My bout with long Covid continues. My first and only apparent infection was in May. Since then I have had pneumonia twice (one with a 5-day hospitalization, one sent home after 2 days in the ER) and bronchitis three times. Aside from that, I have had frequent episodes of severe asthma. The pulmonologist I’ve seen for several months had me take oral Prednisone for a few days until the symptoms abated, then taper off. However, my latest episode has lasted two weeks, too long to stay on the steroid. She and my PCP both told me about a new regimen of injected meds called Xolair. Does anyone here know about this med?
https://www.xolair.com/allergic-asthma/frequently-asked-questions.html
Before all this started, I had very mild asthma for many years, easily controlled with two puffs, morning and night from a simple steroid inhaler, and an albuterol inhaler that almost always expired before I used it even once. Now I’ve been on Symbicort 160/4.5 morning and night and have gone through several boxes of nebulized Albuterol. I am cautiously optimistic that Xolair may be the answer. I hope so!
Have you tried nebulized steroids, like budesonide?
It looks like Xolair is used for hives. It doesn’t sound like your breathing issues are from allergy-?
There is also singulair or fasenra or other drugs for eosinophilic asthma What Are the Treatments for Eosinophilic Asthma? (webmd.com)
What have docs said about the cause of your issues? DO you have ground glass opacities in your lungs from COVID?
Do they term this “long COVID?” This really sounds difficult. I do know, with three kids with asthma and some lung issues myself, that inflammation is the root cause (obvious to you, but we focused initially on bronchospasm).
I would think inhaled steroids via nebulizer might help. For me, too much albuterol actually worsens things but that may not be true for you.
I don’t know anything about Xolair but the website looks a little scary and I do wonder if it addresses the root cause or not. You or your doc would know.
I work for an allergist/immunologist and we have many patients on biologics; either Xolair, Nucala, Fasenra, Tezspire or Dupixent. Many of these work for both urticaria and asthma. While some do great with the first one they try, others have had to switch to another biologic. I can tell you, almost all patient are very happy with the benefits.
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I know a lot about Xolair as well. Feel free to DM me your specific questions. It’s a wonder drug for what it is good at (anything driven by IgE-mediated allergies). If it didn’t improve your symptoms, that might actually point to a different source of breathing difficulty.
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Thank you, @UnsentDementor. I may message you after I see the pulmonologist on Wednesday.
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My son started Dupixent (similar to Xolair) ast spring for asthma and eczema. He has had no asthma symptoms since starting it but the real miracle is its effect on the eczema, which was severe. It is completely gone.