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Stelara causing asthma/allergic issues?

Has anyone who has ever been on stelara ran into an issue with asthma attacks? I had a history of asthma as a kid, but for many many years zero issues, never needed an inhaler. Then one day we got a hypo allergenic dog, thinking it was the dog, probably 1 year into stelara at that point, now at least 2, and i had this weird thick exhale wheeze, i'd get short of breath at night, to the point of almost going to the er.

Now with the covid quarantine, i was stuck in the house, no dog for at least 12 months. I thought maybe the carpets being 15 years old (but cleaned alot), might have brought this on again. I can go 2-3 days outside with no issues then another attack, even with flem production after the inhaler. Most allergy meds didnt help, benadryl does slightly. This exhale wheeze or wheeze at the top of the breath so to speak never fully goes away. What made me think it might be the stelara was the fact i went back to the office, out of the house 16 hours in two days and still had two nights/days of misery. I also saw an article about stelara and a link to at least a "non infectious pneumonia" or similar.

Anyone else ever had issues like this with stelara?
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
Have you seen a pulmonologist?
Lung function test ?
Put on a inhaled corticosteroid (Flovent etc..) daily ?
Carpet and a house will retain pet hair in vents etc...
You may be allergic to more than “just dogs”
An allergist /pulmo can help with that .

Allergic asthma typically does not go away In my experience (3asthmatics in the house ) with allergy meds -most need daily corticosteroids.


Ds has had asthma since age 2
Now age 16
It got a lot better on remicade
And he has been on Stelara for almost three years
His asthma flares when pollen count is high , colds , etc... but no worse since starting Stelara
He does have severe allergies

Good luck
 
Thanks for the reply.
Well early in the covid stage here, i had a video chat with them. I've been prescribed everything under the sun. The albuterol is the only inhaler thats helped and it doesnt always work and it hasnt fully eliminated the "exhale wheeze" or the inhale huff sound i get when its bad when exercising.

I was on things like singular, breo inhaler, flovent and similar. Also on prednisone a month or two ago, only marginally helped, now the pcp wants me to try it again.
I always thought ped dander regardless would be gone within 6 months, but maybe not, despite deep cleanings etc.

I've thought maybe getting rid of the 15 year old carpets would help but i'd never know if it was just "dog",granted yes i have allergies to lots of things beyond that. Also getting the ductwork cleaned was on my mind. But its coincidental that all the asthma issues popped up shortly after beginning stelara (months in i think)

At this point i have only a pcp followup in person finally scheduled, they wont order a ct lung scan or even xray before the visit, but xrays havent showed much. Not sure but hopefully the pcp will at least do the lung function test.

My gastro said we can try stopping the stelara. But i believe it can take 9 months to fully get it out of the system. I've been on it since 12/2017
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
So the thing with asthma flares at least for my kiddos ....
Flovent takes 6-8 weeks to work minimum
And some need high doses of pred (60 mg daily for a week or more )combined woth Flovent before it helps
Not sure on the others
Albuterol can help most of the time but eventually stops working if used too often /too much

You would really need a pulmo visit to determine your wheezing issues since they treat way more aggressively than pcp and test your lungs

Crohns can cause lung issues all by itself which is why pulmo is the way to go

There is also vocal cord disfunction which feels as bad as wheezing but doesn’t respond to meds like asthma does



Good luck
 
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