Bill Says:
Spiriva Weight Gain Side Effects (Page 2) (Top voted first)
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William Says:
I've talked about this problem before concerning the side effects from Spiriva. The only side effect I've experienced was a sudden, and seemingly permanent weight gain. In spite of efforts to lose the weight I've had no success whatsoever. I've gained weight from other medications in the past only to lose it when the medication was discontinued. Not so with Spiriva. It has been almost three years since I've used the inhaler but yet the added weight persists. I should mention that all of the added weight has been on the midsection and nowhere else! To make matters worse has been a disended abdomen to go along with it. I contacted the drug company right after it happened and, naturally, they acted as if it was new to them! I'm not the only one this has happened to. Although a rare side effect it has been a problem for others, the same as mine. This thing is ruining lives, and should be pulled from the market. It won't be though...profits are the name of this terrible game. Bill.
216 Replies (11 Pages)
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Hello;
My name is Bill and I've commented on the weight gain properties of Spiriva in the past, and the struggles I've had over the last four years of trying desperately to lose it. Well, I have found a way to lose the unwanted weight gain with its associated belly bulge! To all those out there who have given up please read the following on the way I got rid of this terrible problem.
Last mid-December after struggling to fit into my clothes that I used to feel prouf to wear I finally put my foot down and barged out of my front door in very cold weather one morning and went for a six (6) mile walk, actually a trudge as there was snow up to my ankles. I came home and had a 300 calorie meal and went about my daily
affairs. Later on I went for a four (4) mile trudge and continued on day after day while consuming no more than 1000 calories a day for the following four (4) weeks.
After one (1) month I had lost almost thirty pounds (30) and eight (8) inches off my waistline!! I lost every pound of the Spiriva weight gain and the terrible belly bulge that went along with it!
Solution: Do the same and do not ever take Spiriva again. I'm back to a normal life style and the weight and bulge has never returned (nine months). Good luck!
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Judith Says:
Neither Spiriva nor Advair is a steroid medication. None of us who have experienced the Spiriva weight gain has any idea whether it's the tiotroprium or the bromide, or the combination, and the drug companies aren't saying. Anyone who contacts the drug company gets a wonderful conversation (as I did) with someone who is "surprised" because they never heard of the weight gain problem before! They're lying! A number of people on this forum have contacted them so they have heard of it before. They're just not doing anything about it.
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BJ Says:
I have been on Spiriva for couple of years and I have gained so much weight. If you have COPD..what are you supposed to take? The only place my clothes don't fit are in the waist and my stomach is so swollen. I'm always miserable . Sure doesn't help the depression either.
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Julie Says:
Same thing here, weight gain of 14 lbs in midssection. Stomache is bloated out and i have never have weight problems.
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Judith Says:
Herb (# 188) --
You're really insistent that you're right, but the problem is that you're not. You assume that everyone on this forum either overeats and/or suffers from water retention. News for you, Herb - we're not stupid and we're not lying. Spiriva causes weight gain, not because it causes us to be hungry so that we overeat. Spiriva does not cause water retention - in fact, most (if not all) of us suffer from dry mouth to some extent because of the medication. So give it up already! Thank you.
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Bill Says:
Hello;
I'm sorry that I haven't responded to your response and ideas on this matter. Your ideas do seem logical from the outside though. However I do know the weight gain is from the inhaler and nothing else. I started to gain weight on day one of using it. When I stopped the weight gain stopped. Every pound is on the abdomen area and nowhere else. I had a woman contact me to say that her father had used the inhaler for two years and gained an enormous 90 lbs, all on the abdomen area! From that disaster he turned diabetic, and came out of it with a serious heart condition. This side effect is rare but it still exists.
However I do believe you're in the right area as I will seek out someone, an MD, who might be familiar with this problem. At any rate thank you for your reply as it's nice to know that someone has taken notice and have concern.
Bill.
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Judith Says:
As I said in an earlier post, it just might be the bromide factor in the Spiriva that is causing the weight gain, as potassium bromide is known by vets to cause weight gain in epileptic animals treated with it. I could be totally wrong, but I think that it's something the drug company should at least investigate. As to COPD being incurable, eventually a cure might be found but what might work for emphysema, for instance, might not work for bronchitis. There is lung volume reduction surgery to treat emphysema in patients who have severe disease that is no longer responsive to other modalities. They remove the affected parts of the lung but apparently this is effective only in emphysema patients whose upper portions of lung have been affected.
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craft1962 Says:
I too have gained 30 lbs sense I started with spirva. I also use advair twice a day and also use vintolin for a rescue inhaler. I have also went from bra size B to DD. These meds have steroid's which causes changes in your body. My weight gain has been in the paper part of my body and yes the stomach area. And also when I eat or drink anything I feel bloated and miserable. I have COPD and that I brought on myself but there has got to be something else to help. This also has made me depressed.
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PAT Says:
HELLO FROM CANADA. I HAVE BEEN TAKING SPIREVA INHALER SINCE 2012. I HAD A LOVELY FIGURE PRIOR, BUT NOW I AM THIRTY POUNDS UP, AND GOT DIABETES TYPE TWO. I DECIDED THAT THIS IS IT. I AM OFF IT THREE DAYS. I CANNOT TAKE THE DRY MOUTH THAT KEEPS ME AWAKE AND MOST DEFINITELY I DO NOT WANT THE EXTRA POUNDS. SPIREVA IS A DEVIL AND I WILL NEVER TAKE IT AGAIN.
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Anita Says:
Has anyone who posts on this site tried to contact the FDA? I tried doing it online but it kept booting me off. When I have some time I will try to get a phone number and report Spiriva weight gain as a side effect.
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dawnsky60 Says:
Yes I ment to say spiriva just a typing errors, for the second time spoke with doctor she said definitely not it acts In Your lungs and only a small particle will go to your stomach I was examined she said it seems like indigestion , she said you have a lot of gas, prescribed lanzaporsal for indigestion it's so annoying that she did not listen to what I was saying, she asked what website I got this information she said she will look into it, she won't as she was not interested
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hopeful Says:
Hi Peta, I too have been on Speriva for 15 months along with Seritide and I have gained 25kgs, mostly all in the stomach. I am unable to exercise but watch every mouthful and write down every day what I eat and drink, even a glass of water makes me feel extra bloated. The weight gain is very depressing and also impedes on my breathing. I am on oxygen as well, it does help finding this site (by accident) and knowing there are so many others in the same boat.
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Judith Says:
Wow! I very, very seldom experience constipation or the bloating/pain that often accompanies it and, when I do, I know for sure what I've done to cause the problem such as not having enough fiber, water, and/or exercise. I remedy that by taking a fiber supplement, drinking more water, and getting off my butt to exercise. I have also never experienced hardening of the muscles like you describe. However, if you are having those symptoms and are sure they're connected with Spiriva then it's quite possible you're having an adverse reaction to that medication and if you truly do have COPD then you need to switch to a different medication to treat it. Remember, COPD is progress and incurable; however, treatment with medication for COPD will slow down the progression.
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Sysan Says:
I've been on Spiriva for 7 months now. This past month I have gained 25 lbs and all around my waist, but mostly in the front. I hate it.
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Denise Says:
I was prescribed Spiriva in 2016 following a severe chest infection for which I was hospitalized in Dec 2016. By Feb 2017 my breathing ability had improved but my weight gain and abdominal and hip enlargement had increased significantly. I gave up smoking but limited my calorie intake to 1000 per day. I experienced a dress size increment from a size 6/8 to a size 14 in 3 months! In March 2017 I stopped taking Spiriva, the excess weight has not subsided even though I now exercise in excess of 2 hours per day, follow a 1000 cal diet and Fitbit regime. Interestingly I am no longer breathless. I do however still have an inflated stomach and thigh area and feel that every part of my anatomy bar my earlobes, toes and fingers is swollen. I am graduate of Law and hold an LLB together with a Legal Practice Certificate. I have had extensive medical reviews including CAT scans which have revealed that my (privately funded) consultant considered that my condition was due to the prescription of Spiriva. I live in the U.K. and have now reported this drug via the "yellow card" scheme. Should you be interested in joining a not for profit group action against Boehringer Ingelheim I am happy to instigate this.
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Diane Says:
I also am an Attorney, licensed to practice law in Maryland and Washington, D.C., and I am willing to participate in legal-action against Spiriva's manufacturers and distributors.
Please, let me know the details.
I thank you for your help.
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Judith Says:
Re: Mariel (# 159) 
There are plenty side effects listed on the insert that comes in your package but weight gain is not one of them - and they won't admit to it, either.
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Judith Says:
Re: Herb (# 180)
Absolutely 100% wrong! I started that weight gain about two months after I started Spiriva, with no change whatsoever in diet or lifestyle. Furthermore, I take my Spiriva at 10:30 p.m., always have, as that fits with my lifestyle. I go to be shortly thereafter, read until about midnight, and do not wake up in the middle of the night to eat. If Spiriva causes hunger I sure haven't noticed it.
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Melissa Craig Says:
Diane (# 156) --
Diane, I have been on Spirva since 2011 because of COPD I have had a 100 pound weight gain, I have gone from a size 6 to a size 22, I have told doctors, my pulmanologist of the issue, i have been to a dietitian, I have been to the cartiologist, all my labs and test come back fine, I do not have a thyroid issue, i do not have any other issue, My weight gain is well documented from my regular doctor and my pulmonlogist, what steps need to be taken to file a suit? When I contact the drug company they deny ant known effect of the drug,my doctors just say that weight gain is not one of the side effects. I am at a stand still, and people look at me as if I have no control over food, I have now put myself on a 1200 calorie a day diet, but I still gain weight up to 8 pounds a month or more. I do not know what to do.
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Melissa Craig Says:
Re: Herb (# 185)
wow, herb, have you been on this med? it does not contain a med that does this, this med DOES NOT make you hungry all the time,
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