Do You Use Spiriva?

[Texas Star]

I have been prescribed Spiriva, to augent other asthma medications. I don't want to start using it until I get some feedback, although the doctor gave me samples.

The reason for her adding it is to see if it will assist in breaking a bronchial episode that has bothered me all last week. I had to go on Prednisone to break a flare. There is also hope that I can use Spiriva in lieu of Advair, which is expensive and not available to me via the VA, where I try to get medicines that they carry. The VA co-pay is a LOT cheaper than buying from an outside pharmacy, especially now that my Medicare insurance has hit the "donut hole" in coverage for the rest of this year. I cannot afford Advair, but the VA may have Spiriva.

My principal concern is that one of the caveats with Spiriva is that patients with enlarged prostates and consequent urinary impairment may sufffer further flow problems while using Spiriva. That might become serious in short order. And getting the VA doc to answer the phone is impossible! (Directions say to consult your doctor immediately if problems occur.)

My non-VA doctor, who is a partner in an asthma clinic, has no experience of Spiriva with male patients, and couldn't answer my concerns in this realm. (She does not treat non-respiratory disorders.) I'll see my VA doctor later this week, but she is not always easy to deal with and I have limited rapport with her.

What I need to know is the percentage of male patients who have experienced urinary difficulty after using Spiriva. My Search skills are limited, but I found little on the Net, or wouldn't post this here.

If you or an acquaintance use Spiriva and can tell me whether it affected you in this way, please post or PM me.
If you'd prefer to PM, your identity will be kept confidential.

Thanks. Also, let me know your general experience with Spiriva.

 

[oldman45]

The lady that lives here with me only to keep me broke uses it. Her prescription calls for once a day use. Been on it for over 10 yrs. No problems from it.

The drawback is the cost. The total cost is $189 of which I pay half from February until September. The other months, I have to pay it all. That may sound strange but her annual insurance deductible pays out in Jan each year and then pays it's maximum yearly amount by September. So I pay the total cost for four months each year.

 

[HAWKEYE10]

I have been prescribed Spiriva, to augent other asthma medications. I don't want to start using it until I get some feedback, although the doctor gave me samples.

The reason for her adding it is to see if it will assist in breaking a bronchial episode that has bothered me all last week. I had to go on Prednisone to break a flare. There is also hope that I can use Spiriva in lieu of Advair, which is expensive and not available to me via the VA, where I try to get medicines that they carry. The VA co-pay is a LOT cheaper than buying from an outside pharmacy, especially now that my Medicare insurance has hit the "donut hole" in coverage for the rest of this year. I cannot afford Advair, but the VA may have Spiriva.

My principal concern is that one of the caveats with Spiriva is that patients with enlarged prostates and consequent urinary impairment may sufffer further flow problems while using Spiriva. That might become serious in short order. And getting the VA doc to answer the phone is impossible! (Directions say to consult your doctor immediately if problems occur.)

My non-VA doctor, who is a partner in an asthma clinic, has no experience of Spiriva with male patients, and couldn't answer my concerns in this realm. (She does not treat non-respiratory disorders.) I'll see my VA doctor later this week, but she is not always easy to deal with and I have limited rapport with her.

What I need to know is the percentage of male patients who have experienced urinary difficulty after using Spiriva. My Search skills are limited, but I found little on the Net, or wouldn't post this here.

If you or an acquaintance use Spiriva and can tell me whether it affected you in this way, please post or PM me.
If you'd prefer to PM, your identity will be kept confidential.

Thanks. Also, let me know your general experience with Spiriva.

Yes I have used Spiriva and had to quit because of an enlarged prostate. It got where I had problems going to the bathroom. It got better after I quit taking it. Don

 

[Texas Star]

The lady that lives here with me only to keep me broke uses it. Her prescription calls for once a day use. Been on it for over 10 yrs. No problems from it.

The drawback is the cost. The total cost is $189 of which I pay half from February until September. The other months, I have to pay it all. That may sound strange but her annual insurance deductible pays out in Jan each year and then pays it's maximum yearly amount by September. So I pay the total cost for four months each year.

This is called the "donut hole" in insurance coverage, and it has hit me. My co-pay after insurance let me afford Advair, but now I can't, and the VA won't provide Advair. It is about $300 or more per cannister over the counter at the pharmacy.

I think I can get Singulair tablets for maybe $75 now that coverage is lapsing. There isn't any substitute for them. Maybe I can phase off of Advair if I can tolerate the new drug.

 

[GatorFarmer]

There should have been a paper insert full of fine print in with the samples. This generally breaks down the information regarding how many people taking it in a given study had "X" problem while doing so. If your samples didn't come with an insert, you ought be able to contact the drug's maker and get one.

 

[Texas Star]

Yes I have used Spiriva and had to quit because of an enlarged prostate. It got where I had problems going to the bathroom. It got better after I quit taking it. Don

Don-

Thanks. I'm trying to get an average to see how common that is. I hope others will post their experiences. If we get even ten responses and most have had good results, that may be a clue. Or, if many have had your experience, that's scary.

If I try it and have a problem, there's a "doc in a box" shop near me that may be able to help and keep me out of a more expensive emergency room. I have no faith at all in reaching a VA doc on the phone.

 

[GatorFarmer]

I can't get the mfg's web page to open for some reason, but a cursory check of other sources seems to list the urinary side effects as being rare, happening - in theory - perhaps one time out of a thousand. As always though, remember that I dropped out of law school and not medical. Not trusting released studies myself since lots of things don't get reported properly, etc - I'd guess that the real number of people with problems might be higher. (Simple example, officially antidepressants cause sexual side effects for 1 out 4 users, in reality it closer to 50 percent.) Other claimed negative side effects seem to be stroke and heart problems.

If have a CVS or Walgreens nearby, you can also try asking at the consultation window. The advice is free, though again it isn't from a doctor.

 

[Texas Star]

There should have been a paper insert full of fine print in with the samples. This generally breaks down the information regarding how many people taking it in a given study had "X" problem while doing so. If your samples didn't come with an insert, you ought be able to contact the drug's maker and get one.

Gator-

I read the enclosure, but it only cautioned people with BPH using the drug to be careful to alert their doc if they see any problem. There wasn't an understandable percentage breakdown of how many men had trouble in the test sample against how many had trouble on the placebo.

I will ask my non-VA pharmacist about this, but he probably won't know much unless he's had a lot of complaints about it. May ask several pharmacies. The more info, the better.

 

[WC145]

Spiriva is more for COPD than asthma, it may not be the appropriate drug for you needs. It is similar to atrovent (iprotropium bromide) which has been around for a long time (it is available as a generic) and is commonly mixed with albuterol for the treatment of asthma symptoms. It is available by itself in both liquid form for nebulizers and inhalers, also you can get it premixed with albuterol for nebs and in an inhaler called Combivent. This and Singulair, is a pretty common combination for asthma treatment/maintenance.

Your pulmonologist (if she is a pulmonologist) should be much better versed in the drug before prescribing it to you. It sounds like you might consider finding another one to take care of you.

Also, if prednisone hasn't helped, I can't see spiriva doing anything for this current flare up. It is a maintenance drug, it is not used for acute illness.

 

[Texas Star]

Spiriva is more for COPD than asthma, it may not be the appropriate drug for you needs. It is similar to atrovent (iprotropium bromide) which has been around for a long time (it is available as a generic) and is commonly mixed with albuterol for the treatment of asthma symptoms. It is available by itself in both liquid form for nebulizers and inhalers, also you can get it premixed with albuterol for nebs and in an inhaler called Combivent. This and Singulair, is a pretty common combination for asthma treatment/maintenance.

Your pulmonologist (if she is a pulmonologist) should be much better versed in the drug before prescribing it to you. It sounds like you might consider finding another one to take care of you.

Also, if prednisone hasn't helped, I can't see spiriva doing anything for this current flare up. It is a maintenance drug, it is not used for acute illness.

Thanks. The doc works in an asthma and allergy clinic, but don't know if she's a pulmonologist. She suspects possible COPD. I'm not sure. I've had similar flares before. Prednisone has helped. Greatly! I was skipping some Advair doses to avoid taking it too close together, given my schedule, when I'm sometimes sleeping or busy and distracted when I should have taken a dose. I'm trying to be more consistent about that, although it's become a somewhat moot point, now that I can't afford Advair again until next year's coverage. I can only scrounge so many free samples at the allergist, and the trial cannisters now have only one week's supply of Advair. Used to be two weeks. I make too much money by a few thousand to be in Advair's charity program, where they'll help. I hope the VA doc will help this week, and know what she's doing. Maybe they have an asthma clinic that knows more, if anyone will tell me about it. Being informed at the VA is not easy. The Dallas VA was rated as the worst in the nation, with Phoenix second. I think this was by the GAO. After I read that, I asked personnel there and they admitted the bad rating. Some departments are really good, like Dermatology, but others suck. I'd better not comment on the hiring ratio that seems to involve a lot of affirmative action employees. Many don't afford a lot of confidence in their abilities or interest in the patient. I am looking for a good outside doc who'll take Medicare and not charge too much otherwise. I think I may have a contact at a major hospital who'll locate one for me. (Crossed fingers.)

I do carry and use an albuterol inhaler. It saved my life yesterday when I woke up with my lungs plugged. Wasn't a lot of mucous, but it must have clogged a vital airway.

The only other asthmatic I know is a college student who uses both albuterol and Advair, so I know she has it bad enough to need Advair. But she has been normal lately. I may be responding to allergens that don't affect her. I think the month or so of days with heat over 100 degrees and the humidity and smog has something to do with the present crisis. At this time, the Prednisone may have solved the problem. I'll know when I finish this course of it. But it's two weeks in a row of Prednisone therapy, which has the doc concerned.

Thanks so much for your detailed post! I really appreciate that info! It always amazes me what a resource this board is, in so many areas.

 

[smitret]

Spiriva

I use Advair and Singular to control asthma.

A generic for Proscar is taken for prostate.

Spiriva was added to the mix to help clearing out airways.

No noticeable difference in urinary performance for me.

Good Luck