change of inhalers

Hubby would like to know what the difference ( aside from price ) is between advair and symbicort.

Advair is $176/month...but he could get symbicort for less than $50/month.
Because of the price difference he would like to ask his doctor about changing it.

Think his lung specialist would go for that if he asked?

Are there any other inhalers that are similar to advair?

[caregiver222]

The answer won't come from a lung specialist. My best suggestion is to try both for a period of four months and log episodes of breathlessness. There are no significant medical issues here, nor any special expertise from a medical professional  that can be helpful. Some people do extremely well on symbicort. Both are accepted good medications for asthma control. Both have similar side effects.  Comparing the compositions of the drugs is a meaningless exercise, nor is a statistical tabulation comparing and contrasting user populations.

[caregiver222]

The answer won't come from a lung specialist. My best suggestion is to try both for a period of four months and log episodes of breathlessness. There are no significant medical issues here, nor any special expertise from a medical professional  that can be helpful. Some people do extremely well on symbicort. Both are accepted good medications for asthma control. Both have similar side effects.  Comparing the compositions of the drugs is a meaningless exercise, nor is a statistical tabulation comparing and contrasting user populations.

[tschock]

Thank you for that insightful answer. He says he'll give the symbicort a try, and if it works the same ( or better ) for him, then he'll ask her for a prescription for it instead.

[ChitChatNine]

From our experience, we find the same thing .. docs usually let us use whichever one is less $ if it does the job adequately

C~