Long Term Inderal & Asthma

[Daisylouu]

I'm a 44yo Female who has been on Inderal LA 60mg for 20 years.  I have recently starting having what I suspect is cold-induced asthma.  At other times I also seem to have a dry cough, feel irritated in my trachea, have a raspy voice and have to clear my throat a lot.  I don't notice any wheezing although I do think my deep breathing sounds different, more congested, hard to explain.  My irregular heartbeats have been fairly well controlled althoug recently I've had terrible bouts that wake me during the night.  I've never used an inhaler for fear of inducing irregular heartbeats, but think I might be getting to a point I need to try it since I can't seem to shake the breathing symptoms.  How does one know for sure if they have asthma?

[National Jewish Health]

You ask “How does one know for sure if they have asthma?  Asthma is a chronic, usually episodic disease in the majority of cases, characterized by a combination of symptoms that may include shortness of breath, mostly with wheezing, cough with or without mucus production and chest tightness.  It can worsen spontaneously, with exposure to allergens or irritants, with exertion or with the inhalation of cold air.  The diagnosis can be made on the basis of classical symptoms, especially when there is a family history of asthma, pulmonary function tests (PFTs) with demonstrable improvement following the administration of a bronchodilator or by an inhalation test, called methacholine challenge.  If you have, for whatever reason, developed asthma, it can be treated safely with medicines that will not have an adverse effect on your heart rhythm.

Inderal® (propranolol) is a medicine that can worsen, but not cause, pre-existent asthma, can cause cough alone, without other signs of asthma, and can result in chest tightness.  However, many individuals can take this medicine without any sign of asthma worsening.  And this adverse side effect may occur long after the initiation of Inderal® (propranolol), but seldom as long after as 20 years.  For that reason, it would be unwise to assume that your symptoms are on the basis of asthma.  In truth, given the recent increase in nocturnal irregular heartbeats, at least some of your symptoms could be on the basis of abnormal heart rhythms.

Even without the possibility of cold-induced asthma, it would be wise for you to report the nocturnal irregular heart beats to your primary care physician or your cardiologist, without delay.  Report it today!  And, if your heart is not deemed to be the cause of the “asthma”, your doctors should still investigate the possibility of yet another cause, rather than asthma.

Good luck.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

hey Daisy going through same thing you are, just got home from seeing a asthma dr, ask her the same question been on timilol for 20 years r more and have read where it can make asthma worse or i guess cause it because it messes with your smooth tissues , but the asthma dr seemed ok with me being on it, she wants to try a few meds before she rules that as the problem , ive never had any kind of asthma until i got that bad cold this year took me 2 months to get over it now i have the whez andshort of breath feeling which she says is asthma, am 49 years old so didnt think could get asthma so late in life but guess you can. i havea inhaler just like you so scared to take it but one sat i could not breath so had to i took one puff waited 10-15 mins took another one my heart did not race or skip, i have pacs bad to so know where your coming from as far as that.if you want to talk leave me a note am here