Asthma 3-in-1 Therapy May Improve Lung Function, Study Shows

Let's wait for an independent study...

As drug companies continue to develop treatments in preference to cures, the devil's bargain between Big Pharma and Big Government grinds down the patient. My asthma inhaler now carries a $489 COPAY for a metered 30 day supply. I sure would like to know what my senators and congresswoman (all 3 Democrats) rake in in lobbyist largesse.

Unsure why I didn't see this in the article, but for those interested, the drug combination includes an inhaled corticosteroid (beclometasone dipropionate) a, long-acting β2 agonist (formoterol fumarate), and a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (glycopyrronium).

First point if you had severe asthma/ COPD is to have an excellent Pulmonologist, preferably "board certified". (Meaning he or she has done extra study and taken extra testing to prove they are on top of the most recent research and procedures). Secondly, yes, prescription drugs in the U.S. are ridiculously, criminally expensive. Big pharma, it's CEO's are getting richer and richer and meanwhile people DIE because they can't afford life saving medications, such as insulin, asthma medications, epinephrine pens, and so on. I have asthma, recently "upgraded" to COPD. I have never smoked in my life. It developed, fast, after a life threatening emergency surgery, I've never been given a reason why. I take three different inhalers, two are corticosteroids, (Dulera and Alvesco), one is a "rescue inhaler" I can't be without, (Combivent Respimat). I also take pills: Montelukast, one daily and Theo 24, 400mg daily. I also have oral prednisone at home for real emergencies, but use it very sparingly. I have been hospitalized with asthma/ pneumonia a few times, once with MRSA in my lungs (rare, I was told)..... So: my thoughts? As a retired RN (30 years in hospitals) the U.S. must have some form of universal health coverage like every other developed nation. Take it from the military/industrial complex...how many times DO we need to be able to blow up the entire earth???

I hope this is truly helpful. My ex-wife had moderate to severe asthma for many years. At 1 point, we were in an emergency room about 4 times a year, for several years. We owned a portable nebulizer, but it did not use oxygen; only forced air with the albuterol. We were living in Flushing, Queens. Fortunately, Queens Hospital deploys a fleet of ambulances in a grid around the hospital. An ambulance of theirs was parked only 3 blocks from our apartment. 1 evening, I drove to the grocery, and was gone for (at most) about 10-15 minutes. When I returned, there were 2 ambulances in front of our small apartment building. At first, I thought it was our elderly downstairs neighbor; it wasn't. I walked into our apartment: The EMS responders were already in our apartment. She finally got her breath back; with their help, of course. It has gotten much better. I will never forget the fear I saw in her eyes up close.

I am sure 3 in one therapy will be very helpful. Unfortunately, 2 in 1 therapy is unaffordable to 80 of Americans with asthma because it is $200 - $300 per one month of medication. I is not about ordering the medication, most prescriptions are going unfilled. The latest guidelines change now allow users of 2 in 1 asthma medications ( Dulera and Symbicort) , which provide lung bronchodilation in 15 minutes, to gp without albuterol, reducing the cost for the first time in 10 years. Unfortunately, life saving drugs are the most expensive in the United States. Standards changes are not helpful if no one can afford it.

What is the cost? The credibility of our health care system is somewhere in the basement because of the hidden costs. It's all so confusing. It's why pickpockets prefer crowds.

We are given a lot of information in this article. None of it is what actually matters: the name of the three medications that are combined in the inhaler that works best. Is this "the new journalism"?