer before 7% saline and airway clearance instead of nebbing levalbuterol, the later made me ironically wheezy. The puffer helps my asthma a lot so I carry it around with me when I will be away from home for the several hours etc.

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My pulmonologist recently prescribed me levalbuterol for nebulizer because of my recent infections. The dosage for nebulizing (.0.63 or .3 ml) is a lot more than inhaler puffer. If you go back from nebulizing to inhaler puffer, do you have to adjust the dosage to a similar amount?
Many thanks!
Ling

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@wangling

My pulmonologist recently prescribed me levalbuterol for nebulizer because of my recent infections. The dosage for nebulizing (.0.63 or .3 ml) is a lot more than inhaler puffer. If you go back from nebulizing to inhaler puffer, do you have to adjust the dosage to a similar amount?
Many thanks!
Ling

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There was discussion about the differences between doses a couple of months ago. I guess it really depends what works for you. I wish I could use levalbuterol via neb but it makes me wheezy afterwards (paradoxical reaction?), plus I have so much of it stocked away. I might try it again.

Here's a link to the discussion.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/microwaves-and-nebulizers/?pg=12#comment-1175082
PS - Ling are you taking NAC and mucinex?

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@scoop

There was discussion about the differences between doses a couple of months ago. I guess it really depends what works for you. I wish I could use levalbuterol via neb but it makes me wheezy afterwards (paradoxical reaction?), plus I have so much of it stocked away. I might try it again.

Here's a link to the discussion.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/microwaves-and-nebulizers/?pg=12#comment-1175082
PS - Ling are you taking NAC and mucinex?

Jump to this post

Thank you, scoop. I hope you have recovered from pneumonia. I do feel nebulizing levalbuterol works better for me, even though my lung function test did show I need it. I remember my pulmonologist said that using it helps airway clearance more efficiently. My ex experience proves he was right. I take NAC for a while, but only take mucinex as needed.

Ling

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