My Life as an Asthma Mom

  I hate going to the pharmacy and having them say, "Your total is going to be $350 - is that okay?"  NO, it's not okay! This happened to me last week. I know that means they haven't entered the coupon code for my inhalers.  When Asthma Doc sends this year's prescriptions to the pharmacy, she will enter a coupon code. However, she told me that my chain pharmacy has been instructed to NOT enter coupon codes.  Not sure why they refuse to process the coupon code, but I will be switching to a local pharmacy now.  Coupons for inhalers Many people don't know that the companies that make inhalers will often have coupons for their inhaler.   If people don't know they are overpaying, they might just swipe their card, grab their prescription, and then leave for their next errand.  I refuse to do so, because there's no reason to pay full price when the pharmacy won't enter the coupon.  Before I go to the pharmacy, I will search the name of my inhaler + ...

 Many people have been waiting for years for this new Albuterol inhaler!  What makes this inhaler such a big deal? This new inhaler has TWO medicines in it: 1. Albuterol - this medicine helps relax the smooth muscle bands that wrap around the outside of the small airways in the lungs 2. Budesonide - this medicine is a corticosteroid (works like an anti-inflammatory) to reduce the swelling in the lungs The reason this is important is that most people rely on an Albuterol inhaler when they have an asthma attack, but it's only a Bandaid approach (because it doesn't help the swelling in the lungs) If you are still confused Here's a low cost visual aid I use for patients Normal Airways The left side of the photo is a paper towel tube, wrapped in pink craft paper. It shows what it is like to breathe when our airways are open - there is a LOT of room to breathe through that tube!  Notice the rubber bands around the outside? Those show what the smooth muscles look like. When ou...