Advair inhaler....effects on gains?

[Rogue47]

Documentation with leukotriene inhibitors warn against possible drug interactions with testosterone, tamoxifen, estrogen, and progesterone among others....check with a pharmacist or MD.

looks like somebody enjoys doing their homework! Great info Bozzman!

 

[ichabodcrane]

Documentation with leukotriene inhibitors warn against possible drug interactions with testosterone, tamoxifen, estrogen, and progesterone among others....check with a pharmacist or MD.

The concern here is only with enzymatic metabolism, and mainly applies to the leukotriene inhibitor Zileuton. All of these drugs are metabolized by CYP3A4. So you can imagine what happens when you throw in a bunch of drugs that are all metabolized by the same enzyme. You guessed it, increased risk of toxicities. Zileuton appears to be a worse offender than the leukotriene antagonists, Singulair and Accolate, although these to are metabolized by the same enzyme. You will see a red flag on testosterone because usually the concern is with the oral form which we know requires more hepatic metabolism. Don't think that injectibles aren't metabolized in the liver because they are(as well as other tissues). But they are not subject to first pass. So main concern with this issue would be your oral AAS.
For Rogue, you need not worry about systemic absorption using Advair. Bozz did a good job summing things up. You take what is considered a medium dose (264-660 ug/day). Low dose is 88-264 ug/day. Just be sure to rinse your mouth with water and spit after each use. Practitioners can approach asthma therapy 1 of 2 ways, and depending on your classification. Once you are diagnosed with asthma you are placed in a certain category or "step". Step 1 is mild-intermittent, step 2 is mild persistend, all the way up to step 4 which is severe-persistent. Anyways, like I said the practitioner can address treatment in 1 of 2 ways. They can start high and step down, or start at the initial level of severity and step up. Not that one is better than the other, but as you can gather starting high gets your symptoms under control faster, but may subject you to more side effects depending on which meds you are on(like the oral corticos). You said you were prescribed the medrol dose pack. I don't know which step you were classified in, but your symptoms must have been pretty severe. Usually we see people classified in step 3 (moderate-persistent) using the medium dosed inhaled corticosteroids in conjunction with a long acting beta 2 agonist. Depending on your response, it may be possible to step down in treatment. You should be reevaluated every 1-6 months and the decision can be made then. Also a good indicator of asthma control is how often you need to use your short-acting beta agonist (rescue inhaler), albuterol. If you find you are using more than one canister/month, it usually means the asthma is not under control. If you are awkened at night frequently this is another sign of uncontrolled asthma. You should also have your peak flow meter to use as an indicator of how therapy is going. And don't worry if you have to continue taking the inhaled corticosteroids. Remember like Bozz said, asthma is an inflammatory condition. The best thing to do is keep the inflammation under control. If left untreated, the chronic inflammation can lead to changes in the lining of the airways; hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the smooth muscle, increase airway wall thickness, and mucous gland hypertrophy and mucus hypersecretion. And the best way to treat this is with inhaled corticosteroids. The one good thing about asthma is that it IS reversible. But the point to take home is that asthma needs to be kept under control. You don't want to go back and be put on oral corticos again. And do things to minimize whatever triggers your asthma. If you have pets, keep them out of your sleeping room. You may need to buy the plastic encasements for your pillows/bed. Dust frequently and wash sheets every week in hot water. Yeah it's a pain in the ass but remember you are in control of your health. Keep regular appointments so you can reevaluate your treatment therapy.
Good luck! And don't worry about the Advair hindering your gains, because it won't. Systemic absorption is minimal and clinically insignificant.

 

[Bozzman]

Well said! Would make the NHLBI proud. As Ichabod stated avoiding triggers will play a big role in controlling your asthma. Again, allergy testing may be worth the time. I have seen patients identify triggers they had daily contact with (food, chemicals..), adjusting their daily activities made a big deal. In addition to keeping your sleeping area free of dust, another effort I have seen people have good results with is treating bedding, curtains and any other cloth where dust mites may live with anti-allergen spray. One in particular (I'm not sure of the name) it lasts three months, I think it is just denatured alcohol. My neice suffers from severe asthma and had been admitted to the hospital frequently. When her parents started to stay on top of dust and enclose/ treated her bedding, her symptoms improved dramatically.

 

[gjohnson5]

I have been using an Advair inhaler twice a day for about a month now (250mcg fluticasone propionate/50mcg Salmeterol). The fluticasone is a corticosteroid and the salmeterol a beta-agonist. Would this hae any negative/positive effects on gains? Althougth the Corticosteroid is a smaller concentration would this effect muscle growth or make it harder?...I am not on any AS. Just high protein, glutamine, creatine, and soon 1-Test (or related compound)...could the salmeterol help gains?

Good question I take this (the same dosage 250/50) and singular 10mg for my developing asthma and rhinitis/rhino-sinusitus (got 2 allergist who call it differnt things)

I have been having to stop and catch my breath during workout as I have been slacking on the 2

My real question is I believe I read ephedra is an asthma treatment. Being as I am, trying to get more cut anyway , is this a reasonable addition or replacement?