Advair 250 symptoms and conditions

I am a part-time professional singer and attorney. I developed an odd cough-variant asthma this winter at age 42 -- it had scary breath shortness and wheezing plus lots of phlegm coughed up. I had never before had the shortness/wheezing/asthma, though I have always had allergies and occasional bronchitis following a cold. The asthma/allergy specialists put me on Advair 500 twice a day with each attack, plus an oral prednisone burst/short taper, nebulized (not just rescue inhaler) albuterol (beta 2 agonist), and antibiotics (a different one each time). I also take Claritin, Rhinocort and Astelin for my allergies. I had four attacks of asthma this winter that were treated this way; after the fourth, they put me on Advair 250 maintenance for a month. With each attack, I would get hoarse, have trouble sleeping, and get odd muscle cramps I never had had. The hoarseness was worse each time, but I was able to sing through it at my regular gigs. I attributed the side effects to the prednisone. With my fifth attack, they told me to ramp up the Advair to 500 and do all else the same, but as an experiment to see how this would alter those side effects, I decided to treat it with everything but the prednisone. The hoarseness, sleep trouble, and muscle cramps were all much worse. I found this site, noted the recommendation of several other singers to try Asmanex instead of Advair, and asked the docs about it. They agreed that all these symptoms could be related to the Advair and gave me Asmanex 250 twice/day instead instead of the Advair, plus all the other meds for the attack. The symptoms went away within a week, although it took a little longer for me to get over the asthma attack this time. I am extremely grateful to this site and all the users posting comments. I can sing again, sleep again, and exist without weird muscle cramps during treatment of my asthma. Thank you very much.

How interesting -- I'm a 56 old female. Went to my Dr. because couldn't shake a chest cold, feeling like lungs not a full capacity. She listened and agreed there was too much wheezing. She gave me an Advair 250 inhaler, although when I asked, said that it would, my lungs would eventually clear themselves up. Instructed me to take twice a day for 5 days, then once a day until I felt I didn't need it anymore. The third night I was up all night with deep ache in my wisdom teeth, some bleeding in the gums, used ice packs and ibuprofin (sp?) to get through the night. After another day and night like that I could only think it was the Advair so stopped it. Saw my dentist 2 or three days later -- pain was decreasing, but wanted to be sure there was no infection. Showed denstist the inhaler but she said it couldn't be that and there were no signs of infection. So -- tried Advair again but again by the 2nd night I was up again with the ice packs, pain killers and bleeding gums. No more Advair for me, and I'm relieved to read that others had the same reactions I did as it means I'm not completely nuts.

I have been on advair 250/50 for about 1 year now and i have had dramatic weight gain about 40 lbs. which i cannot get off i have never been a heavy person, since i started this has changed. Also i have had tooth pain in my molars which are now cavities, that happened within 3 months from taking this drug.

I was diagnosed with adult allergic asthma one year ago at 38 years old. I started having problems breathing ONLY AT NIGHT on occasion and palpitations. Had a physical and ekg, totally normal. Went to allergist and they said I have alot of allergies and diagnosed me with the asthma. Funny thing, weeks before I biked 20 miles, hiked 12 miles, canoed 3 miles, played golf in a 3 day span and no problems. Since they told me this and started me on advair 250/50 I haven't been able to jog more than 2 miles or bike more than 8 to 10. Its very strange indeed, I have gotten more paranoid feelings when just get a little out of breath, and sometimes cant keep still in a car or sitting down. I cut back on sugar, sodium and started exercising a little every day, only 15 minutes and felt better. But came down with a cold recently and back to square one. I am trying to take the advair only ONCE a day instead of twice and almost feel withdrawal symptoms like shakiness, paranoia, irritability. I do have higher blood pressure than I should. Does anyone have any idea about this? I am really confused! Thanks... J

I have been on Advair 250/50 for 5 years for asthma. I'm a 48 year old female. I have experienced severe hoarsness and my voice is rough sounding. Some days I am so hoarse that others have a hard time understanding me. I have had 5 kidney stones in the last 5 years, never had one before taking Advair. I had the last one a month ago and it was so large I had to have surgery. I experience nausea about once a day. I seem to always have a headache. I feel tired all of the time. Over the last year I have developed high blood pressure. I have gained 20 pounds. I have rashes on my upper arms that comes and goes. I experience mood swings. The Advair does control my asthma, but these side effects are too much anymore, especially the hoarseness. I am going to ask my doctor for other solutions.

I'm a 41 year old female. I was diagnosed with asthma at age 9 and had taken a number of different drugs until the birth of my daughter who is nearing age 7. I had never had problems with my weight or loosing any excess after childbirth. However, after beginning Advair 100/50 over the course of 6 months and after ridding myself of the baby weight, I gained about 25 lbs. 2 years 3 months later came the birth of my son with whom I’d gained nearly 100 lbs after changing to Advair 250/50.

My son was born 9 lbs. and gained 3 more before his first peds visit less than a week later. He has had a number of food and skin allergies since birth and at 4 ½ weighs 98 lbs and is 4 feet fall. His bone age is 8.5 and still growing. Both my son and daughter eat the same things but she is lean and healthy at 170 lbs. and 4’41/2” tall with no food or skin allergies and no other health problems. Therefore, I’m inclined to believe he too was negatively affected by Advair.

My normal weight of 133 lbs. and a perfect size 8 was no more. I actually consume less now than before and with a 4 and 6 year old, I’m quite active and as conscious of my diet as my kids’. However, I’m still tipping the scales at between 195 and 200 lbs. I’ve never had hypertension, headaches, chest pains, muscle spasms, fatigue, feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts but I did...often.

I recently changed insurance plans and tried filling the script only to learn that the rate was so far out of my range that I could no longer afford it. I’ve not taken it for at nearly 60 days and have noticed my headaches are less frequent and far less intense, no chest pain or muscle spasms and I feel more in control able to deal more effectively with my children and colleagues and just life in general. I have to take my Albuterol inhaler far more frequently than I should but I’d rather do that than to feel the way I did taking Advair.

Paper-thin skin on arms, hair falling out by the handfuls, clotting problems with the slightest scrape on my arms, bruising on my legs. Going to go back to Advair 250/50 and see if these problems go away.

I have been on Advair 250/50 off and on for a couple of years. When I take the dose I get a smothering feeling that last for about l5 minutes. I also have cramps in my legs and feet.. Another side effect I think is bruising very easily. If I barely touch something I get big red bruises. Does anyone else have the problem with bruising. Am going to try to get off Advair completely.

I am a 61 year old male and I have COPD with 40% loss in lung function. My allergist started me on Advair 250/50 a couple of years ago. As I was still having trouble with shortness of breath, my internist put me on Spiriva, also. Breathing got easier, but I was experiencing a number of symptoms.

The one that clued me into knowing something in the medicine was bothering me was bright red eyes. Also focus problems and blurry vision. My ophthalmologist found no reason for the eye condition. So I also looked at some other symptoms I had: Severe muscle cramping if any muscle was contracted; severe lower back pain after walking only 5 minutes; hoarseness; loss of voice; Extreme weight gain (55 pound in 1-1/2 years), all in my middle; bloating and tooth/gum problems that were nonexistent 2 years ago; BPH symptoms (poor urine stream, difficulty emptying and many nighttime bathroom visits with normal prostate & PSA tests). E.D.

Whoa! What’s going on here? So I began stopping all my drugs one at a time for one week. Just got to the Advair yesterday and my eyes have already almost returned to white. My hoarseness is almost gone. Was it the power of autosuggestion? Somehow, I don’t think so. This drug works, but one has to balance the side effects with the help it provides. I’m going to try just using my albuterol inhaler and stay off these steroids.

Good luck to you all!

Boy i thought i was the only one and my family thought i was just making this stuff up. I have asthma and have had it since i was 10 now age 23. Recently i went to the doctor because i was using my albuterol inhaler to much i was using one a week. The doctor told me i had bronchitis now even worse so he put my advair 250/50 ive been on it for about 2 months. One week after taking it i notice my voice changed and my troat was bothering me, i was having nose bleeds. This week i started having really bad headaches my hands fall asleep at night without my even sleeping on them, also bad back pains my legs get bad cramps at night. One bad thing i really hate is i know i have gained a good mount of weight about 30lbs in so little time. My husband notice my mood swings ive been having towards him getting mad at him for no reason. Thank goodness im not going crazy seeing that im not alone. IM GONNA STOP TAKING THIS MEDICINCE AND CALLING MY DOC MONDAY MORNING!!!!1

I was just researching the effects of going off of Advair and stumbled across this website...thank goodness! I was rather shocked to hear all of the symptoms that I have been experiencing and have really been bothering me lately, to the point that I have been considering going to see my doctor to see if there was something wrong with me.

I have had asthma all my life (now 29) and have been on Advair 250, 4 puffs a day for the past 2 years solid, with no breaks. During this time i've been in and out of the hospital and at times, this amount of Advair has not been enough to keep my asthma under control.

As mentioned in a few other posts, I have been getting sick of taking my meds and have woken up some mornings feeling absolutely fine. Just this week I stopped taking my meds and I'm now on day 5 with no meds. However, the little side effects i've been experiencing are very weird. First and far most...my face has been swollen and I have a ton of tiny little pimples all over my face and neck that are itchy and red. I don't think that people can notice them, except for the redness, but it is very uncomfortable.

Has anyone else gone off of Advair after been on for a long time and experienced any side effects?

I am a 56 yo male. I have been using albuterol for many years, especially at night to be ale to sleep through the night. In April 2007, my doc put me on Advair 250/50. Immediately, I was able to sleep through the night without using the Albuterol. Unfortunately, I also started to have trouble speaking. When I would speak, words would be cut off in the middle. In August, my doc sent me to a throat specialist to see if their were any physical problems. He found nothing wrong, but confirmed that the speech apnea was a possible side affect of Adavair. I stopped using it in the fall, and I have been able to speak normally since then. I have also only had to use the Albuterol twice since then. At least the Advair got me off the nightly use of the Albuterol

Does anyone know if anyone has experienced an itchy head (scalp and forehead) with small pimples or something like that? Terribly itchy, and started after starting Advair, but have no way of knowing if related. Does anyone know?

Bill

So nice to see that I'm not just imagining the adverse reactions. I've been taking Advair 250/50 for about 3 weeks now after being diagnosed with asthma/chronic bronchitis. I went back to my doctor the following week because I was still having chest pain, back pain, felt as if I still wasn't getting enough oxygen and mentioned that I was having a lot of difficulty with being jittery. He evaluated my breathing with a peak flow meter and since that seemed to be OK, he wanted to do an EKG - which he did and seemed to see something that warranted a referral to a cardiologist. So far the cardiologist has not seen anything out of the ordinary.
I'm thinking more and more that there is nothing wrong with my heart and that this is all being caused by the Advair. Has anyone else been referred to a cardiologist and found out nothing was wrong?

I have been on Advair 250/50 for approx 4 yrs. I am 47 now. I Know I have to take the medicine for my COPD every 12 hrs. If not, I have difficult time breathing. I had leg cramps in the beginning, but not too much now. The problem that is most bothersome now is low back pain. Not sure if I have osteoporosis setting in, or it is just a side effect. I am always coughing up mucus. My shoulders, arms, and legs, are very sore to the touch. Feels like someone has come up and slugged me, and that is just from a finger touch.
I know I cannot get off of the Advair, If does help my breathing, but I also know the consequences if I do not take it. Almost like my life line.
Does anyone else feel this way?

I started taking Advair 250/50 when I couldn't get any air in the upper part of my lungs. I was diagnosed with asthma as a child, but hadn't experienced it since I was 11. I am 21 now, and I have panic attacks, pain in legs (pain in my thighs, and it feels like a rubber band wrapped around my knees) and arms, splitting headaches, hyper-sensitivity, mood swings, back pain, heart racing for no reason(especially at night, it wakes me up), insomnia, pain in my chest (mostly on the left side near my arm pit that feels like muscle tightness), I sometimes get sharp pain in my chest if I take a deep breath, I've gained 40 lbs. in the past 8 months, and I am a nervous, emotional wreck. A year and a half ago, I was a completely different person. I've been to the doctor, and they can't find anything wrong with me. Although I am overweight now, my cholesterol and blood pressure are perfect, there is nothing wrong with my lungs (barring asthma). I am in great health, and yet I feel awful. All the time. I have no idea what to do, because my doctor's have told me that the only known side effects of Advair is potential damage to the teeth. I am outraged, but I am afraid to stop taking it because my lungs actually hurt when I don't. I'm also on an Intal Inhaler, but I haven't heard any side effects of this. Here's the kicker, the doctor that prescribed me the Advair wasn't even a respiratory specialist, and refused to reccomend me to one! I'm so glad I found this site because everything everyone has listed seems to be what has gone wrong for me since I started taking it. If anyone has any information on how they're doing now that they've stopped taking it, or the "withdrawal" effects of Advair, please post them. I'm hoping to wean myself off. Good luck to all of you, and thank you. Now I can stop being so worried that I have blod clots, lung cancer, or an aneurism. ;)

Thanks so much,
Jade
NY,NY

I was on advair 250/50 for six months initially with no problems. Started it again 6 months later and the side effects began. The first night I experienced a stabbing pain in one wrist.The wrist became painful and weakened. The pain subsided but then there was a throbbing pain in my breast bone. That went on for about 1 month. Stopped the advair and it went away. Unfortunately, I was relying heavily on my rescue inhaler again so I resumed the Advair. This time I experienced neck and shoulder pain. I quit Advair about a month ago. I still have some neck and shoulder pain and swelling. I bought a cleanse from the Garden of Life Company today in an effort to get rid of any Advair that may still be in my system. Hope it works.

My wife ran a 102 fever in June while traveling.. Took her to emergency room. They said she had pneuomonia, gave her antibiotics and inhaler.
Follow up doctor said she had COPD and prescribed Advair 100.
Returned to home and visited Respiratory dr. He put her on predisone (8 down to 1 5mg tablet over a week) and 4 weeks of Advair 250. After 2 weeks she started running 102 fever, reduced to 99.6 with Ibuprofine. She is tired, has a bad dry chest cough and has had bad diahera. Will take her to Dr monday and have stopped using Advair.

I am a 37 yr old while female - I have been on Advair for about the last
5/6 years - I dont have any of the symtoms that everyone has stated
above - but I have something that nobody else has seemed to mention.
Before I started using Advair - I had perfect teeth - no cavitites no nothing.
After years of using Advair - I now have Tooth Enamel Loss on my bottom
front teeth - they are not decaying at all but the lower half of each tooth
has lost its tooth enamel and shows the yellowish Dentin layer. I use my
Advair 250/50 once a day and rinse my mouth with water as well as
mouth wash and brushing after each dose - but yet it is still destroyin
my teeth. I have contacted the maker of Advair in regards to this and get
no response what so ever - so should my next step be to contact a lawyer?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

I started on Advair 250/50 6/28/07 for continued wheezing, bronchitis problems even though I quit smoking 12/25/06. In mid July I began to have Lt knee pain, the dx from the Dr was "arthritis--you are getting older you know" I was 46 yrs old. I got a cortisone shot 7/24 since the pain was so terrible, the shot gave we 1 week pain free, then 8/10 I had #2 shot, same knee, again this shot only lasted 1 week, then pain returned with a vengenance. End of August I had an MRI done on Lt knee due to continued knee pain---this showed a menescal tear. So we are in the 1st week of Sept and the pain continues to worsen, now I have pain in Rt knee also. Grasping at various straws I re-read the Side Effects and Adverse Reactions to Advair. Imagine my surprise/shock to read under Musculoskeletal: arthralgia (Severe arthritic joint pain), bone and cartilaage disorders, muscle pain, muscle stiffness. Also wt gain.
Needless to say I quit the Advair..Even tho I had been on Advair for less than 1 month before my knee problems started . Next week I go in for surgical repair on torn menesci Lt knee, and so far so good with my breathing, but tomarrow I tell my Dr that "I quit the Advair, and the reason why I quit."

I've always had problems with leg cramps but now, since I've started taking Advair, every muscle in my body cramps -- BADLY. So I'm done, I'm going to call the doctor Monday a.m. & tell him I've stopped the medication. I just thought it was a fluke and I was having a bad time (have done that), but since getting on here and seeing that other people have had this problem, I'm sure it's the Advair. Occassionally I've forgotten a dose & the cramps have gotten better. So now I'm putting 2/2 together. As much as Advair has helped my cough, it's put me in so much pain I can't get one hrs. sleep before I have to jump out of bed and try walking a cramp out, during the day my back, arms, hands, chest, stomach muscles are all cramping painfully while I'm trying to work.

Doctor prescribed, but wanted to check side effects before taking it, am glad I have! Anyone else that's a smoker with mild hypertension (140/90) taking this med? Now I'm afraid of taking it because I already have a problem with coughing and post nasal drip, choking sensation, near vomiting. Also am on Celexa 60 mg for depression and anxiety and certainly don't want to take something that's going to increase my anxiety! Any others taking Lisinopril and Celexa?

I started taking advair in September of 2006 after being diagnosed with allergy related asthma. I took it for 3 months. Then stopped for a few months over the winter and restarted in spring because of more serious symptoms of asthma. I have had severe stomach upset, acid reflex, rashes, and weight gain. I also feel dizzy a lot. I am very health consious and work out all of the time. I never gain weight so it seems obvious to me advair is the culprit. I am going to try getting allergy shots and see if I can stay off the advair. In home air filters do seem to help with the asthma

I have been on advair 250/50 for about a year and a half. II am 48 years old. I cannot believe how many side effects i have had and did'nt even realize it. I have had alot of problems with my eyesight since I have been on this medication but did'nt realize it. I had my eyesight checked and it was fine. I also have had alot of dizziness and I have had alot of sinusitus and choking especially every morning. I finally called the doctor aboot the side effects and he agreed so he put me back on my original treatment which was Q-var and I can't tell you how much better I feel. I have no more dizziness or eye blurriness that I had before and I feel so much better and I have so much more energy that it makes me wonder what I was thinking just so I could breathe better.