Symbicort and Muscle Cramps

Shortly after I started using Symbicort I reduced the dose from two puffs morning & night to one puff because of severe foot & leg cramps, but I still experience them occasionally.  For foot cramps I've found resting the foot on a freezer brick helpful and for cramps in the calf, massage and of course moving around as much as possible.

I also find that daily exercise (including foot & leg exercises) and keeping up my daily walks results in far fewer and much less severe cramps.

Some sources give magnesium deficiency as a cause of cramps:  I keep intending to to buy magnesium supplements, on the basis that if that works  to totally eliminate cramps, it will be because the cortisone in Symbicort somehow depletes magnesium, which would not be good for my ageing bones.    

I've just had a cataract removed and the surgeon told me it was a particular type of fast accelerating cataract she believes is caused by cortisone, including Symbicort. although oral cortisone over a long period of time is even more likely to cause cataracts.   My GP doesn't agree and in any event I'm continuing with Symbicort rather than return to almost sleepless nights and exhaustion from almost continual coughing.

 

Hello, how are you? I use to get cramps in my feet and legs all the time, but no longer have them, and if I they sneak up on me, they are seldom, compared to before. I don't think it has anything to do with the following technique. 

This Chinese technique works for me: 

I take my index finger, and straighten it out (or point it straight), and lay it flat against the skin directly above the upper lip, but touching the skin that separates the two nostrils...the septum. So extended finger is basically laying flat in the area between upper lip and nostrils, but pressing softly but  firmly upwards on nasal septum for the count of 50.

For me, it is usually anywhere between 30-40 count for my foot to stop cramping. The wait can be a pain, but it works great for me! 

This is suppose to be a Chinese type of practice for foot cramps, and it works for me, but it is just the wait time, which takes me usually count of 30-40. What I mainly like about it is, cramps tend to attack me while in bed, and now I never have to jump up out of bed, in order to get a cramp out of my feet. 

I hope it will work for you too! Brenda xo

 

I don't take symbicort, but one of my meds caused terrible muscle cramping, on its own (formeterol fumerate)  formeterol I believe is one of the meds in symbicort.

I take my steroid inhaler med and formeterol separately so that I can reduce the formeterol dose to once a day and still use steroid inhaler twice daily,  I also use another 24 hour broncho dilater as well as the formeterol inhaler.

formeterol twice a day caused me severe periferal muscle cramps, formeterol once a day I can tolerate.

Things that can help avoid cramping:

Drink plenty of water, dehydration can also cause muscle cramping.

If you are drinking plenty, quinine as in the real tonic water is supposed to help with this.  When muscle cramps are severe and caused by required medicines the doctor can prescribe quinine.

For night cramps (as recommended by a podiatrist that came to give a talk to our local breathe easy group) apply Vicks vapo rub quite liberally to the soles of the feet before going to bed, wear bed socks over if you wish.  I've also applied Vicks vapo rub to cramping calf muscles and it works quite quickly to relieve the cramp.  The podiatrist said use the genuine ~Vicks vapo rub, not the shop brand alternative.  Although I have heard that someone got relief from the shop brand one. I use the real ~Vicks vapo rub myself.  You may not like the vicks smell but it certainly helps with cramps and also you get nice soft feet  

Hope you find something that helps

Best wishes V

 

I think symbicort is an ineffective drug and after 4 years of suffering it, I dumped it and went onto tetrabutoline. Far better in all aspects. The cramping was that bad, every muscle in my legs and feet were twitching as I hiked around. I've taken ventolin and serevent for 50 years, nothing like as bad as symbicort. One of the problems I've always had with inhalers was breast pain which eventually turned cancerous. Again, tetrabutolin far better.