What's best medication for exercise-induced asthma with glaucoma?
I have glaucoma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and now have exercise induced asthma. Which is the best medication for this asthma that will not affect my other conditions, especially glaucoma?
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HI @brenjaco and welcome to Connect.
Fellow Connect members @sueinmn @walisky and @jenniferhunter have mentioned asthma in the best and have some knowledge or experience (personal or otherwise) with asthma and may be able to offer you support.
Back to you @brenjaco, are you able to explain more on your symptoms? What are you doing physically when this happens?
I can only say that my husband had great results with Dupixent. But it isn't for every type of asthma. I found about the drug after reading about Fasenra. You might want to start your research there. Ask your doctor about these two drugs. My husband's doctor had to send us to another doctor to get information because they are an injection and he "didn't do injections." Before Dupixent, my husband could barely walk from the bedroom to the living room but now he is back to his old hobbies and can go shopping with me.
@brenjaco I exercise in the mornings, per my pulmonologist I take Singulair before I go to sleep and I use two puffs of Albuterol about 15 mins before I start to exercise. I believe the Singulair needs to be a min of 3 hours before exercise. I am really hesitant to comment on side effects, I think that is something to discuss with your doctor the risks of taking a anticholinergic with glaucoma. Bottom line, everything is always trade off.
I will just add that I do have hypertension and none of the above seem to be a problem, I've been on this plan for 4-5 years now.
taking albuterol before exercise is something I am starting to add
@brenjaco I have allergic asthma and the best thing I can do is control the allergies with shots, antihistamines, avoidance of triggers, etc. I start exercise slowly and stop if I need an inhaler. Using generic Mucinex helps a lot too to thin mucous so it can be expelled before it becomes trapped and causes trouble. I do have a preventative inhaler that reduces an immune response to things that trigger allergies, Qvar, which is an inhaled steroid and a rescue inhaler Xopenex (generic Albuterol) which does raise my heart rate if I get too much. I use Qvar before exposure like when I will be in public. At my home, I use HEPA air filters, so things are more controlled and less issues. Even cough drops help open up my airways. Always check with your doctor on medication effects, but you can help your situation with your immediate environment. I know cold air is a problem if I am breathing hard with exercise. Even food allergies can trigger my asthma and phlegm, so I have figured out what to avoid.
@jenniferhunter- I have also found that increasing my water intake helps thin out mucus. I use to use my rescue inhaler before exercise before I was switched to Trelegy. I had been taking QVAR and Spiriva. This new inhaler made a world of difference for me.