Asthma control symptoms and conditions

I have been doing a trial and error thing w/ all my meds and I suspect that Singulair may be the culprit in my insomnia. Since I went down on Cymbalta, it has helped but last night I did not sleep a wink. I took xanax even and was up all night. Finally got up at 4.

Singulair has some ingredients that are the same as anti-histamines which have always affected my sleep but I have copd and am afraid to not take it.It is supposed to open your airways and I use Advair which has a steroid in it and I have no appetite. I still gain weight even though I'm not eating much.Dont know what to do. jo

Bleeding Gums, Severe Leg Cramping, Yeast Rashes, Sleeplessness, Blurred Vision:

I am a 49 year old woman who was recently prescribed Advair for asthma control. I also have severe allergies. My gums began bleeding almost immediately so I worried that I wasn't rinsing my mouth well enough. I stopped the Advair for a several days since in my mind, that was the culprit. Then my breathing/wheezing/persistent cough came back. So, I started back on my Advair and then started almost immediately having the worst leg cramps of my life. After figuring out that this new symptom correlated to my Advair use, I stopped it again cold turkey. I also am not sleeping over about an hour at a time despite my taking Ambien as well as anti-anxiety meds (I have Bipolar Disorder (Depression alternating with Manic Episodes) as well as Anxiety Disorder). Oh yes, and I developed weird yeast rashes underneath my breasts, on my inner thighs and behind my ears....despite if not being hot at all. I have never had this type of rash before or even been troubled with yeast infections. I also just noticed today that my vision is more blurred when trying to read the guide on my TV (42"). I have had no weight gain...in fact am losing weight..but have been watching what I eat. I don't feel more depressed...in fact, I feel the opposite...kinda euphoric at times..which feels good but can be a step towards mania for me. I decided to do a bit of research on Advair as a cause of the leg cramps...my persistent cough is back but I am afraid to take it now. I guess I need to talk to my allergist tomorrow.

Singulair associated with Churg-Strauss. A study in France and Germany.

Thorax. 2008 Aug;63(8):677-82. Epub 2008 Feb 14. Links
The leucotriene receptor antagonist montelukast and the risk of Churg-Strauss syndrome: a case-crossover study.Hauser T, Mahr A, Metzler C, Coste J, Sommerstein R, Gross WL, Guillevin L, Hellmich B.
Dr A Mahr, Department of Internal Medicine, Hôpital Cochin, 27 rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques, 75679 Paris Cedex 14, France. alfred.mahr@cch.aphp.fr.

BACKGROUND: There has been some concern that leucotriene receptor antagonists might precipitate the onset of Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS). A study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the leucotriene receptor antagonist montelukast and the onset of CSS. METHODS: Medication histories of 78 patients with CSS from France and Germany were retraced by questioning the patients, treating physicians and dispensing pharmacists, and from medical records. Using a case-crossover research design, exposures to montelukast and other asthma medications during the 3-month "index" period immediately preceding the onset of CSS were compared with those of four previous 3-month "control" periods. Odds ratios (ORs) were computed by conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: The ORs for CSS onset were 4.5 (95% CI 1.5 to 13.9) for montelukast, 3.0 (95% CI 0.8 to 10.5) for inhaled long-acting beta(2) agonists, 1.7 (95% CI 0.5 to 5.4) for inhaled corticosteroids and 4.0 (95% CI 1.3 to 12.5) for oral corticosteroids. Montelukast exposure during control periods increased temporally over three consecutive calendar periods of CSS onset from 1999 to 2003 (p(trend) <0.0001). CONCLUSION: Montelukast use was associated with a 4.5-fold higher risk of CSS onset within 3 months. However, the positive estimates obtained for other long-term asthma control medications suggest that this link might be confounded by a general escalation of asthma therapy before CSS onset. The association between montelukast and CSS observed in this study is probably also explained by the increasing use of this medication over time.

PMID: 18276721

I've been on Advair for probably 5 years. It has kept my asthma under control very well. Right now I take 250/50 and I'm down to one puff a day. I notice some of the side effects mentioned here, especially leg cramps. My weight has always fluctuated, so I can't blame that on Advair, in fact, I lost 60 pounds a couple of years ago while on Advair. I do have hoarseness that I'm sure is attributed to Advair. I take allergy shots and I'm almost to a maintenance level now. I'm hoping that between the shots, acupuncture, and a low dose of Advair, I will maintain my asthma control without the side effects. By the way, I also take Singulair which I think helps.

My 13 yr old daughter was put on Singulair along with Asmanex and Clarinex for her asthma about 6 weeks ago. Everything seemed to be going very well at first and her symptoms were starting to get controlled. I started noticing after about 3 to 4 weeks that her temper and attitude were getting much worse. Anyone with children this age knows what I mean but this was like a 180 degree turn for her. Her actions were becoming totally out of character. Before I knew it she would cry and get highly upset over the least little thing. Week 5 came around and things totally bottomed out. She came home from school and WAS NOT HERSELF. Made comments about how she hated her life and it was not worth living. Later that evening we had a big argument because I was telling her nothing was worth saying that. She went totally out of control and I had to physically restrain her to calm her down. It appeared everything was better so she went to her room. I went down to check on her and she calmly told me that she had taken advil and tylenol pm and things would be better for her forever now. We went to the ER where they made us wait for at least an hour, then finally took her back. She had to drink two cups of charcoal and was poked and prodded repeatedly. They did a catheter to get a urine sample. She was very cooperative but also was in a complete daze so who knows. The poor child couldn't even lift her head up when she started the vomiting to get rid of the drugs. It was very upsetting and sad. Her heart rate and blood pressure went very low and I really thought in the back of my mind that this was it. Finally, after several hours she started coming out of it and they sent us home. The next evening when she was starting to really come around she proceeded to tell me how she had been seeing a man walking around in her bedroom at night and she was afraid to go down there. Breaking down and crying telling me about all of the horrible nightmares she had been having recently and didn't know why. I thought what am I dealing with here? This just isn't her. Three days ago I heard about singulair in the news and looked it up on the internet. OH MY GOD THIS SOUNDED LIKE US!!!!! I immediately had her stop taking it and the next day phoned her asthma specialist who agreed she should stop now. We are going to watch her for two weeks and see if any symptoms return and then decide if she needs something else or will be fine on just the Asmanex. As a side note, she also mentioned being unable to concentrate in school (unable to do even the simplest math problems) and that her brain felt confused or like something was missing. She said this had been bothering her for several weeks. I know it was this drug. They really need to take this off the market NOW and stop flirting with disaster. The only reason I posted this was to let others know they are not alone.

From 1998 in the US:

Out of 336 children age 6- 14 years old.

"The most common adverse experiences were headache, asthma, and upper respiratory tract infection. Eleven patients were discontinued from the study because of adverse effects."

INDICATION EFFECTIVE IN TREATING ASTHMA IN CHILDREN
Leukotriene blocker offers therapeutic benefit with few adverse effects
CHICAGO—The orally administered drug montelukast, taken once a day, is effective therapy for 6- to 14-year-old children with chronic asthma, according to an article in the April 15 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Barbara Knorr, M.D., of Merck Research Laboratories in Rahway, N.J., and colleagues studied 336 children at 47 outpatient centers in the United States and Canada to determine the effectiveness of montelukast on 6- to 14-year- old children. Montelukast is one of a new class of asthma medications known as leukotriene inhibitors, which block leukotrienes that are produced and released from inflammatory cells. The inhibitors cause narrowing of the airways in the lungs, mucous secretion and increased vascular permeability. Other studies have found that compounds which block leukotrienes can improve asthma control for adults and adolescents.

The children in this study had a history of intermittent or persistent asthma symptoms. Each had a forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) between 50 percent to 85 percent. All the children used short-acting inhaled beta-agonists, as needed, to treat their asthma. After a two-week placebo run-in period, 201 children received montelukast in a five-milligram chewable tablet, taken at bedtime. The other 135 children were given a placebo.

Asthma is the most common chronic illness of childhood, affecting approximately ten percent of children. Each year, approximately 2.2 million doctor visits are make by children seeking treatment for asthma.

The researchers found that montelukast significantly improved FEV1. Several secondary outcomes also improved. They write: "Patients treated with either as-needed beta-agonist alone or inhaled corticosteroids had significant improvement in their asthma control when they received montelukast. ... Though the magnitude of the changes observed appeared modest, they were consistent with those reported in other pediatric trials using currently available therapies."

The researchers found that treatment effects usually occurred within one day after the first dose of montelukast. They write: "Montelukast not only demonstrated a rapid onset of action, but its treatment effects were maintained consistently over time. There was no evidence of tolerance in this or a prior adult study, suggesting that montelukast continues to be effective in the long-term treatment of asthma."

Among other findings of the study:

· Montelukast demonstrated a significant improvement in daily as-needed beta-agonist use, and in the percentage of days and percentage of patients with asthma exacerbation.

The effects of montelukast were similar across age, sex, race and other subgroups.
Patients receiving montelukast reported significant improvements in the physical and emotional aspects of their lives.

The most common adverse experiences were headache, asthma, and upper respiratory tract infection. Eleven patients were discontinued from the study because of adverse effects.

The researchers conclude: "Overall, the results of this study suggest that montelukast would be a well-tolerated and effective therapeutic option to current asthma therapies in 6- to 14-year-old patients."
(JAMA. 1998;279:1181-1186)

Note: This research was funded by Merck & Co., Inc.

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?

My daughter is 5 years old and has been on singulair for 1 week. i have already noticed a dramatic change in her behavior. she has become irritable, mean, nasty, and emotional. she has had me in tears on a daily basis. she has turned into a monster. we will be calling the doctor in the morning!

My husband was given a sample of this for a month-long bout of bronchitis and we are now thinking it has done permanent damage to his vocal chords. He only used it 5 times, got thrush (yeast infection) in his throat and is still hoarse after a week of being off of it. Does anyone know the history of this drug and has the word "class action lawsuit" crossed anyone's mind besides mine? I am amazed at the way pharmaceutical companies run the healthcare business in this country!

I don't want to go off on a rant here, but are people aware that a large portion of the FDA's operating budget is provided by pharmaceutical manufacturers? This isn't our first experience with this type of thing and I'm about to launch a grassroots campaign to educate the public. Maybe they'll stop believing all the marketing hype.

I'm thinking that the pharmaceutical companies ought to heed the Hippocratic oath - FIRST, DO NO HARM. Wouldn't it be a remarkably different world if they would take all the money they're spending on marketing and use it to lower the price of orphan and AIDS drugs? They keep saying that research is expensive - and advertising on every possible television show, radio and magazines is cheap? Hello? Are we going to be sheep or are we going to be citizens and hold these companies responsible for what they're doing. Thanks for letting me vent. Please contact me if you want to do something about this. And no, I'm not an attorney, but I'm a writer and I think I just found out what my first book is going to be about...

I started to tell you all about my side effects with Advair and was shut down. I want to add that the
feeling of despair hasleft and I AM
now doing the Buteyko method of asthma control and it is working thus far. I had tried it before and it took up too much time but it is worth it and I am going to do it all
the way, anything is better than the hell the Advair did to me and yes my
family who had to live with me and
feel so afraid of what was happening to dear Mom and wife. I have not been off this horror for long and have my set backs like today my ibs
came back worse than I expected and
I cried and felt down right sorry for myself but I am on track again and I will get myself out of this awful mess created by this horrible
medicine. Why don't they tell you about the horrors and what are some going on in peoples bodies that are
not seen so they on't know what is happening to them. All I can say is
DON'T EVER TAKE ADVAIR

Having now read many of the postings here I feel very luck. I have had asthma for a lifetime. I have used every medicine known to man and for the most part have been able to maintain a relatively normal lifestyle. Although sometimes I still struggle to breath those times that I feel overwhelmed are somewhat rare.
I came to this website to learn what others might be dealing with as far as side effects and found a bucnh of things listed by others that I had never thought of before.
Advair to me has been somewhat a wonder drug. Till I started taking it my breathing was much worse and I never wanted to be far from my emergency inhaler. I have been on Advair now for maybe 5 to 6 years. I don't even own an emergency inhaler. Although sometimes I wish I did as I still have an occasional flair up.
The things that I have suffered with are a constant and very annoying need to clear my throat. And a loss of voice that just seems to get worse with time.
And yet, If you told me to get up and walk 3 to 5 miles I wouldn't hestitate doing it. And in fact would feel better when I was finished than when I started.
I feel like many others ---- the side effects are a real drag. However ---- breathing is job one. Without a good breath of air what difference does the rest make.
One last thing. I am 58 years old. I had a sister that died of asthma at 28. One thing that I have learned that I would like to share. Part of effective asthma control is controling your emotions. Thinking about it too much ----- always makes it worse.

side effects I have noticed while using Advair....

weight gain, about 20 pounds overall, bloated stomach

a white gummy film in my mouth which has to be wiped away with a cloth...toothbrush and paste do not eliminate it

However.....Advair is the BEST asthma control I have ever used since I was a little child...(many years)

Using Advair for the past 6 months, considerable weight gain, frequent bloody nose, sinus problems abound, sore throat, ears hurt--asthma control great, no rescue inhaler necessary. Stopped taking the Advair and symptoms disappeared!