Symbicort 100/6 side effects or?

[Ami40]

Hi All,

Would just like your input/advice if possible.

We all know that when taking steroid inhalers they all have side effects Andrew told to stop if get too much.

What are the ones with Symbicort and what would you say is too many side effects to stop.

I've only been taking since yesterday and have felt a bit of a faster heartbeat, but not too much (as what I experienced on Spiriva!) my anxiety has increased a little but is manageable, can feel a little benefit but not much yet tbh (however I'm guessing this will increase in time) slight headache at times, some shakyness, slight insomnia and slight pain in left side of chest but not unmanageable.

I know I've changed from steroid to steroid and each have had horrible side effects so hoping to stick this one out... Have you guys suffered any on symbicort and are these normal?

[Bkin]

I don't take symbicort myself, but check the information leaflet that comes with the med and will advise you when you need to stop the med or speak with your doctor. I believe emc site will have same information as well.

I would say as you have only been taking since yesterday you need to give it more time, 2-3 weeks and if over that time you find things improving all well and good.

If you think your current symptoms are getting progressively worse over the next few days do speak with your doctor.

Hope it works out for you,.

On line patient information -- Symbicort Turbohaler 400/12, Inhalation powder Leaflet

medicines.org.uk/emc/produc...

[Hidden]

It’s actually unlikely to be the steroid element making your heart rate increase or giving you the anxious feeling with any of the inhalers you’ve tried: symbicort, as with most other inhalers containing steroids, is a combined inhaler, in this case also containing a long acting beta2 agonist (LABA), which is a form of long acting bronchodilator. All bronchodilators have increased heart rate and the potential for causing an anxious-type feeling as possible side effects due to how they work. It takes about 2 weeks for symbicort to achieve maximum effectiveness, however the side effects experienced from bronchodilators can often reduce with time and the body adjusting to them.

In terms of side effects, the child was on 200/6 for a few years, and initially found she was slightly hoarse for a few weeks, but that was it. You also probably already know that you should always rinse your mouth out after any steroid inhaler to reduce the likelihood of Candida (thrush) infection. Towards the end of using it, occasionally she went from her standard 2 puffs twice a day to 4 or 6 twice a day, but never experienced anything new even with a massive dose. It’s usually pretty well tolerated by the majority of people.

[Wesa86]

I take symbicort and montelukast and have experienced anxiety and faster heartbeat when I first started a year ago, although now I just get very sleepy soon after taking it. It works the best for me out of the medications I've tried though.

[Spotthejock]

Hi Ami40,

I was dxd with COPD exactly two years ago.I was prescribed two inhalers,Spiriva Respimat which I take two puffs first thing in the morning and the other inhaler is Symibicort 200 which I take one puff in the morning and one puff at bedtime.

I can tell you I have no apparent side effects.My partner Liz,is a retired nurse who ran the Practices COPD clinic for years,asks me to point out to you the doseage for Symbicort is in micrograms and not milligrams,so each puff is a extremely small dose to inhale.I hope you find my comments useful

[Ami40 in reply to Spotthejock]

Hi All, thanks for your comments. I tried it but felt overwhelming anxiety, started feeling hot and uneasy and felt very shaky indeed so I've come off it...!! Yes, I'm guessing it's the formoteral that's the culprit as I felt the same with Fostair and stopped for same reason!! Just can't function with it!!

Spiriva sent my HR sky high and just dries me out inside!!

Need an alternative but don't know what?

[MEZZ1]

Hi, I'm Mezz1. I take symbicort 200/6 ,I'm fine on it . But what I found in 2019 , after being in A&E , I was put on antibiotics and oral steroids. But refused to stay in hospital ,because of how I was treated in 2018, in hospital, this was still a bit raw for me so I came home. But I couldn't seem to keep the antibiotics down in half an hour I was vomiting. The steroids , oral, gave me bad headaches, my body felt as if I had been beaten to hell and back , I was also feeling that I was climbing the walls digging my fingers into bare plaster. And also the steroids made me feel like killing myself or killing someone else. I'm not a person who would ever take my own life. I knew it was the oral steroids doing this. So my GP said to increase on my symbicort. So I had my two doses together as normal then had another dose half an hour later , I struggled to do 3 doses all together. I can only take powder form inhalers . I used to take ventolin powder , and always had the shakes with ventolin, but they stopped making the powder inhalers.So I was put on Astra zennica inhalers quite a few years ago.