How Many Inhalers Have I Used in My Lifetime? A Lot

It started for me around 1980.

That’s when I was first introduced to inhalers. Back then it was simple. You had a rescue inhaler—mine was Alupent. Then that shifted to albuterol, which is what most people still use today. Same idea, different name.

Then came the inhaled corticosteroids. At first it was just one inhaler, one job—reduce inflammation. But over time, that changed too.

We went from single inhalers… to long-acting bronchodilators… to combination inhalers with LABA and inhaled corticosteroids… and now triple therapy with three medications in one inhaler.

And that’s just the surface of it.

Because then you add in all the generics. I’ve probably taken most of them at one point or another. Same drugs, different names depending on who made them. Beclomethasone, budesonide, fluticasone—brand name, generic name, back and forth. Albuterol alone comes in a dozen versions. Then different devices—MDIs, dry powder inhalers, mist inhalers. Then the propellant changes. Then patents come and go. Then years where there are no generics… and then suddenly there are again.

At this point, there are so many inhalers and combinations that it would be impossible for anyone to try them all. And there are probably more than I even realize.

So what have I actually used over the years?

Quite a few.

• Vanceril—and all the versions of beclomethasone that came with it, usually that pink inhaler
• Beclovent—another version of beclomethasone, brown inhaler
• Azmacort—triamcinolone, white inhaler with a spacer
• Aerobid—flunisolide, and yeah, that one tasted awful
• Flovent—fluticasone, plus the generic fluticasone versions that came later
• Serevent—salmeterol
• Advair—fluticasone/salmeterol, and the generic versions of that combo
• Singulair—montelukast (not an inhaler, but part of the routine for a while)
• Dulera—mometasone/formoterol
• Breo—fluticasone/vilanterol
• Trelegy—fluticasone/umeclidinium/vilanterol
• And now Breztri—budesonide/glycopyrrolate/formoterol

If you add in all the generics, the list is much longer:

Alupent, Proventil, Ventolin, ProAir HFA, ProAir RespiClick, ProAir Digihaler, Xopenex, Maxair, Primatene Mist, Primatene Mist HFA, Vanceril, Beclovent, QVAR, Azmacort, Aerobid, Flovent HFA, Flovent Diskus, Pulmicort Turbuhaler, Pulmicort Flexhaler, Serevent Diskus, Foradil Aerolizer, Intal, Tilade, Advair Diskus, Advair HFA, Wixela Inhub, , Symbicort, generic budesonide/formoterol inhalers, Dulera, Breo Ellipta, , Trelegy Ellipta, Breztri Aerosphere, generic albuterol sulfate HFA inhalers, generic fluticasone propionate HFA inhalers, , generic beclomethasone inhalers, generic flunisolide inhalers, generic triamcinolone inhalers

And on top of that, all the albuterol inhalers over the years—Proventil, Ventolin, ProAir, and all the generics that look slightly different but do the same thing. Heck, there used to be tons of albuterol generics, each one a unique color. 

I switched from Trelegy to Breztri because Trelegy is a dry powder inhaler and it made me cough. Breztri is a metered-dose inhaler with a mist, and it’s just easier for me to tolerate.

When you step back and look at it, it’s kind of crazy. We went from a couple of inhalers to all these options, combinations, and delivery systems.

You’d think that would make things easier.

But somehow, it’s gotten more complicated—and in a lot of cases, harder to get the one that actually works for you.