Flonase and Headaches: What Users Say

• Man...
• July 8, 2021

For Allergic Rhinitis "My allergies/post nasal drip were at their worst, so I decided to try Flonase out of desperation. The first day or two I noticed immediate relief for my post nasal drip symptoms - but then the following days I began feeling extremely fatigued & anxious. I've suffered from anxiety & depression in the past and have it under control, so I am always aware when my mental health is feeling off - and the only logical explanation for this change was the introduction of Flonase in my system. I stopped using it immediately, and feel as though I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms - headache, fatigue, brain fog, anxiety - I would've thought I was going crazy, but was so relieved to see that others had similar experiences with Flonase. I'm feeling a bit better each day, but from past experiences with anxiety, I know it will take a bit of time to feel back to normal. In conclusion, I'd much rather deal with post nasal drip than have my mental health sent into a tailspin!"

• Dak...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 23, 2020

For Allergic Rhinitis "Back pain, anxiety, hyperactivity, insomnia, dissociation, brain fog, oral thrush, headaches, floaters in vision, sore throat, dizziness, loss of balance, crust in nostrils, odd temperature sensations in limbs. Avoid at all costs."

• Lyn...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 17, 2020

For Allergic Rhinitis "This Flonase stuff has been horrible for me. It gave me horrendous headaches, interrupted my sleep patterns and has given me body aches and pains. I know it was the Flonase because 24 hours after stopping it all this has gone away. My allergies are awful but not as bad as the Flonase! This should not be an over-the-counter drug. The advertising is totally misleading and I can’t believe my physician recommended it. If you are going to try it, please proceed with caution."

• Puk...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 25, 2020

For Rhinitis "I used this Flonase for a period of 3 weeks! Worked well to relieve stuffy nose due to allergies. Then all the side effects started: anxiety, insomnia, thrush, headaches, etc. I switched back to regular allergy meds like Zyrtec. It took 2 weeks for the symptoms to subside. I wouldn’t recommend Flonase! Keep away!"

• All...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• October 6, 2021

For Allergic Rhinitis "I am horrified after seeing these negative reviews and mad at myself for trusting many doctors for many years. They kept me on Flonase for 15 years. I was on it constantly, as well as Allegra. I can’t count the number of times I asked, “Are you sure a steroid nasal spray is okay to use every day and won’t have side effects?” The resounding answer was always no, perfectly safe. I kept taking it all those years because I thought rhinitis was the source of my headaches. Flash forward, I got very sudden vision problems. I had always had 20/20 vision. The optometrist said it was age (I don’t think 45 is that old). Then came years of increasingly debilitating headaches that no medication (not even narcotics) would touch. I never correlated this to Flonase. Three weeks ago, a 10/10 headache woke me up, I vomited, and almost went to the ER (again) because of dizziness. I made an appointment to get an MRI, then found this site! I am FURIOUS. A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT IS NEEDED!"

• Dev...
• January 10, 2021

For Rhinitis "I felt like I was dying. After using Flonase for a month, for the first time in my life, I was experiencing anxiety and panic attacks. Another night, I was awoken by a horrible headache and vomited. The Flonase made it so hard to breathe I could only take shallow breaths, and my heart rate was way higher than usual. The only thing I could focus on was my breath and what's wrong with me. I would have never known it was the Flonase causing this if I didn’t look up the side effects online."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 4, 2021

For Allergic Rhinitis "Like another reviewer, I developed daily, severe headaches that started at the base of the skull and neck and then traveled up the whole head. I had a deep pain in the nasal cavity and a horrible, dry cough. I don't think the cough is from the allergies, I think it's from the spray. The headaches are definitely from the spray, as every time I try to use it, I develop them. I threw it in the garbage. My primary care doctor loves to tell me that it 'all stays in the nose' and doesn't enter the rest of your body systemically, which is total bull. How else could it cause glaucoma then and such a huge range of other symptoms that so many people have reported? Mine went in the trash can!"

• Gab...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 23, 2023

For Allergic Rhinitis "It gave me headaches and nerve pain in my arms/legs/heels, and it was causing me anxiety and a general weird feeling. I stopped it, and symptoms went away. I tried it again, and I got the anxiety and nerve pain too. I was taking one puff in my nostril every day. I did some MRI scan later for an unrelated cause, and I found some unspecific demyelinated lesions. It might be related, as it did give me some really weird neurological symptoms. It took me 10 days to figure out what was happening. Thanks to everyone who shared their story."

• Anonymous
• November 9, 2009

For Rhinitis "I have vasomotor rhinitis, and this is the best drug for me. When I'm off of it for a few days, I can feel my nasal passages swelling, and I get an awful headache. Before being on this, I took decongestants/antihistamines, and I still had postnasal drip and stuffiness and a lot of headaches. With this drug, I feel like a normal person most of the time. The only downside is that I get more thirsty than normal, but I just constantly carry water with me."

• blu...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 18, 2020

For Allergic Rhinitis "Flonase is possibly okay for intermittent use if your nose is completely clogged. I do NOT recommend this for daily use, as ENT's and Dr.'s suggest. The more I used this, the more migraines and daily headaches I got. I started feeling better not using Flonase and told a Dr. this, and he told me to keep using it. So I started using it again, and back came the debilitating migraines. Horrible ones for which nothing worked and for which I had to miss work. Will never go back to this. Nasal rinse only. Giving it 3 stars for the occasional use only."

• rod...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 19, 2015

For Rhinitis "Awesome! For years, I suffered sinus headaches, which are much like migraines. Flonase has alleviated that tremendously. I don't take this all the time, just when I sense allergy season or plan to be somewhere where there is an atmospheric change, like the mountains or in an airplane. It keeps my sinuses from swelling, causing the headache, it's not an instant fix, it takes about 11 hours to be effective on me."

• day...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 26, 2021

For Rhinitis "I have chronic sinus congestion without explanation, and it interferes with me being able to use my new CPAP. A friend recommended Afrin, and it works great, but my sleep specialist warned me not to use it more than three days in a row, and I haven't. She also recommended that I switch to Flonase. Well, I'm about to go to bed, and it's day 4 in my rotation, so I decided to try Flonase. Well, instead of taking my congestion from 50% to 0% like Afrin, I now have a splitting headache, and my congestion went from 50% to 100%. Now I won't be able to sleep at all, because I can't use Afrin tonight, and instead of being partially blocked (which I can kind of deal with), I am completely blocked."

• All...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 23, 2021

For Allergic Rhinitis "I have been on Flonase for a little over 2 years. I hadn't noticed any issues until here recently. I contracted COVID-19 in January of 2021 and, like many people, lost most of my sense of taste and smell. After 6 months, it really hadn't returned. After COVID, I started having daily mild nosebleeds. A few weeks ago, I started getting sinus headaches, specifically after trying a generic Flonase and then back with name brand Flonase a few days later. I decided to go off of Flonase 3 weeks ago. No more sinus headaches. My nasal bleeding is less. My sense of smell and taste are back in full swing but not quite normal after just 3 weeks of being off Flonase. I about cried when I could smell a bar of soap or bacon cooking. I thought I was a long hauler with COVID-19, but it seems it was Flonase. My experience might not be the same for everyone, many who had COVID-19 do lose their taste and smell as a result of the virus, that just wasn't the case for me."

• nfr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 13, 2022

For Allergic Rhinitis "It really helped with my nasal congestion that I believe occurred from use of Advair for 6 weeks. Advair was great for my lungs, but I could not clear my nose. Now I am withdrawing from Flonase because I have lost my senses of taste and smell and do not sleep well. Experiencing a headache for the last 3 days since discontinuing Flonase. Anyone else experience these?"

• arc...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 2, 2022

For Allergic Rhinitis "I don't understand all these negative reviews. I guess people react differently to medications. For me, Flonase changed my life dramatically for the better. I'm 59 years old and have been taking this (or Vancenase - similar) since it came out when I was 23, for severe, almost year-round allergies. I take it every day, once a day, two sprays in each nostril. The only effect I've observed is that it is highly effective in controlling my allergies (no panic attacks, diabetes, headaches, etc. that others report). When I've stopped Flonase, the allergies come back, and with it, the inability to tolerate dogs, enjoy the outdoors, etc. It absolutely transformed my quality of life for the better (in some ways I look at my life as 'before Flonase' and 'after Flonase'). I rank it a 9 out of 10 and not a 10/10 only because I still get itchy eyes, and this year it's been a little less effective for some reason than in the prior 35 years."

• Liz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 2, 2022

For Rhinitis "Flonase made me feel so much worse. Headaches and sore throat were the worst side effects of this drug. My nose stuffiness was not relieved. If anything, it made it worse. Terrible headaches. Ughh -- been on it a week taken as directed, and it makes me feel terrible. I feel better without it."

• Mad...
• December 15, 2016

For Allergic Rhinitis "Flonase sucks. The first two days I used it, I thought it was the greatest thing ever invented because my horrible allergies finally seemed to clear up. I forgot to take it one day and woke up in the middle of the night with a stopped-up nose, so I took Flonase again as soon as I woke up. It was very ineffective that time. I got horrible headaches, insanely itchy eyes, a sore throat, and my mouth and lips were constantly dry. It has been a week since I've vowed to never use Flonase again, and I still have the worst smell in my nose and mouth from that stupid allergy 'reliever.' If you're wondering if you should hop in your car, make the trip out, and purchase Flonase, I will let you know right now that that is the biggest mistake."

• Mis...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 25, 2021

"I’ve been prescribed the generic form of Flonase for years, it has been a lifesaver for me. On 8/1/21, I got my prescription from Kroger, and I noticed the bottle was labeled differently, and it has a different taste or smell. But the worst part of this is I can’t sleep at night. I still had half a bottle of the original generic brand Kroger used for years, and I was fine until it was gone. Now I’m left with sleepless nights. Kroger has obviously gone for the cheapest product, but it's not working. I have massive headaches with it, and not being able to sleep is ruining my life."

• Tan...
• September 9, 2022

For Allergic Rhinitis "Cleared my sinuses right up, but gave me five other problems: headaches, joint soreness, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, blurred vision. This stuff is going right in the garbage can."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 22, 2022

For Rhinitis "Used two days. Gave me severe headaches and insomnia."

• Lon...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 7, 2022

For Rhinitis "Made my sinuses hurt more! Not just this time, but every time I use it, also gives me a nasty headache and makes my eyes feel strained."