Albuterol side effects

I have been on both the albuterol solution and the inhalers for over 20 years now and I have been diagnosed with copd have been intubated twice, and and have potassium problems along with blood clots. I found this specialist who told me that albuterol was causing the potassium problems and possibly the clots. I was told by my dr to use this medication 4 times a day not as needed. now it has destroyed my health and my life. be careful with albuterol and also prednisone please

My son is 10 and 1/2 months old. He was recently diagnosed with viral rhinitis (runny nose) and bronchiolitis. He was given and antibiotic and albuterol liquid. I was hesitant to administer the medicine because I had a negative experience with giving it to my daughter when she was a infant. She became extremely hyper and gained weight at a remarkable speed. You could tell she was on steroids obviously. My son seems to be having night terrors or something. Yes we are still working on the sleep all night pattern. But since he has been taking the albuterol, it has been horrible. We were told by friends to just let him cry at night. Originally he would cry himself to sleep and it would be short lived and bearable for us. Now on the medicine he awakes screaming at the top of his lungs. If you put your hand on his chest, his heart is beating so fast and his breathing is rapid. I haven't given the medicine consistently because of my fears. I am a nurse and I only give it to him if symptoms are present. If a listen with my stethescope and hear wheezing or feel as if he is forcing air out during expiration, I'll give a dose at night. I hate this drug for young ones! It seems like more harm than good. I think me and my son's doctor will have to have a long talk and come up with another plan. The money shouldn't drive you! My 1st born is now 14. As she remained on the med even to this day, I have still not liked it. Now she dances quite a bit and uses her inhaler maybe 1-3 times per month. When she was around 10 or 11 she was very chubby as a result of the steroid use, despite being physically active. @ age 10 she wore a womens 16. It took many years and limited use of the drug to get the weight off. If there are other options discuss them with you physician and get your kid off this drug. It seems dangerous to me!

2/20/2009
Took the prescribed Albuterol with a nebulizer and had shakes. I have pneumonia now and feel very weak and tired. the treatment made me feel worse and caused my nose to bleed. My heart was racing a bit while inhaling it and I was lightheaded and dizzy. It is helping me with breathing afterwards.

My dear daughter age 10 with history of EhlersDanlos Syndrome and Asthma, Has always been on her regular treatment of QVAR and Albuterol from the time she was a baby ,Today I took her for a recheck of her pneumonia,found out she lost three pounds in a week and he started her on a Nebulizer machine first dose today went find .Second dose half way through we stopped her machine to see how much she had used and her left hand was curled up and she could not control it ,She had the jitters to go with this . Her hand was weak and at bedtime was still week. Dear husband says she wont take that again and we are following up first thing in morning with doctor. I am doing my praying tonight!!!!!
Double check with doctor about side effects .

My son had croup and bronchitis, he was prescribed the albuterol 1 full vile 3 times a day for the 1st 3 days then 2 viles for 2 days each day then on the last day just 1 vile. I was advised by the pharmacist that it might make by 5 month old a little shaky. NOT THE DOCTOR which i think she should have told me something about the side affects of a 5 month old. I had never heard of this stuff or what it was for all i knew is it was a breathing treatment. I finished giving my baby the 6 days of albuterol and now that today is the last day he took it I cant seem to calm him in any way, he cant go to sleep, all he does is cry, he wont eat, he's always irritated, restless and IF i can get him to nap, its about 10-20 mins. its AWFUL to see my baby act like this, sometimes when i gave him the treatment and i was holding him i would end up inhaling the albuterol since he was sitting right in front of me i would feel hot flashed ( mind you i would inhale VERY little) i would also feel dizziness hours after inhaling it. however i never noticed it and never paid attention to it. not till today that i noticed my childs behavior did i decide to investigate this stuff. I will NEVER give this to my baby again. I should have been advised about all this however i was not. also my fault as a mother i should have investigated it before i gave it to my child as i trusted the doctor. =(

My 20 month old son was just prescribed Alburterol and a Steroid for RSV, he has a horrible case of RSV that he nearly has pneumonia, weezing and can't take deep breaths. The Albuterol makes him nuts. He is usually this sweet little boy, who listens and barely ever cries. Now he screams, he is jittery to the point it seems like he is on speed. He has gotten violent towards his sisters and me. Today he actually bit me and broke the skin where I couldn't get him off me. For no apparent reason he will scream at the top of his lungs, and he throws himself into things. And sleeping, forget it, this little man has insomnia, within an hour after I get him to bed he is screaming and will not relax. It seems he usually crashes after about 2 hours after his dose, he lays down whereever he is and takes a short nap, about 30 minutes later he gets another jolt of energy and goes nuts. I don't know if maybe 1 1/2 tsp. is too much for him, but its either this or their admitting him to the hospital. Where are my options? :-(

My 5 week old grandson was diagnosed with a certain type of wheezing and was put on ALBUTEROL. He constantly shakes, jerks and is very restless. Now he is power puking his formula. The doctor says that he must have caught something else. I believe that it is due to this medication.

4 yr. old son on Albuterol and Pulmicort for asthma triggered by allergies and colds. He is off of both during the summer, once he goes on the medication for the allergy season he experiences mood swings, violent tantrums, is confrontational, basically his personality changes. We have tried reducing the dose and cutting out one medication or the other with the same effect, the symptoms persist. We feel we have no choice because of the severe asthma attacks.

my 6 year old has what doctor's have called cough-induced asthma or reactive airway disorder. He doesn't wheeze but gets these severe coughing spells which get worse at night. Usually comes on during the colder months. He is on Flovent, and Singulair to maintain When he gets the coughing spells, he gets the Albuterol inhaler 2 puffs every 4 hours. It makes him NUTS. Literally climbs the walls, Can't sit still. I'd rather have him cough than to see him like this. Now with the most recent coughing episode, I've noticed an extreme personality change. To the point where his 1st grade teacher called me to ask if it could be the medicine. He's normally a shy kid, sweet now all of a sudden he's a social butterfly in school and interrupting the teacher. AT home, he's just not right .Doctor changed him to Xopenex inhaler but he's still not right.

I been taking ALBUTEROL in a nebulizer for Wheezing an for Asthma that got worse from a Upper Respiratory infection,I never have gotten any bad side effects from being on this medication,I have used it a lot threw the years,times a box a week,2-3viles a day,this medicine does work and stops wheezing,and opens up the air passages! You could get shaky from using it but only if you use too much at a time,go by what dr. tells you how much to use.

works great for me occasionally when my lungs tighten up.

For 59 years I have had familial periodic paralysis. Lately my potassium level has been down. This problem started after taking albuterol for copd.
I take two puffs every 8 hrs .I could not understand why I was getting paralysis as it had tapered off considerably the last 15 years and I have not had paralysis at all for 3 years until the last 4 months. Now I will have to take small amounts of potassium every night but less than when I was younger.
The Albuterol has helped me considerably!

I took Albuterol for my chest congestion. My daughter was given the prescription for pneumonia and slight asthmatic tendencies during colds.

OK, I thought if it was safe for a young child, it would be safe for me. After only one dosage (using a Nebulizer) I experienced tremors and heart palpitations. I had to stop because my heart was beating so fast! And it's 10 minutes later and I still have some tremors. According to the package, 20% of 135 patients in a clinical trial experienced tremors. That is a lot! Needless to say, I will not take it again. I question whether my daughter should, too.

My 22 month old daughter has been diagnosed with asthma. She was prescribed albuterol to inhale with a machine and mask every 4 hrs as needed beginning on Monday. This medicine is dangerous as she has been more than hyper. She has been falling and injuring herself. She fell last night and gashed her forehead on the radiator. We were in the E.R. until midnight. Thank God she's better, now. I gave her one treatment this morning at 7am and have refused to give her any more. It is too dangerous for her. I've rubbed eucalyptus cream on her chest and she seems to be wheezing less. Any other moms go through this? Any homeopathic suggestions for asthma? Do you find that all doctors diagnose children for asthma if they are coughing and wheezing a little?

This post is in regard to a form of albuterol known as "Xopenex" or levalalbuterol. From what I've read, many pediatricians are using this instead of Albuterol for infants and young children. It's the drug of choice because it supposedly has no side effects. This may be the case for most children BUT not my three year old daughter. Her pediatrician prescribed nebulizer treatments of xopenex and pulmicort, twice a day for six weeks. We managed to stick with it for four-five days- It was a nightmare! My daughter wouldn't eat (and this is a child who isn't a picky eater at all) or drink much at all and went for 12 hours one day without urinating. She was so horribly moody that you couldn't stand to be around her. She cried and screamed about everything and she is normally a very cooperative and happy-go-lucky kid. She also became aggressive towards me and others which was also very unlike her. The worst part was at night. She would have horrible screaming fits when it was time to go to bed. When she finally fell asleep, she would jerk and twitch most of the night. Several times she woke up after sleeping for about three hours, screaming at the top of her lungs. I would try to console her and she would yell louder and pull away from me. If I tried to touch her, she would swing at me as hard as she could. She seemed terrified of me and my husband. It would take me forever to get her calmed down enough to go back to sleep. If someone had videotaped these episodes, blocking out her face, NO ONE could ever have convinced me that this was my little girl. Her personality was so changed that I wanted to cry. I knew what it was doing to me to watch her and I couldn't imagine what was going on in her little head. I called my pediatrician and she brushed off my concerns. She said "Three year olds have temper tantrums." I told her that I understand that but not usually at three thirty in the morning. I took my daughter to MY doctor and he said he thought it could most certainly be the drugs. He suggested that we use the pulmicort alone one night and the xopenex alone the next night. We were surprised to see that she had reactions to both the drugs. One night she tossed, turned and twitched and the next she woke up in a terror. We stopped both medicines and ALL the symptoms ended. She will NEVER use these medicines again unless there are no other options! And we will not be back to our pediatrician!

My 16 year old daughter became very hyper and spastic 5 minutes after an inhaler treatment at the doctors office. Extremely scary. She could not speak without repeating each word a dozen times and couldn't keep still. The dr had never heard of such a reaction. Her eyes were glassy and it didn't wear off for hours. Never again will I allow her that drug! The Dr still wanted her to use albuterol in an inhaler afterwards for her asthma!! Fortunately it was not her regular Dr.

dry mouth, swollen salivary glands. terrible for mouth health because of lack of saliva mainly at night.

My hands got very numb & tingly & started to curl up, the lower part of my stomach got very numb & tingly as well, my eyes rolled back in my head & my face started twitching, I was shaking very badly inside & out for hours! It was so scary I started to have a panic attack & really could not breathe! I will never do that again!!

I use the albuterol and ipratropium bromide vials with my nebulizer machine and experience the following......
Uncontrollable muscle spasms in hands and feet, heart races and palpitations,sometimes my throat is sore or even a slight burning sensation in the back of my throat from usage,my tongue burns and I have gotten little white bumps that are sore on it like you get when you have had too much salt,irritability,sleep loss,chills,etc. Works great at keeping my lungs open to breath tho! I read tho, that it can "cause" you to get COPD? Is there any truth to this?

I have severe persistent asthma which is sometimes induced by allergies. I am on Advair, Singulair, Allegra, Veramyst, Protonix, Prednisone, and Duonebs on a daily basis. I can also add in my MDI or my epipen as needed(I have anaphylaxis also, hence the epipen). I am prescribed to use the Duonebs every 6 hours every day no matter what, and I can increase it to every 4 or every 2 hours as needed. Due to the frequent use of Albuterol my potassium and magnesium levels are very low. The potassium level being low causes me to have extremely painful cramps in my calfs and the small of my back and irritability, and the magnesium level being low can then cause my asthma to be even worse. These are the long-term side effects that I have experienced, the short-term side effects include jitters, dizziness, headache, and elevated heart rate (my heart rate almost never raises, and yet after a Duonebs treatment one time my heart rate would jump from 70 to 130 to 70 all in a 10 second period of time). I do not like using Duonebs, and if I had a choice I would not, but it is the only thing that has given me any relief from my asthma. My MDI (Metered Dose Inhaler) side effects are limited to being jittery, and this has been eliminated by using a spacer chamber which my doctor prescribed and was completely free, I just had to pick it up at the pharmacy. The spacer chamber delivers the medicine more efficiently to your lungs instead of allowing some of it to go down the back of your throat into your stomach.

I have used Albuterol solution mixed with Ipratropium in my nibulizer for three years now it gets rid of the mucus in my lungs opening up my airways so i can breath easier works good for me

Joint pain
insomnia
I feel wired all the time,

but I can breath very well.

I think many of the other bad side effects are due to
higher doses than needed.
I had most of the side effects everyone has listed, but
when my dosage was lowered to 1/2, but more frequently
all the side effects went away(but now I have some joint pain)

After reading this accumulated several years of reporting below:
Yes to higher heart rate and BP for sure - after several days using albuterol in the home nebulizer I have had - it is for emergencies and every severe asthma attack but one (Oct 06) it kept me out of the hospital. I also tho have a GERD ulcer in my throat that causes caughing - Nexxium is THE ONLY med proven to heal those btw - and they do still come back! But anyways, this latest irritated throat followed by uncoltrollable coughinghas been on the "other" side of my throat for 6 days -
(this is all separate from my bronchial and lung coughing from asthma and the lung infections that come with it).

So anyways - ta daa - I came here suspecting the new spot in my throat that is super-sensitive is due to the nebulizer and after reading the other comments- maybe this really is it! The forced air in particular - because I just don't get coughs like this when I stick to my little purse canister.

I had no side effects what so ever. I heard they took it off the market is this true?

This medication made me crazy. I was taking it for pneumonia and was instructed to take 2 puffs 4x per day. I did not sleep for 2 days. I dropped the dose down to 1 puff in the morning. Things are better, however pneumonia not gone.

Our 8 month old daughter had a serious (chronic) case of
bronchitis. .083% dosage 4 times a day of Albuterol. Her
eyes rolled back into her head. We broke up the dosage with
same effect. I tried it and found that dizzyness and tingling in
toes lasted a half hour with no reduction in mucus in my lungs. We would not recommend this drug for "any" small
children. Dangerous.

made my throat really sore........and extreme trembling of hands........

Has any one experienced any nausea or upset stomach while taking the albuterol? My mom has a upset stomach and is wondering if it can be from the albuterol.
Thank you,
Hope everyone feels better soon...

dry throat and sometimes a slight burning.

I had trouble breathing and went to doc-in-box where they gave me albuterol treatment. A minute after it was done, I had the shakes for a minute or two, but it subsided. 2 hours later i was in the ER (only becuase of chest pain) where they gave me another treatment. Before it was over, i started shaking uncontrollably, much worse than the last one, and it just went on and on. No one responded to the call button, and i was shaking so hard the bed was moving and after a few minutes i couldnt stop crying. The nurse finally came in and chided me because i was going to hyperventilate . . . i was totally out of control of it! Worst night of my life, i'd rather not breath.

ALBUTEROL HAS MADE ME VERY SEXUALLY AGGRESSIVE AND HAS MADE MY PENIS SHRINK, HORRIBLE I KNOW BUT IT HELPS MY ASTHMA

very tired and weak, chest pain, shakes, tingling and heavy
feeling in left arm, very sore muscle pain in neck and back

My 2 year old was on albuterol sulfate liquid and has tested positive for methamphetamines on a hair folicle test.. Please help me explain this....

My 4 month old son was given the usual dosage for wheezing, the smallest dosage they had. Obviously it was way too much because after about the 3rd dose throughout the day he was so hyper and moving sporadically, his heart was racing then his eyes started rolling to the back of his head. It was very scary. The doctors decreased the dosage to only a quarter of the vial. Then we decided to just switch to Xopenex. NO side effects/ PARENTS with BABIES and SMALL CHILDREN I highly reccomend using Xopenex instead of Albuterol.!!!!

I have copd and I have several side effects from the albuterol treatment in acombination with ipratropium bromide the name of it is Duonebs.I have at times exteme nervousness my body feels like it is constantly tingling, I get very light headed,have a headache. At times I feei a heavyness in my chest. I am taking this 3 times a day for 20-30 mins. I also get very little sleep about 4=5 hrs, per night.

Sometimes there are few to any side effects. However, it can also result in terrible shaking, confusion, rapid and painfully powerful heartbearts as well as chills and an inability to regulate temperature.

I get a hoarse voice and swelling of my toung only little, extreamly high heart rate, I am on ToperalLx for already raped heart rate and the Doctor is aware of this but will not change the meds. I also get sisnus infections from this med. Once my asma is undercontroal and I don' have to take Albuteral my voice and every thing eles clears up.

My doctor prescribed me Albuterol only when I started to whizzing. I never use it regularly.As long as possible I refused to use it. Just a week ago, i used it twice,now, my is question is: Is it possible that it could effect my monthly cycle?

For any help, will be really appreciated!

Jones :)

I take Albuterol and the only side effect that I get is shaking of my hands but only when I need more then two puffs.Albuterol

First of all i was born with asthma and albuteral has kept me alive for 40 years thank you ( ALBUTERAL ) and second primatene is an O.T.C and thats why it does not and i say does not help lung problems if you really have a problem use something that is going to help not drive you crazy.

Panic Attacks and weakness in the limbs for hours also confusion.

blood pressure has gone sky high my pulse rate is high

Albuterol has been a blessing for me! I have seasonal allergies in the spring and fall but they didn't really bother me until I started running. I started training for tetrathlon and the running was so difficult for me. Everyone told me just to gut it out. I had no energy, had a hard time breathing, and my cheeks would almost purple at the end of the run. My doctor prescribed albuterol for me. The effects were amazing! Actually being able to breathe was such an awesome feeling. It is really a shame that it reacts so badly with some people. I don't know what I would do without it!

I use proventil periodically (5x/month) when I have trouble breathing, typically spurred on by over-extertion, proximity to something that triggers allergy (such as cat). Laterly have suffered from swollen toungue; particularly at night I have trouble swallowing, and when I lie down I feel as if I am going to swallow my tougue. I am not sure if this is linked but doctors can not figure what is causing this swollen toungue. I am taking antihistimine every day (one week so far), but no help.

My doctor put me on Albuterol (Proventil) when I was originally diagnosed with asthma (age 22). The first time I used the inhaler was my last. I took one puff, and in about three minutes, I felt awful. I began to shake uncontrollably (almost seizure-like in intensity). My heart rate went well over 180 bpm. I had terrible crushing chest pains. And I became extremely confused. My mom kept asking me if I was alright and if I thought I needed to go to the ER. I kept telling her I didn't know, because I really had no clue. I didn't even know where I was, even though I was lying on the couch in my livingroom. After about 20 minutes, everything subsided, except for some slight residual trembling, and I fell asleep. Needless to say, I have never taken this medicine again. (Although, as my mom pointed out, it DID stop my asthma attack.) I now take Primatine Mist, which is epinephrine and sold OTC. It doesn't work quite as well at stopping my asthma attacks, but it does provide relief without all the horrible side effects.

This medication can cause irregular heartbeat and heart palpatations, which I have as a result of its long-term overuse. Its a good med for asthma, but know the effects and make responsible choices about how often you use it. I've had to use it more frequently as allergy season came about and am reaping the conseqeunces of upped usage with a fluttering heart. DO NOT use if you've had a history of ANY heart disease, your doctor should inform you of this.

i am absolutely sure that this medication is causing the awful acne on my cheeks. I had clear skin before I started using it regularly, then all of a sudden I had horrible breakouts on my cheeks that turned into small dark red scars. I believe that my liver cannot process the waste of albuterol and sends it out thru my skin. I have stopped taking it for 3 days now(switched back to primatene) and it seems the skin trauma is already healing. Also, I think it is one of those meds that makes you need it more than you really do.

Can cause COPD after long term use. Doctors have asked for a decrease in usage.

headache and dizzyness always tierd

what are they side effects of albuterol?