10-08-2010, 01:46 PM
mattkime wrote:
[quote=Racer X]
[quote=mattkime]
have you tried cheaper alternatives?
There ARE no cheap effective asthma medications. Singulair is due to go generic in 2012, but it is a secondary asthma med, not a primary one.
I use Proventil HFA for relief from attacks. It does appear that Singulair is a preventive drug.
Proventil is $50/90 inhalations. Its cheaper, but i don't know if its what you need.
Singulair is a preventive, but it works differently than Proventil. Proventil/Albuterol is an inhaler that will help an attack in progress as well as maintain open airways. Singulair is a pill that works "behind the scenes" long term- it blocks the receptors that cause inflammation.
I also use Albuterol plus Flovent (a cortocosteriod inhaler- again, a long term solution, not for treating an attack). 2 puffs of Albuterol, 2 puffs of Flovent and 1 Singulair daily keep my asthma very well controlled. The only other time I need my inhaler is before exercise or on very humid/smoggy days.
DM