Mr. Asthma

Question:

: : > I had the same problem until my doctor switched me from Claritin to : > Zyrtec. No more pee push. Must be the psuedo causing it; Actifed gave me : > the same problem. Incidently,I’m 70 and have a normal prostate. : > (I know, your happy for me) : > LCM : > : > : : In your case it was probably the larger anti-cholinergic effect of the : Zyrtec (same thing that causes dry mouth and sleepiness). All : anti-histamines have them but Claritin much less so than Zyrtec. You will : find that most over the counter allergy and sleep aids are even worse. : : Sudaphed (pseudoephedrine) can also do this but by a different mechanism. : Most decongestants will have a similar effect. I came to the conclusion if women could pee sitting down so could I. It saves a lot of frustration. But it is Topamax for MS that is causing the problem and being out of pain is worth it. — Gordon    W5RED www.couger.com/gcouger

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Women pee. Men piss.

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Women pee. > Men piss.

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> I had the same problem until my doctor switched me from Claritin to > Zyrtec. No more pee push. Must be the psuedo causing it; Actifed gave me > the same problem. Incidently,I’m 70 and have a normal prostate. > (I know, your happy for me) > LCM

In your case it was probably the larger anti-cholinergic effect of the Zyrtec (same thing that causes dry mouth and sleepiness). All anti-histamines have them but Claritin much less so than Zyrtec. You will find that most over the counter allergy and sleep aids are even worse. Sudaphed (pseudoephedrine) can also do this but by a different mechanism. Most decongestants will have a similar effect. — CBI, MD

Response:

>I have had the exact same experience with coughing and throwing up and once had >to pull my car off the road and go into a Burger King until I could drive >myself home.  The thing that helped me the most was using albuterol every 4 >hours for several weeks and not missing a dose.  My main asthma symptom is >coughing and very little wheezing.

Most people start a pred burst when they are in this bad shape. "Keep looking below surface appearances. Don’t shrink from doing so (just) because you might not like what you find."    General Colin Powell

Response:

I had the same problem until my doctor switched me from Claritin to Zyrtec. No more pee push. Must be the psuedo causing it; Actifed gave me the same problem. Incidently,I’m 70 and have a normal prostate. (I know, your happy for me) LCM – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Thanks to all who’ve responded to my post. I really appreciate you all > taking the time… > I did go to the doctor today as the difficulty in urinating continued to get > worse. It was almost to the point that I was unable to urinate at all – NOT > PLEASANT. > The doctor thinks that my problems may have been caused by the Allegra > antihistamine that I was on for about a month and not the Albuterol or the > Serevent – although he’s not absolutely certain. I’m not on any > decongestants as I know from prior experience that they can affect my > prostate. Anyway, he put me on something called Urecholine (25MG tablets – 1 > pill taken 4 times a day). He thinks that my bladder is not relaxing enough > to allow the urine to empty out of the bladder properly and that this was > caused by the antihistamine. > You’re not taking a decongestant, like Sudafed, are you. > Pseudoephedrine can cause this symptom. > Ellis

Response:

I have had the exact same experience with coughing and throwing up and once had to pull my car off the road and go into a Burger King until I could drive myself home.  The thing that helped me the most was using albuterol every 4 hours for several weeks and not missing a dose.  My main asthma symptom is coughing and very little wheezing.

Response:

Thanks to all who’ve responded to my post. I really appreciate you all taking the time… I did go to the doctor today as the difficulty in urinating continued to get worse. It was almost to the point that I was unable to urinate at all – NOT PLEASANT. The doctor thinks that my problems may have been caused by the Allegra antihistamine that I was on for about a month and not the Albuterol or the Serevent – although he’s not absolutely certain. I’m not on any decongestants as I know from prior experience that they can affect my prostate. Anyway, he put me on something called Urecholine (25MG tablets – 1 pill taken 4 times a day). He thinks that my bladder is not relaxing enough to allow the urine to empty out of the bladder properly and that this was caused by the antihistamine. Has anyone else experienced something like this? And did the Urecholine help your condition? He said that if my condition didn’t improve by Thursday that I was to call him and that he would schedule an appointment for me to see a Urologist. I’m also having an ultrasound tomorrow in order to get a better look at my bladder as well as my kidneys. BTW, I should have mentioned that I am currently taking Flovent (110 mcg – 2 puffs twice per day). I’m also just completing a 5 day course of Deltasone (generic prednisone) which helped IMMENSELY in treating my asthma. And because of that I was able to stop using both the Albuterol and the Serevent. I’m nervously hoping that my asthma won’t flare up again after the Deltasone wears off. I had one more drug added to my treatment today, too: Intal inhaler (800 mcg). The dosage is 2 to 4 puffs three times per day. Hopefully this will do the trick. Thanks again for your suggestions. Sincerely, -John – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’ve had a flare-up of my asthma recently and have consequently been using > my albuterol much more (up to four times per day). > I was also put on serevent last week ( 2 puffs in a.m. and p.m.). > As a side note, if you need Serevent you should also be > on a steroid inhaler, like Pulmicort. > And if you need albuterol more than once/day, that is > another sign you need to be on a steroid inhaler. > I’ve noticed for the last few days that I’m having difficulty urinating and > was wondering if either of these drugs could be the culprit. > Any advice you might have on this would be greatly appreciated. > Thanks, John > You’re not taking a decongestant, like Sudafed, are you. > Pseudoephedrine can cause this symptom. > Ellis

Response:

> I’ve had a flare-up of my asthma recently and have consequently been using > my albuterol much more (up to four times per day). > I was also put on serevent last week ( 2 puffs in a.m. and p.m.).

As a side note, if you need Serevent you should also be on a steroid inhaler, like Pulmicort. And if you need albuterol more than once/day, that is another sign you need to be on a steroid inhaler. > I’ve noticed for the last few days that I’m having difficulty urinating and > was wondering if either of these drugs could be the culprit. > Any advice you might have on this would be greatly appreciated. > Thanks, John

You’re not taking a decongestant, like Sudafed, are you. Pseudoephedrine can cause this symptom. Ellis

Response:

: Hi, : : I’ve had a flare-up of my asthma recently and have consequently been using : my albuterol much more (up to four times per day). : : I was also put on serevent last week ( 2 puffs in a.m. and p.m.). : : I’ve noticed for the last few days that I’m having difficulty urinating and : was wondering if either of these drugs could be the culprit. : : Any advice you might have on this would be greatly appreciated. : : Thanks, : : John Anything that can cause muscle spasms can make it hard to pee. Just sit down and tell your doctor about it. He will probably want you to come in for a prostate exam. Mine did when other drugs were giving me trouble. — Gordon    W5RED www.couger.com/gcouger

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Could be an enlargement of the prostate, rather than actual urination difficulties?

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi, > I’ve had a flare-up of my asthma recently and have consequently been using > my albuterol much more (up to four times per day). > I was also put on serevent last week ( 2 puffs in a.m. and p.m.). > I’ve noticed for the last few days that I’m having difficulty urinating and > was wondering if either of these drugs could be the culprit. > Any advice you might have on this would be greatly appreciated. > Thanks, > John

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> Hi, > I’ve had a flare-up of my asthma recently and have consequently been using > my albuterol much more (up to four times per day). > I was also put on serevent last week ( 2 puffs in a.m. and p.m.). > I’ve noticed for the last few days that I’m having difficulty urinating and > was wondering if either of these drugs could be the culprit.

When I use albuterol, I notice that it’s harder to urinate.  I believe that’s a known side effect in a few people. After the albuterol wears off, then all that urine starts getting expelled and I really have to urinate a lot. — Steven D. Litvintchouk                   Disclaimer:  As far as I am aware, the opinions expressed herein             are not those of my employer.

Response:

Hi, I’ve had a flare-up of my asthma recently and have consequently been using my albuterol much more (up to four times per day). I was also put on serevent last week ( 2 puffs in a.m. and p.m.). I’ve noticed for the last few days that I’m having difficulty urinating and was wondering if either of these drugs could be the culprit. Any advice you might have on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, John

Response:

Serevent has been studied in older people (likely to have such problems. No such problems are listed anywhere for serevent. Albuterol has not specifically been tested in older people, but is commonly used by them. No prostate or urinary problems have been noted for albuterol, either.     Apparently, neither med is known to have this as a side affect. I have a dozen inserts or web page printouts  for each of these meds in my filing cabinet, I just checked them over, and the Kaiser-Permanente database for anything new. I am not a medical professional. I suspect this may be an unrelated problem, which should be called to your Drs attention. Boyd — "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."

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