Does Spiriva respimat cause side effects
Posted , 8 users are following.
I havent actually been diagnosed with COPD but i did a spirometry test at the doctors and because i could not complete the 3rd blow successfully they couldnt give me a proper diagnosis. I am very confused because chest x-rays shows signs of early emphasema and i just cant stop the fags. I have been prescribed Spiriva respimat and a rescue inhaler as i do get breathless but months ago i did try the spiriva and i thought i was getting side effects from this. To be honest i have a lot of medical problems and i seem to not be able to tolerate many pills etc as im a person who was an Alcoholic for many years and since being dry for 9 years now i hate anything that makes my head feel fuzzy. I have the Spiriva sitting in my cupboard and i think i should give it a try again as i know my smoking is causing problems. Everytime i go to see any doctor they read my notes and always say copd but no one has told me if i have or dont have it. The spiriva was prescribed to help keep my lungs open.
Please can anyone give me advice on spiriva Respimat and is it any good or does it cause side effects. Thanks Mandie
1 like, 34 replies
campbell74456 mandy4711
Posted
Hello Mandy, I wouldn't dare to comment on after effects of the spiriva you mentioned though I don't have a problem with the one I take. I sympathise with you about losing control as I've been dry for over 40 years now and not being fully in charge still gives me the heebie jeebies . But you HAVE to stop smoking, not something you want to hear I'm sure but to be quite brutal, if you don't stop the fags everything else is a waste of time. Speaking from experience Mandy, if you had the strength of will to stop drinking then fags should be a doddle! Booze was killing you then and now it is something else, so stop. You did it once so you can do it again, stopping drinking is infinitely more difficult. Best wishes.
mandy4711 campbell74456
Posted
Thank you campbell74456 and well done on staying dry for over 40 years. I agree that i must give up smoking but i am finding it very difficult mainly because the Alcohol messed up my nerve endings and caused me to have Peripheral Neuropathy so now i have mobility problems and use a wheelchair so i never get out in the week. I am so bored at home that cigarettes seem to relax me. I am anxious of taking the Spiriva as like you said when something makes you feel like you are not fully in charge then this puts me off as spent to many years with my head messed up.
Vee2 mandy4711
Posted
Hi Mandy
Stopping smoking is surely going to help your lung health and general health long term. the toxins in a cigarette are far more damaging that the spiriva respimat would be, smoking will hinder you lungs ability to breath whereas spiriva respimat will help you breathe easier.
Granted not everyone can get on with spiriva respimat, but many more do and get great benefit from it. There are other inhalers if spiriva doesn't suit but I would say if you can get by just using the spiriva respimat and ventolin that is very good thing.
Preserving your lung health is the most important thing and it is your decision to say no to smokes or to continue as it is your decision to take your inhaler meds as prescribed or not. But if you decide not to stop smoking and not to take your inhaler meds as prescribed, chances are your lungs are going deteriorate further and your shortness of breathe will get worse, your ability to achieve normal routine tasks, and walking will become impaired and your quality of life will deteriorate, its a very unfortunately situation.
However if you are unsure if you have COPD or some other lung issue, ask the doctor outright, if there is any doubt ask for a referral to a respiratory consultant who will be able to determine what the situation is, regarding your lung health.
Likewise if you find the spiriva respimat doesn't help you, seek the advice of your doctor.
All the inhalers comes with lists of 'possible' side affect, but not every one gets any side affects and some may get minor side affects, but this weighed against your ability to breathe and maintain a reasonable quality life and lung health outweighs them.
I have been on spiriva respimat for years, I know it causes me some side affects but it also allows me to be more active and breathe easier. So I chose to continue with the medicine.
aitarg35939 mandy4711
Posted
What Vee said but for a couple of points: When all these docs say "COPD" why do you think that you haven't been diagnosed? And really, when you can't finish the lung function tests, that is a HUGE sign. I've done those tests at least 40 times in the last 20 yrs and not once have i failed to finish them, with and without my COPD DX.
COPD is one thing. Failure to treat it, with or w/o smoking, means that it may progress more rapidly, and THAT isn't a good thing. Those carefree ads on tv for people with portable oxygenators are not reality. Life on oxygen is NOT easy. At a certain point those cute lightweight gizmos won't be enough and one can become mostly housebound. (Please, I have just watched this with Himself for 7 yrs right up til his death this yr. I know about all the canisters and that not everyone progresses as rapidly as he did.)
I continued smoking for a few yrs after my DX. BIG MISTAKE! There is all sorts of free online & in person help for quitting cigs. Use it. And pls do not just switch to vaping or e-cigging. I took a trip in Oct w/a friend who switched from a few cigs daily to vaping -- i think that's what she was doing. By the end of 4 days together when i dropped her off in San Antonio to head home to Austin, I told her the truth: that stuff smells just as nasty as cigs and she's clearly more addicted to this thing than she was to cigs. So don't kid yourself in that direction .
Smoking & refusing to take meds means that every cold or sinus flare will be worse. Period. Most of us here smoked, a few still do, so we know what you're up against and we'll cheer you on.
mandy4711 aitarg35939
Posted
Hi,
Thank you for your advice and i have decided to quit the smoking. I do not understand why i have not been told if or if i do not have COPD as i keep asking the Doctor and all she says is that my spirometry tests were inconclusive as i didnt complete it. I am very confused as like you say if i didnt manage to blow hard enough on my 3rd attempt then its obvious my lungs are not great but i just cannot get a straight answer. I would really like to know the truth as when i was an Alcoholic and was given 6 months to live that really kicked me into gear and i managed to give up a bottle of neat vodka a day within 4 days all by myself just by cutting down a quarter of a bottle a day. The liver specialist couldnt believe it as he had just arranged rehab for me but my way worked and i had no withdrawals , no pills nothing and ive not touched drink for 9 years. Cigarettes are my comfort as home alone all day and being disabled i find them relaxing but yes my health is much more important so ive bought the patches and ready to try now. I will speak to my Doctor but she will just say the same thing inconclusive results. Please dont worry i have tried ecigs and didnt like them so i would never change cigarettes to them .
campbell74456 mandy4711
Posted
I wish you every success Mandy. Appreciate that smoking cigarettes helps to while away the time when you're confined the way you are and there seems to be no suitable replacement, though you could try having a bit of fruit when the urge is at its greatest. I won't try to fool you that stopping smoking is any easier than packing up drinking, it isn't, but at least you don't get the "demons" the way we did when we stopped drinking. You did it cold turkey once so you've proved you have the resolve. See your doctor again and press for an answer - he/she might be more proactive if they know you've stopped smoking.
amkoffee mandy4711
Posted
I don't think there's a medicine out there that doesn't have the potential for side effects. You're just going to have to try it and see how you feel when you use it . Besides anybody else's response to taking it would not be the same as yours.
I am a former smoker and I quit 12 years ago and I remember how the doctored treated me. They blamed everything on my smoking . I used to say that they would blame my smoking if I were to break my toe. Now I'm fat and of course they all harp on me about losing weight. I just can't win.
So what I did was I picked a quit date first. Then about a month before my quit date I started changing the way I smoked. For example I would not allow myself to smoke in my work truck or in my house. The purpose is to stop the times you smoke out of habit. Like after a meal. I made myself wait an hour after I ate to smoke a cig. I also did a lot of research on nicotine replacements. I found a company that made nicotine in a noise spray. It is the single fastest way to get nicotine in your system them any of the other options. But beware it burns like acid in your nose. I only used it for the first two weeks (hell weeks). After that I used the lozenges. I think they taste better then the gum. But if you do use the gum, read the instructions first. Most people don't and they just pop one in their mouth and start chewing. But doing it that way only means all the nicotine goes down in your stomach where it makes you nauseated. You are supposed to chew it a few times the put in between your cheek and gum.
deanne77778 mandy4711
Posted
Hi Mandy,
I really do feel for you, being a smoker of 60 years standing (probably not standing for much longer)!! I know I am inviting a few ear bashings here but we all know what we should be doing and not but life isn't that easy is it? Especially after all you have been through and I do so admire you for that. Perhaps you could try Spiriva again? I use Spiviria Respimat together with Fostair and Ventolin reliever but I have to say Ventolin does very little to help. Don't get me wrong, I am not advocating smoking at all but" they" blame smoking on most things but "they" don't mention general air pollution do they? I am just trying to offer you some moral support to let you know you are not alone. I wish you well. Bless you.
mandy4711 deanne77778
Posted
Hi Deanne,
Thank you for your kind reply and yes i totally agree with you that smoking is blamed for everything. Of coarse we no that smoking is bad but then so is fast food etc. Smoking is my only vice and being at home alone i find it relaxes me, I also understand that its destroying my lungs . At this moment in time i just dont feel i have the motivation to quit as my Mother in law is seriously ill and there is so much going on i no that trying to quit will be a waste of time because you only succeed if you really want to quit. I will try taking the Spiriva again and see how things go. I wish you the best as well.
deanne77778 mandy4711
Posted
You are quite right Mandy, now is not the best time to quit smoking. If you have smoked for some time, waiting until your life is calmer will make no difference. I sound as if I'm encouraging you but I'm saying I know exactly how you feel. My daughter is going through a stress full time right now and she wants to go on a diet but that will have to wait. Even my doctor once said that I needed my fags!! Don't beat yourself up about it, just go with the flow for the time being. xxxx
amkoffee deanne77778
Posted
Dear @Deanne777, I believe you and I are the only two people in this thread that did not actually criticize and find fault with @Mandy4711 for not stopping smoking. I don't think that finding fault or criticizing or telling someone that they can quit smoking if they were able to quit drinking is helpful in any way. besides which I've had alcoholics who have quit drinking tell me that quitting drinking was easier than quitting smoking. I think that your comment was very encouraging @Mandy4711 and I wanted you to know how I felt.
To you @Mandy4711 I wish you the very best and try not to make yourself feel bad because you can't shake the fags. that will do nothing more than make you smoke another one.
mandy4711 amkoffee
Posted
Thank you amkoffee, I totally agree giving up smoking to me personally is harder than giving up the Alcohol. I keep trying to quit but i fail every time because i no that i am not ready to stop where as with the alcohol i was ready as hated the taste of it but was totally addicted and also being told if i didn't stop i will be dead within 6 months. That made me scared stiff and i didnt go into rehab like the doctors wanted me too i did it myself within my own home and no nasty medication like they give you in rehab. My way may not have been the safest route to take but i did it with in 4 days and not one single withdrawal where as in rehab ive heard horror stories about detoxing . I enjoy smoking even though we all no its bad for us but i will no when i am ready to quit and then i will most probably succeed .
amkoffee mandy4711
Posted
I know that there is no way I would have been successful if I weren't ready to quit when I did. Heck my husband smoked then and still does but oddly enough it rarely bothers me. Of course for the first month he did not smoke when he was with me. You'll know when you're ready but you might still want to keep my suggestions on hand for the time when you are ready. and good luck on quitting whenever that time comes for you.
aitarg35939 mandy4711
Posted
Mandy, you will find enablers everywhere you look. No one here has criticized you, but that's part of the passive aggression of our enablers: manipulate everything, including the words of others. I, for one, have not said quitting smoking is easier or harder than quitting anything else. I couldn't remark on that because I do not know whether that's true.
I, and others here, have spoken to you forthrightly. And it's true: smoking CANNOT help your lungs, your breathing, your breath, your stomach/digestive tract, your heart, or any other organ in your body.
Most smokers quit a number of times before they quit for good. It's part of the process. Having something to occupy your hands helps a lot: crocheting, knitting, jigsaw puzzles, gardening, etc., tho depending upon climate gardening might not be possible now. I mention this because the habit of having something in your hands is also something to be gotten over.
As I said, you can always start smoking again. Apparently I was wrong on another score: your enablers here are deeply invested in you continuing to smoke so apparently they won't be cheering you on as you quit.
Good luck.
deanne77778 amkoffee
Posted
Thank you so much for your kind words amkoffee. I am a realist and I hate the P.C. brigade in general. This country would not be in the mess it's in if we all lived like robots but free will and common sense has to come into it. Thank you.