Asthma: Xolair and Symbicort

3 shots every 2 weeks for xolair and i was on symbicort for awhile but recently switched to dulera. (my mom works for my allergist. So i am in a sense a guinea pig with all my running to see if things actually work)

I have had good experiences. I know when the 2 weeks is up not from a time point of view but from the way my chest feels

I am also on Xolair, 3 shots a week. I recently stopped taking Symbicort because i think it was causing my hair to thin out and i'm in my 20s. Have you noticed if Xolair has helped improve ur runs?? It's been about 2 wks since i stopped symbicort and I can notice my runs being slower... I'm not on any other inhaler and haven't taken Albuterol prior to runs. (i think my problem is i dont get enough air in and out of lungs).

I really want my running to improve. Should I consider trying to be fitted for other inhalers like Dulera? My Dr. just told me i can try sticking w/ Xolair and see what happens. Did anyone experience any side effects like hair loss?

I HIGHLY reccomend Advar if your looking to use an inhaler. I was diagonsed with asthma when I was 10, began running cross country/track at the age of 12 and have been ever since. At first I used a standard abuterol inhaler, maxium doseage and never really noticed any change. The summer before my freshman year I visited and asthma and alergy specialist. I was lucky enough that the Dr. was an avid marathon runner and understood what I was going through/ what I wanted to accomplish. Began to take weekly allergy shots, Advar(maxium dosage), and a nasal spray(this later changed to zrytec). As time progressed I started feeling better with my running and my breathe test results showed that the medication/lung stregth wa simproving. Over time the allergy shots stop(I completed the whole series), I took a stor brand zrytec instead of name brand(gotta save money) and was reduced to the lowest doseage of Advar(one puff once a day). Now at age 20, I have finally stopped taking advar and the zrytec. I played wit hit in the past and still got sick fromt ime to time, but now I am totally done with it. I did noticed slight differences at first without the advar, but after a couple days-a wekk I feel no difference and continue to improve. Check out Advar for sure.

When you mentioned shots, are u referring to Xolair? You were able to taper down on the Xolair injections??

So are all of the Advair/Symbicort use meant to be 'temporary' where one would eventually taper down on the dependency and eventually stop using them?

After about 6 months on Symbicort, my PFT results did not change. It didn't show really any improvements. The one area I did notice where it helped, was with my normal breathing. When i'm not exercising, i would find it kind of tight around my chest and throat, where i had to sort of force myself to exhale hard sometimes. That has started to trigger again after stopping Symbicort for a wk or two.

I'm approaching week 3 without Symbicort. I can tell my breaths are a lot shorter and sometimes i have this sensation where i want to force myself to exhale/cough. I haven't had a bad reaction (maybe due to the Xolair helping) but I can notice that the airway isn't clear as it use to.

I stopped Symbicort cuz i think it was causing my hair to thin out. I'm still losing hair, but I think it isn't falling out as fast or maybe my hair is growing back at a normal rate?

Just wanted to get some more advice or your experiences so I can talk to my Dr about it and figure out what's best for me. She originally said maybe we'll just stick to Xolair alone, but i can tell Symbicort helped reduce the chest tightness/inflammation. My PFT results didn't improve over the 6 months though... I have tried Advair, and I don't think it was as affective as Symbicort was for me.

Is your Dr. a primary care physician or a specialist? I am not sure that the way you are being treated is appropriate for asthma. Inhaled steroids, one of the two medications in Advair, Symbicort, and Dulara, is generally the most important part of asthma treatment. Xolair is generally used as a treatment when someone isn't controlled on maximum does of other therapies. I think Xolair without other medications is not a good idea. Hair loss from symbicort is not a common side effect. With asthma, your symptoms are more important than your PFTs. From your description, it sounds like you were well controlled on the symbicort, and poorly controlled off, and I can't see a justification for stopping it. Were you previously poorly controlled on only symbicort or were you put on Xolair and symbicort at the same time? You could try a lower dose of symbicort if you are concerned about side effects.

My pulmonolgist pretty much started me on Xolair and Symbicort at the same time. I started Symbicort about 2 wks early and I could tell I was feeling my muscles around my airways more relaxed. I forgot which results on the PFT was below avg. It had to do with the amount of air moving through my lungs. It was low and was hoping to improve that. That's not a bad idea about the lower dosage. From other experiences, do ppl end up tapering off of Xolair? Or do they stay dependent on them?

Why were you started on both at the same time? Had you been on another inhaler (advair) previously without benefit? People can taper off, it isn't really known yet what is optimal. There isn't a rebound effect when stopping. In my experience, Xolair should be a last resort (new drug, costs more than 10,000 dollars/year, tested mainly for patients with severe disease).

With another dr, I was on Advair + Predisome. The response wasn't immediate and i still showed some symptoms of chest tightness/wheezing on them. Both dr had recommended that i be on Xolair because on my allergy test, i was showing extremely high allergic response to dust. One dr said she had never seen anyone that high before so she recommended both Xolair and Symbicort (and also my previous experience with Advair). Xolair is really expensive, so i was hoping eventually i could taper off of that, but my allergy test always show that i'm really allergic to dust, which is hard to avoid anywhere.

Hoping i can find the right combo with inhalers and medication, cuz my interests and goals always have been around being active. I just hope I can continue to do certain things, like run and such. I also hope i won't have to be totally dependent on them in the future