Leg cramp from combination inhaler?

[Lindeer]

Hi everyone, I'm sorry if this question has already been asked,but I was just put on a combination inhaler for the first time (Advair) since I wasn't responding to a doubled dose of inhaled steroids (and one week of prednisone tablets didn't calm things down either, only when I was on them).

I've been on it since Friday (the dose is 250/50 ) and have been breathing better than I have in a long time, and have only needed my reliever once! I can tell when it starts to wear off but overall I'm feeling so much better! And although I still react to my triggers, it's much milder and more bearable.

Aside from occasionally shaky hands I haven't been experiencing any side effects. But last night I was awoken by a sharp pain in my left calf as the muscle just seized up out of nowhere.

And as hard as this is to believe, I have never in my 33 years of life experienced a leg cramp before, so it was pretty unnerving, and took a long time before I could go back to sleep. Could it be a side effect of the Advair or just a coincidence? I normally don't read thru possible side effects but when I checked the packaging now it only mentioned muscle pain, not muscle cramps, so I'm not really sure.

Maybe I should see if it happens again before I jump to conclusions, it was just so sudden and a quite scary. To get to the point I guess my question is this: has anyone else experienced leg cramps while on a combination inhaler? Sorry for the ramble, I'm a bit sleep deprived 😅

[starveycat]

There were posts in here months ago and the advice was to eat a banana as they reckoned the inhalers leach the potassium out of the body. I don't know if this is true, but it works for me. Good luck

[Lindeer in reply to starveycat]

Thanks, I will definitly give that a try and I like bananas so it can't hurt!

[MrsCMK]

I was switched to Fostair in March and experienced terrible foot cramp which worsened when I had to double up.

I was going to try and manage this through dietary means but I was lucky enough to get the inhaler changed to Relvar. Within 36 hours, no foot cramps!

[Lindeer in reply to MrsCMK]

Wow, I guess the fostair really didn't agree with you! I'm glad they changed you to something that stopped the foot cramp, must have been such a relief!

[Wheezycat]

Yes, some medications can lead to cramp, and it can be annoying. However, also consider the possibility it wasn’t your inhaler that caused it, just rather the first time for something most of us experience sooner or later, and it may not again for a long while if you are not prone to cramps. Just sheer coincidence.

[Lindeer in reply to Wheezycat]

Thanks, I'm really hoping for a coincidence, because this new medication has me breathing better than I have in ages and I would hate to have to stop it. I think I just overreacted this morning 😅

[Wheezycat in reply to Lindeer]

Cramp is unpleasant. I have always been prone to it, especially in my feet, but I can get it in many other places. My asthma medication, Symbicort, can give you cramp, but as the medication is working well for me I prefer to manage it, rather than ask for a change. Should you get it more regularly there are things you can do that often eases it, even if it isn’t perfect. Bananas is one, but not the only one. My latest with bad cramp brought on more by my circulation in my legs being affected due to poor sitting position in a car has been much helped by raising my legs for a while above my heart level (lying on my back that is, not standing) and that seems to help to prevent it. Or stretches of the calf muscle before you go to bed. Etc, etc.

[CDPO16]

Hi, I have fostair and leg and foot cramp, always in an evening or at night but not every day. The fostair has helped me tremendously when other inhalers didn't so I'm prepared to put up with the cramp which I deal with by getting up and slowly moving about until it subsides.

[Lindeer in reply to CDPO16]

I think I can put up with it too as long as it's not every night- I'd turn into a zombie from lack of sleep!

[CDPO16 in reply to Lindeer]

HaHa! Am familiar with the zombie feeling, have got used to that too as at least I'm a breathe easy zombie! Best wishes.

[Dietrech]

I experienced this so badly I felt shivery and terrible leg pain so decided to stop as it made me feel so ill. Good luck if you persevere, it’s a mine field with these drugs! Xxxx

[pepapod]

I had to switch off the Advair because of extreme muscle cramps all over my body.

[WheezyNanma]

Hi. I'm on Fostair steroid preventer and reliever combined. It gives me massive foot cramps in the evenings. It can also make my heart race if I take the two puffs together, so I tend to space them out and take the 2nd puff a couple of hours after the first (morning and evening).

I do find it effective. It has alleviated the cough and chest tightness, and the wheeze. Although my peak flow is awful. Always has been. I think I might have a bad technique. Average for my age, height etc is 395 and only once in over a month have I measured 400. The rest is up and down between 300 and 360, averaging about 330. Even with my inhaler!

[Lindeer]

Thanks for all of your helpful responses! I did some extra stretches and drank water with a banana before bed last night and thank goodness it didn't happen again! Fingers crossed it was just a coincidence and not my wonderfully working new inhaler

[444nM]

Years ago when I was using serevent which is a combination of steroid and long acting reliever I would develop muscle cramps, muscle tears where they would end up black and also boils and pus filled pimples would erupt every day.

[HungryHufflepuff in reply to 444nM]

Serevent doesn’t contain a steroid. I had that inhaler years ago too and it was the only one that worked well for me, and had no apparent side effects.

Fostair has terrible side effects for me and made me ill, and I get cramps anyway but it was horrendous with Fostair. It gave me leg and foot cramps several times every night and day too.

Currently I’m on Seretide and Spiriva and still get cramps but sometimes only once a night and occasionally not at all. Sometimes I get cramp under my chin which is quite horrible.

[444nM]

Sorry, l meant seretide, I keep mixing the two up!

[DeborahBlythe]

Hi, I found I got repeated leg and hand cramps with Fostair.. really horrible. So I asked to be put on something else. I’ve been on Aloflute instead and not only has my peak flow improved but I don’t get the frequent excruciating cramps I had on Fostair. Still do get the occasional twinge but nowhere near like the ones I had on Fostair. And only very infrequently. At first I thought Fostair was great until I realised how unpleasant the side effects were for me. Happy with Aloflute now.