Why Do I Have Rapid Palpitations When I Take My Albuterol and Advair

Updated on November 13, 2017
C.R. asks from Middletown, CT
10 answers

Was sent to the hospital by my Dr. and was given the Nebulizer treatment and my heart palpitations got worst and I was shaking and shivering, They wanted to keep me till the next day to give me more treatment but I refused and went home, but I still feel my heart beating fast. the Dr. that saw me said I can die if not treated this way, can that be true?

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So What Happened?

I told them I wanted to go home, so they had me sign a release form but didn't give me a copy they said it will be in my records, couldn't read it cause I didn't have my glasses. should they have given me a copy of the waiver I signed?

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K.C.

answers from Anchorage on

You don't trust the doctor or the hospital apparently but you trust advice given to you by total strangers on the internet who are NOT doctors??

5 moms found this helpful

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A.L.

answers from Atlanta on

Just out of curiosity, I looked to see if you have posted previously, and I saw that you responded to someone else's question about Prednisone and side effects back in 2012. So it seems you have a chronic breathing condition and feel that doctors are rather problematic. Given your current situation, you REALLY need to find a health practitioner whom you trust. Since you are asking people on the internet about this health matters, you are getting the best advice possible, namely get non-virtual medical advice.

4 moms found this helpful
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H.M.

answers from Dallas on

I have taken breathing treatments and those symptoms are normal. And they probably told you that. If you are concerned for your life do what the drs say or get a second opinion. And don't sign out of the hospital before they are done

3 moms found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

So your life is on the line, you don't trust your doctor or your hospital, you don't know how to Google your prescribed drugs and their side effects but you want medical information from strangers on the internet - and you'd trust that over the medical professionals that you have seen?
My but you do have problems!

Additional:
It seems you've been having heart palpitations for at least 5 years.
You need to get to the root of that problem.
If you are hyperthyroid - your heart will race - you could have a heart attack - and you are going to need to take medication to manage it or have your thyroid removed (and then take meds to manage the hypothyroidism that will result from that).
Not taking care of it can result in some really bad consequences.
My sister is hyperthyroid - and because of it her eyes began bulging out.
She had to have several surgeries to get her eye balls to fit back into their sockets.

Please find a doctor you can trust and deal with your health issues.
A working heart and being able to breathe - you need these to live.

3 moms found this helpful

D.B.

answers from Boston on

There's not much information here, so it's hard to make a judgment, even if I were a doctor, which I am not.

So, if I understand you, you had heart palpitations which you attribute to medications/treatments, but you aren't sure. You left the hospital against medical advice and signed a form to that effect, but you couldn't read it. You don't trust the doctor, but instead of asking for a second opinion or getting your own primary care doctor on the phone, you're spending time on the internet? That's irresponsible because you haven't gotten to the cause of the palpitations. You attribute it to the treatment and not to things like the stress of being in the hospital. You need to see a physician you trust and you need to get your heart under control. Yes, a rapid heartbeat can cause permanent damage, and you may have some underlying cause that you haven't identified yet.

My husband had a heart irregularity and it turned out to be due to something entirely unrelated. If we hadn't gone to a hospital with a top cardiac program who were willing to investigate, he'd be dead. His problem turned out to be endocrine in origin and it only looked like heart failure. You're refusing to let anyone look at you. I think that's dangerous. If you have children, please find someone immediately who will take care of them, and be seen by a competent physician or team who will look deeper into your problem. If you can't read something, have them call the social work department so you have an advocate who will help keep you calm while someone finds a magnifying glass or until a friend can go get your glasses.

2 moms found this helpful
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D..

answers from Miami on

I don't know anything about Advair. My son had to be treated with Albuterol when he was a baby. He was throwing up bottles of milk full of mucous. He had reactive airway disease, and the Albuterol was the medicine for it. And it was the EASY medicine for it.

I never noticed heart palpitations with him, but later when he was older and had to have steroids added to the Albuterol, he would just scream at me. I told the doctor that his behavior was awful, and she told me that it was a side effect.

Fast forward to when he was 8, he had trouble breathing, so I took him to the doctor. It turned out that he had croup. She gave him Albuterol and a nebulizer. Omg, he was just AWFUL. We went on a trip with friends, and I was mortified that he was such a beast. I didn't put two and two together until that night when I told him it was time for more of his medicine, and he begged me not to give it to him. He told me that he'd rather have trouble breathing than take it. When I asked him why, he told me that the medicine made him feel just awful. That's when I remembered what happened when he was little. (And OF COURSE I gave him the medicine, because his breathing is more important than bad behavior.)

It never occurred to me to check his heart rate. I wonder if that was an issue for him. The steroids he took turned him into a little beastie, I remember that. But like the doctor said to you, your breathing is really important. Ask your doctor if your body will get used to it after taking it for a while. I know that brethine, another asthma drug that they give to stop pre-term labor, increases heart rate, and it eventually gets better after the body is used to taking it.

That being said, you were wrong to leave the hospital. You needed to stay there so that they could work on this. Having your lungs close up on you is a quick death sentence. You wouldn't be able to get to the hospital on time.

You need to get to a pulmonary specialist and work on a plan. Don't let this go. The doctor is right - it could cost you your life.

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N.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Albuterol is like getting a shot of adrenaline. It makes your heart palpitate and it makes your blood pressure go up, and more.

It's normal, NORMAL, for your body to shake and jerk and for your heart to palpitate when you do a breathing treatment. It happens to almost everyone.

You can ask for another medication next time but Albuterol is the best for breathing problems.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from Wausau on

I know Albuterol can do that. I used an inhaler when I had bronchitis and would get the chills and a fast heartbeat. My mother has serious lung and heart issues both, and she takes it daily from a nebulizer. The treatment makes her super shaky for a little while after as well as the increased heart rate.

The paper you signed is for the protection of the hospital, doctors/nurses. It protects them legally should you become ill or die because you refused treatment. That paper will go in your medical file, but it exists for their use, not yours.

You didn't mention your condition if you have a chronic lung issue, I understand what the doctor meant when s/he said you can die. Your lung function will decrease over time without treatment. This will have a straining effect on other parts of your body, like your heart, and you'll also be susceptible to illness. Catching a common cold can end you.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.M.

answers from Boston on

From my personal experience as a patient and also as the mom of an asthmatic child, this is not uncommon with albuterol and certain nebulizer treatments...Talk to your doc

1 mom found this helpful

J.M.

answers from New York on

My daughter has used a nebulizer since she was 6 years old due to allergies and the meds albuteral etc....do speed up your heart.... it's normal. I don't know what your medical situation is but seek out a doc you like & trust and get some help!!

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