03 Dec 2011

Bring Marax Back ! It was and is the Most Effective and Humane medication for sever Asthma attack

—Posted by A Girl

07 Oct 2009

I took MARAX as a child in 60's, early 70's for asthma. I found it effective, but found it to cause a (to me, scary) side effect my doctor never mentioned: Marax caused me to "see stars" upon rising from sitting position; to the point that this "visual static" (similar to analog TV picture after station goes off the air) made it impossible to see, momentarily, upon rising. I now think this was a blood pressure - related side effect; I will google that later so as not to taint my obsrvations with someone elses experience. It WAS alarming, because that was the era when ILLEGAL drugs were becoming prevalent, talked about, and feared. I assumed that MARAX was of potential harm to my brain, who knows, maybe like the dreaded LSD or marajuana I'd heard about in the media! I was glad my asthma symptoms declined, & I didn't even take it PRN anymore, around puberty. Interestingly, I accidentally did a "placebo" type experiment which confirmed to me the validity of my "seeing stars" experiences with Marax: After I had stopped taking it, I rose one night with a headache, and felt I had taken an aspirin in the darkened kitchen. I'd taken a light blue uncoated Marax tablet; not a 5-grain aspirin! I only discoverd I'd taken pill from the wrong bottle later, when I started "seeing stars"! Pfizer info page now says Marax is a shaped, scored tablet, back then it looked just like a round, generic aspirin (though light blue) tablet. Other history: ("reason for taking this treatment" question above: I chose "Bronchiospasm" not "other," as Asthma not listed: On plus side, I found Marax worked quickly to aleviate tight chest. I did not require any additional medications, inhalers, etc. as youth. My asthma perhaps not life-threatening: only one trip to ER; got epinephrine. Thru age, or not being in house so much w/ smoking parent, due to H.S. Track, cross country, wrestling, NO ASTHMA in high school! Asthma recurred, 30's, after move, age 26, to Austin, TX, a big mountain cedar area, &(anecdotal)worsened after vasectomy. Now I use Advair Discus PRN. Though doc SAYS "use it all year long," that aint me!

—Posted by ednorandrewrowe