Inhaled steroids?

Anyone post or pre op who is/was on inhaled steroids -- do they affect your recovery? My husband is taking 500/50 Advair, and I know that one of the side effects is reduced ability to recover post-op (any surgery) but I was wondering if anyone has more details? Also, do the inhaled cortico-steroids impact the weight loss? I can't figure out if these steroids cause weight gain or if its just the pills? Also, is anyone else taking Singulair, Advair, Serevent, Albuterol, and Primatene? How easy will it be for my husband to get to his rescue inhalers in the hospital? Will he easily be able to take his other meds? 15 days to go, and now I'm starting to panic...freak...worry...MORE...

Ok here's what I know, only pills cause weight gain, inhaled steroids do not due to the fact they are localized. As far as recovery, I will double check on this with my brother who is a surgeon, but I believe the only time is initally when you switch from pill steroids to inhaled the body isnt as capable of healing. I am on Advair the same dosage as your husband. Call his surgeon make sure they are completely aware of his need for his rescue inhaler and Advair. I know if I miss one dose of my Advair I can feel it. I'm glad you brought this up cause I have my final meeting with my surgeons bariatric coordinator Nov. 15th and I will add this to my list of MORE THINGS TO STRESS OUT ABOUT!!! Let me know if you find out anything in the mean time! and GOOD LUCK to the hub!!! Debby

I'm sorry, Debby, I didn't mean to add to your stress, too! We have a pre-op meeting with the surgeon, nutritionist, and anesthetist on November 11, so I'll check then, and update on the reply... Thanks for your good wishes. Good luck to you as well! Jennifer

Jen, Dont worry about the inhalers in the hospital. Here's the deal-io....As soon as your hubby falls asleep..no matter WHAT time of day/night it is.....no matter how hard he's struggled to FALL asleep...the lovely resp. therapist will most likely be waking him up every 2 hours to do breathing treatments. Sucks...but thats how it is for us asthmatics. Now for the good news....Pre-op I was on Advair daily and used my rescue inhaler approx 4-6x a week. Have not used it a single time since recovering from my Lap RNY 14 months ago. Start thinking of creative uses for those purple discs Best wishes!! Love, Kathy

Seriously, you stopped using the rescue inhaler that quickly? I am amazed! I'm not sure I would know what to do if we stopped spending all that money every month...we buy at least one Primatene a week, in addition to the prescriptions...WOW...THAT would be worth everything, if my TJ could breathe...for the first time in his life... I hadn't considered that as a possible outcome...WOW... Thanks for the encouragement! Jennifer

Hey Jen Don't you worry one lil bit! While long term use of corticosteroids can cause delayed healing as long as the surgeon is aware of hubby's use of it, they'll take care of him. I have been throwing those lil purple discs like frisbees ..... whoooooosh . I haven't had to use my Advair at all and only used my Albuterol puffer once post-operatively (~5 mos.) and I was using Advair 2X/day and my rescue inhaler a LOT (5-6X/day) pre-op. I do continue to take Singulair, which I'm sure helps but my use is more allergy-related. You can take his rescue inhaler if you feel it necessary, but in the hospital they really stayed on top of my vitals and O2 sat. I'm also taking part in a long-term asthma and obesity study through SIU School of Medicine looking at the effects of weight loss on asthma. I get to go in later in the week (I think) for a post-op follow up. NOT looking forward to them using the methylcholine to induce an attack ... oh I feel the tightening already Have an awesome week girl! Hugz, Cathy

I am stunned by this news. I didn't know that the surgery could make that much difference in his asthma... Even if he's not cured, if it reduces his reliance on the Primatene, and some of his other meds, that would be tremendous... Its funny that you're in a study on asthma and obesity. He tried to get in one when we lived in Southern California (we think it was for Advair, oddly enough) about 10 years ago. But his lung capacity was never great enough (he couldn't get past 20% even with the study meds, and his rescue inhaler) Of course, at the time, he refused to go to the doctor, so he was only using Primatene, which was just horrible...At that time he was going through 2 a day. That's right -- 2 Primatene inhalers a day, 14 a week. It was INSANE! It wasn't until 3 years ago (there was a bronchodilator shortage, no Primatene anywhere!) that I was able to get him to FINALLY see a doctor for it, because he insisted that he had exhausted all options with the doctors... I'm sorry I'm rambling, I'm just a little excited about this. I don't know that I've heard or seen anything that said his asthma might get better...I'm just totally EXCITED!!!! Thanks for the information, you just don't know how much better this makes me feel! Have an AWESOME day! Jennifer