Saturday, March 15, 2014

SIDE EFFECTS

Most medicines have side effects. Side effects produced by medicines taken for long durations should be of more concern. Doctors generally do not discuss the side effects when they prescribe a medicine. Some patients may be affected, others may not.
Once, I was prescribed a steroid inhaler for asthma. After using it I started feeling uneasy and had palpitations but I did not connect it with the new inhaler. I consulted another doctor and told him I was feeling uneasy. He told me to continue with the same inhaler and changed my medicine for hypertension. Only later, after searching the net for information did I come to know that it was the new inhaler that was making me feel uneasy. 

3 comments:

  1. i got a feeling it was ventolin inhaler which is known to cause palpitations. steroid inhalers generally dont cause palpitations

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    1. i was actually using ventolin inhaler but due to an increase in asthmatic attacks a doctor suggested that i use a steroid inhaler called seroflo ( salmeterol & fluticasone propionate ) i think it must be the salmeterol which caused the palpitations. moreover when i was using the ventolin inhaler i used to carry it with me and use it whenever i felt i needed it. the doctor who prescibed the seroflo inhaler told me to take two puffs in the morning and two puffs at night. he did not tell me it was dangerous to exceed this dose. i carried the seroflo inhaler and used it more often due to the habit of carrying ventolin inhaler earlier. i think i may have overdosed. my bad. once i had a pounding heart beat and extreme thirst. i was very weak for some time after that. i didn't know what was wrong with me.

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    2. much later i found from the net the problems were due to salmeterol overdose. i was averse to using the seroflo inhaler after that and stopped it and went back to ventolin inhaler. today thanks to information i got from WebMD an internet site i have reduced the use of ventolin inhaler to a few puffs per week. they had an article about the connection between GERD and asthma especially in late onset cases. i took care of my GERD and my asthma is under good control. Knowledge is power. thank you for the comment dr. mathew

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