Seretide causing tremor?

[Seanjbyrne]

Had a lot of trouble over the last 12 weeks or so with shortness of breath, which a respiratory specialist now believes were not purely asthma exacerbations and were more likely virus/infection related.

Anyway, whilst my SOB was bad I was upped from my regular Seretide 100 to Seretide 250.

Since starting on 250 I have been getting trembling in my fingers and twitching eyelid as well as an elevated heart rate. It's been calming down a bit since I started the higher dose but is still there. As of today I've dropped back down to 100 so hoping the tremors will go away.

Has anyone else noticed this when jumping up to higher dose of seretide?

It's a little surprising to me because the salmeterol component of my seretide 250 and 100 is the same (25mg) and it's just the fluticasone component that is stronger. I heard of relievers causing tremor and high heart rate but didn't this was the case of the preventer drugs.

[emmasue]

I start to shake when I've used my inhaler more. I'm on the Symbicort Smart regime though, but I think it is similar type of inhaler (steroid/bronchiodiolater). My heart rate is usually high although the doctor doesn't seem that bothered. I always wonder if will cause problems in the long term.

[Seanjbyrne]

Yeah I think it is quite common, but usually tends to be a symptom of increased dosage of short or long acting relievers.

When I was first put up to 250 my resting heart rate was around 120 bpm, it's now about 75 bpm (was about 60 bpm before).

Was hard to understand how much of the jump in heart rate was down to medication as your heart rate will also increase if you have a virus or infection. Anxiety (which I was also suffering with) can also cause quite dramatic increases in heart rate.

[Hidden]

I'm in flixotide 250 (same steroid as seretide 250 but without the salmeterol). I don't recall ever getting the shakes from it, not even when I was first put on it. Maybe it's the combination of an increased strength of the steroid plus the salmeterol that is causing the problem.

[PMRPete]

Uncommon (affects between 1 in 100 and 1 in 1000 people)

Shaking, usually of the hands (tremor).

Anxiety.

Sleep disorders.

Awareness of your heartbeat (palpitations).

Increased heart rate (tachycardia).

Chest pain.

netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/a...

and 8 years ago:-

Seretide - Does the shakiness get better?

healthunlocked.com/asthmauk...

[Hidden]

Hi Seanjbyrne

I asked our asthma nurse team your query. Caroline has got back to me and said with Seretide, the pharmacological side effects of β2 agonist treatment, such as tremor, palpitations and headache, have been reported, but tend to be transient and reduce with regular therapy. But if this is not the case then you should speak to your GP to look at other medication eg montelukast.

She also said it's worth considering what else could possibly be triggering a flare-up. possibly rhinitis due to allergy or acid reflux?

Please feel free to give our nurses team a ring on 0300 222 5800 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) to go through in more detail.

Take care,

Dita