I have seasonl Asthma which really has only gotten bad this year with pollen as high as it is. The DR put me on prednisone, advair and a combivent inhailer.
Right up from the prednisone and/or advair has me feeling really sick to my stomach and panicky. I know these are the side effects of this medication but I can hardly function without feeling ill, shakey and near tears. I went back to urgent care to tell them about this and they gave me xanax but that makes me so tired that I can't take care of my kids.
Honestly I'm scared to death about all this. I know if I don't treat the asthma that it'll just get worse but I can't stand this panic. The DR in urgent care practically laughed at me saying I'm on full treatment and there was nothing he could do.
I can't live like this, I don't know what my options are and I don't have medical inusurance so everytime I go into the DR to talk to them about this it's costing me so serious money.
Hi Shannon - Are you sure it's the medication that's making you so panicky and not the feeling of not being able to breathe? I ask because when I was diagnosed with asthma, I also was on Advair, Combivent and Prednisone, and I started feeling like you not from the medication but from the intense anxiety and scared feelings I was having from not being able to breathe right. And then it started going into panic attacks, which may be what you're starting to feel, and what I didn't realize is that I was going in a circle and one feeling was just feeding the other - I couldn't breathe, I started to panic, when I panicked I had a panic attack, when I had the panic attack it caused an asthma attack.....I actually ended up in the hospital because I got so bad and was just about where you're at now - scared, shakey, crying, convinced I was going to die if they didn't 'fix' me. And they did - they gave me Xanax, and Shannon, within 3 days of taking it, those feeling started to go away. Now, the prednisone was given to me right at the beginning of my symptoms, and it was for 5 days, so that didn't really figure into everything else that started later on. And Advair I wouldn't think woulkd cause this but the combivent might cause you to be shakey because it has albuterol in it, which makes me shake and my heart rate shoot up. Try not using the combivent as it's a rescue inhaler and is only meant to be used for an actual asthma attack, but the Advair should be keeping you from having the attacks in the first place because it's a controller. Gosh, you sound so much like me in the beginning, same exact feelings because you don't know what's going on. It takes awhile to get all of it under control but your feelings of being scared is what you need to control first. How much zanax did they start you on? My doctor gave me .25 mg, which is I think the lowest dose, and he told me to take one a day at night in case it made me sleepy. Which it did a little at first, not much though because it was only one at night, but your body gets used to it once you start it and that drowsy feeling goes away after 2 or 3 days. Anyway, he started me on one a day taken at night, and then I did start taking it twice a day for a couple of weeks when I started feeling better. And then I dropped down to a half a pill a day, which is really nothing but it did help. Sometimes it says to take 3 a day but my gosh, I would have been sleeping all day if I did that. That's why my doctor started me on only one a day to see how I felt, and that way it was helping me but I could still function during the day because I was taking it at night. And I'm going to guess that that's why they prescribed it for you, because your anxiety is getting out of control, just like mine did but you don't realize it, and it was making all my other symptoms worse. And also, talking to someone who had felt the same way helped me tremendously because I didn't feel so alone and lost through it all. Believe me, your feelings are normal but the anxiety you're feeling is probably making the asthma so much worse, and making you feel terrible all over. If you can take the zanax, it will help you, it really will. And if your doctor maybe has you on too high of a dose, ask him to lower it so it doesn't affect you that bad, because you really shouldn't be feeling anything from it. Let us know how you are, ok?
[This message has been edited by kellie2 (edited 06-14-2003).]
Well I went into an allergist today and am hoping I have a few things under control now. She did say that that Advair did have several side effects and put me on Singulair instead. I'm hoping this helps the problems. I also am not on Prednisone anymore but Pulicort (SP?) as well. Now it's just time to cross the fingers and hope that I can stop feeling so panicky. I have only been on adviar for a week so I'm hoping that the side effects I was experiencing will go away quickly since it hasn't been in my system very long.
I think you are right when you say that the panic attacks bring on the asthma. That is completly true, but I don't think the panic attacks were just happening I really think it was drug related. I say this because I went off the advair on Tuesday because I was also trying to wean from the prednisone cause I thought that was what was making me sick. Anyway the next day I felt pretty good, my chest was a bit tight but no panic attacks and no nausous feeling. Then wednesday I took the Advair all day and it was this morning at 2AM that I had that panic attack again. So it really makes me think it was the adviar. I wasn't having panic attacks prior to this medicine so it really makes you question.
I know the combivent makes your heart racy but that doesn't seem to effect me that bad. I can handle a racing heart but heartburn, nausea and shaky panic I don't deal well with. I'll let you know in the next couple days how these new things seem to be helping.
Thanks for your comments. I'm ready to nip this thing in the butt and feel better!
You have seasonal Asthma, and your doc put you on prednisone? The side-effects you mentioned, feeling sick to your stomach and panicky, are common side-effects of prednisone. I would go off that if i were you (it'll make you gain weight too... and long term usage will weaken your bones).
If you only have seasonal asthma, take Flovent twice daily (advair is crap imo), and the combivent whenever you have an attack.
I can't believe your doc put you on prednisone for just seasonal asthma.
The preventative medicines I'm on right now are singulair and Pulmicort. The Pulmicort is like prednisone only in an inhailed form. I haven't noticed any side effects besides a bit of a sore and dry throat.
The Singulair is for long term control and thus far I am also tolerating this very well. I would highly recommend this over the Advair cause if you look on this board there are a LOT of complaints about the Advair and it's side effects. It contains Serevent which can increase your heart rate and for me just made me feel really sick to my stomach.
As for the nebulizer that is like a beefed up version of your rescuse inhailer. Generally they contain something like albuterol. If you can get your ashtma under control with the short course of prenisone I don't see where you should need the nebulizer treatments but again that's all up to your DR. If your lucky you won't need it and can have a resuce inhailer like Combivent or Provental on hand in case of an attack.
Either way it's best to discuss all of these options with a DR who really knows something about asthma and not someone who just give out "the norm" cause this doesn't always work for everyone. I'm glad I didn't just take the advice of someone who said that we have to live with the side effects of these drugs because it helps our breathing. I was told by my allergist that we should be able to control our Asthma with no significant side effects from our medications. Hope your breathing easier soon.
Everyone: as a ten-year asthmatic, I've been around the block with meds. One thing sticks out big time: prednisone is nasty, no doubt about it. It can be prescribed in 5 and 10 mg doses. I suggest that you try the 5 mg first. With bad asthma, I take 40 mg (eight pills) but I've found I can get on my feet with 30 mg, decreasing the dosage to 1, then 1/2, nothing, next day 1/2, nothing, the last half, then nothing. I, too, have had intense reactions to prenidsone, chiefly in the anger category, and of course the jitters goes along with all this stuff-especially Combivent. So it helps me a lot to remember that if I do have to take prednisone, I make no long-term decisions; I tell my boss I'm on it; and above all, I try to remember that it's the medication, not me, that is the problem. This helps the anger and I know it will be over in a week. The doctors don't tell you younger and newer people to this dread disease what these meds do, but try the lower dose for a shorter period of time and see if that works.
After ten years, I'm still trying all sorts of med combinations with the ever-lasting hope that someday it will be under control. Don't despair. This disease presents so differently in most of us.
FYI: I've been on Advair for a couple of years--I have no problem with it and I am a type A personality with a very demanding job. If I'm having trouble med wise, it's because I've used too much.
