Copd symptoms and conditions

My 71 year old mother was put on Advair approximately two years ago after she was diagnosed with COPD. She has always been a tiny, petit woman her entire life, and after being placed on Advair she has nearly doubled in weight. This week she has broken out in shingles (herpes zoster) on her back and left breast. For a year she has had psoriasis on her right hand. Never before has she had so many rashes and skin issues since being on Advair. She has also experienced joint pain and numbness since being placed on Advair and began having panic/anxiety attacks as well - something she has never had in her life. Also, the hoarseness, or "lump in her throat" she is always trying to clear is nearly always present. Monday she is suggesting to her GP that she be weaned off of Advair altogether and we'll see what other options are available. Maybe this is the "miracle drug" for some; but for others it has been a nightmare.

I am a 63 year old male that has COPD and a few days ago my doctor prescribed ADVAIR. A lady that works with my wife recently lost her husband to a heart attach and he was also on ADVAIR. Another worker overheard the conversation and said that he had recently lost his father to a heart attach who was also on ADVAIR.

Think I will stick with the inhalers and skip the ADVAIR.

Thanks all.

Roy

I just got done reading a lot of this page, I was in tears. I'm a 23 year old female; I started taking Advair 250/50 (two times a day) about 3 1/2 years ago for COPD. Before my problems started I was working overtime every week, just financed a car a year previous, moved out of my parents and felt like I was on top of the world. Minus my general anxiety and clinical depression, I was only on 2 medications plus an albuterol inhahler.
I kept getting sick, was having trouble breathing, so I was put on Advair; at first It's like I read in almost all these forums...It's a miracle drug! I was able to breathe, but I noticed I was starting to feel pretty lazy, in 2 months I gained 30lbs. I kept taking it along with a lot of other medications for more problems that seemed to keep coming along. In late summer of 2005 I had a seizure while I was at work in a restaurant kitchen. I was opening and had passed out between 4 fryers and a flat-top grill; an ambulance picked me up. I kept getting dizzy spells and vertigo, I started having seizures a few times a week; I was released from my job on a long-term medical leave because of the hazard it was for me to work there. Things kept getting worse, It got to the point of averaging 17 pills a day because of medical problems. Before I got sick I weighed 131lbs, I currently weigh 170lbs. I was having seizures everyday, then every other day, and it slowly decreased over time. I went through so many tests, I'm still going through them. I started having really bad bowel problems which I'm still dealing with; It's sort of like IBS. I also deal with chronic daily stomach/abdominal pain; in a laproscopy, the doctor said that my small intestine looked like "a bag of snakes". Another daily pain that I'm still dealing with mouth/teeth/jaw pain. Although I rinsed my mouth out after each use, I believe Advair royally screwed my mouth up for life. My gums bled everyday, I had to use a kids toothbrush, my gums were peeling off; It was told to me that It's like a mouth yeast infection. The gums over my canines started receding and didn't stop until I quit taking advair. The nerves on my canines are exposed and partially rotted, other teeth have chips and are rotten around them. The gums above my canines are still raised and will still flare up from time to time. I haven't been able to work since August 2005. I've been denied disability twice. I have panic attacks when I'm around people. I'm scared to drive because I've had a seizure behind the wheel. I'm in so much pain everyday that I normally don't move unless It's to use the bathroom. I used to cook 80 hours a week, hang out with friends, and work out. Now, I can't work, can't be around people, and take enough medications to start a pharmacy. It's odd how it all seemed to start when I began Advair. One other thing, I'm constantly coughing up these weird mucas spheres. My advice if you're thinking about taking advair...well, I'll just say if I would have known that this is what it'd do to me, I would have chose bronchitis 4 times a year.

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 am diagnosed with COPD. On March14, 2008, I visited my pulmonologist due to having a bacterial infection in the lungs and nose. I was given a script for Levaguin 750 mg for 7 days. After my first dose, my feet felt like they were on fire. I spoke with the pharmacist and he said it could be a side effect. I finished the meds with a lot of trepidation, feeling uneasy and anxious. However my large toes began to have a tingling sensation, which I reported to my PCP and he said to keep a check on it. I just came from my PCP today, July 8,2008 and now, in addition to my lung problem, I have peripheral neurophathy, involving all my toes and also my hands. This medicine is dangerous, as looking back at the time after I took this medicine, I was seriously considering ending it all! I will never take any medication in the future until I research it thoroughly. I trust my PCP and I trusted my pulmonologist, but I feel the pulmonologist should have informed me of the possible bad sich effects. Be careful out there!!!

For 59 years I have had familial periodic paralysis. Lately my potassium level has been down. This problem started after taking albuterol for copd.
I take two puffs every 8 hrs .I could not understand why I was getting paralysis as it had tapered off considerably the last 15 years and I have not had paralysis at all for 3 years until the last 4 months. Now I will have to take small amounts of potassium every night but less than when I was younger.
The Albuterol has helped me considerably!

My Dad is 75 years old has been in and out of the hospital because of exasperations brought on by COPD. He is fine when he gets out of the hospital with 40mg of Prednisone then like many others tapers to 30mg, 20mg then 10mg until he isn't taking any. Then the exasperations start he's back in the hospital and the Prednisone cycle begins again. I have notice he has mood swings as he has become very irritable. He also use to work out with light weights ever morning, he no longer has the desire. He also use to go for walks, in the park treadmill etc. he no longer does those activities either. I also notice his eyes look different. I realize this drug is keeping him alive, but he has become a different person.

Everybody here knows that I have been interested in trying to find out if Singulair (montelukast), which is a quinoline, ionizes and forms quinolinic acid under physiological conditions that lower blood pH. Some researchers have also mentioned that another montelukast metabolite that occurs is known to be a toxin. In other words, until someone can get blood tests that confirm what the toxic metabolic is, we are just guessing but I would bet that it is a good guess.

One of the strongest cases for that argument would be what happens to some people during sleep. There are some people whose CO2 levels rise. If the levels rise enough to cause change in pH to a more acid condition, then montelukast can possibly ionizes just enough to create minute amounts of neurotoxins that could cause bad dreams, hallucinations, sleep deprivation or a number of other neuro-psychiatric problems. Compound the effect of night after night of minute amounts of neurotoxins caused by CO2 and montelukast ionization then it would be easy to understand how depression and personality change results. There are other conditions that cause elevated CO2 levels and acidosis such as COPD.

If anyone has any data regarding their CO2 levels from sleep studies or other bloods tests, would you please send me a private message?

I was put on Singulair about 2 years ago because of my COPD. No allergies were ever mentioned by my Doctor. This site has been a god send for me.
Since starting Singulair I have been put on Digoxin for an irregular heart beat that I never had before. I have been put on Gabapentin for leg pain and cramping in my feet whenever I put my feet up or laid down to TRY and get to sleep. I have been put on so many pain killers for back pain, leg pain, neck pain I can't even count them all. I won't take them, they make me so sick. Now I find that I wake up with a headache every morning, feeling sick..oh yes, I was given medication for nausea also. And I don't want to forget the six months of experiencing never ending dizzy spells. That was another medication to ad to the list of ALL THE MEDICATIONS I HAVE TAKEN OVER THE PAST 2 YEARS for the side effects of Singulair. I stopped taking it a couple of days ago and I woke up this morning feeling so good. Oh, lets not forget the Xanax, Prozac and Cymbalta for depression.......OMG! I'm looking forward to see how many of these medications I can toss now that I've stopped taking Singulair. I just wish I had found this site two years ago, oh yeah, I am on Advair also. I've been, lets say "in a chronic bad mood" too. Some would say a "B". I've already noticed a difference there too.

DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, SWEATING, NAUSEA

I'm a 66 year old female who took Singulair for 6 months. I could perceive no positive effects on my breathing. My doctor prescribed this drug as treatment for my COPD. It took some time for me to realize that it was having negative effects on my personality. I was moody, sad, weepy, depressed, all conditions that are contrary to my usual positive outlook on life. A week after I stopped taking Singulair, I could tell that I was reverting back to my upbeat self again. Although I can tell that this drug has changed me. I will never take this drug again, and I recommend that others research it thoroughly before taking it.

I have just tried Advair, and after 4 days, joints all over my body started to ache. My eyes hurt alot and my vision got blurry. Lastly, I just have a general feeling of unease. I quit the advair and was much better within 3 more days.
All pain is gone and eyes feel normal again, although my eye sight seems diminished. I took no other drugs and felt fine before taking the Advair.

I am 44 and suffer from mild copd. I can get by with Albuteral, and will do
so from now on. I know that one is safe.

Good luck to all.

I was on toprol-xl for almost 8 years without many problems. i also take isosorbide mononitrate.A few months back I was switched to the generic version (metoprolol succinate er by sandoz) now i have many problems.First I have to say I am disabled with severe COPD. Although I do not feel depressed I have a lot of symptoms of depression. Remember I had no symptoms what so ever until switched by Walgreen's or HMO or Doctor to the generic version. Not sure what to do I have a doctor that does not truly listen,plus he did not want me on toprol xl to begin with. Even though it was good for me. Good luck people!

my brother is taking advair for COPD. he is also on blood pressure medicine
and a medicine to stop smoking. he has been having terrible insomnia for many months now. also. several times when he's driving, he's suddenly become so tired, he has to pull over. it happened again recently in the middle of the afternoon and he had an accident. he says just before the wave of fatigue comes over him, he seems to have some severe allergic reaction with sinus drainage. has anyone else ever had any of these experiences? this seems incredibly scary.

I had been taking Advair 500/50 for several years, however, most of that time I only took it once a day (not the recommended 2X). My diagnosis is near fatal asthma/COPD. About a year and a half ago I began taking Spiriva in addition. I am stable, but with a low pulmonary function for the past year (peak flow remains around 200). I see an acupuncturist/herbalist and an currently trying Wei Labs products: Soup A and LC Balancer, that are supposed to reverse lung damage. I recently visited a new, conventional, pulmonary specialist who wanted me to retry Advair at its recommended dosage, which I did. I noticed a nagging headache (at my forehead), a tendency to be agitated very easily, and a diminished peak flow. His response was to continue and add another medication (Singulair, which I have tried years ago with no good result). I stopped the Advair (though I am continuing on the Spiriva, until I see more results from the herbs). Also, I am a thin person who exercises all the time, and I had noticed that my weight was about 10 lbs more than I would like it to be (this had been the case for a couple of years). I have yet to see if that will drop, I have only been off for a couple of days. Additionally, I have had the experience with conventional steroid sinus meds over the years; the meds would stop working after a month or two and I would end up with worse congestion. I ultimately had a surgery to clear polyps and extra tissue, and have been breathing well through my nose since 2004 without meds. I feel I need to get off the conventional meds for the asthma too, on them I appear to be in a slow decline.

My mother has been on Advair for her COPD for about three years. Over the last year she has had to have two crowns and 6 cavities filled. Prior to using Advair, she went years without any dental problems. I can't find any info on dental decay being a side effect with Advair use. Has anyone else had these problems?

my mother was on Advair for COPD and now she is totally messed up mentally....My mother is paranoid. She refuses to go outside and thinks people are bugging our house and are all out to get her....she never used to behave like this. My mother is from the generation that I like to call "old school" Its a generation that goes to the doctor and takes whatever the doctor prescribes without questioning it. I'm "new school" I question everything and only take medicine as a last resort....I believe in natural alternatives....if there is anyone else out there who is suffering or has a loved one suffering from paranoia please contact me at ***

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'm 58 with COPD and the Dr. put me on Advair for breathing. I have been having severe join pain the last two weeks and believe it may be from the rx. also, have reccurring pneumonia, thrush, and sleep disturbances. Sound familiar? let me know if you have the joint pain.

Can Advair Diskus 250/50 cause Dilantin levels to run high?? Better to lower dosage of Advair or Dilantin?? Thank you for any help. I have COPD for 12 yrs, on 2 other inhalers and oxygen 24/7 plus other meds for other problems but the Advair is probably the newest drug.

I started advair a year ago for COPD and the side effects have become intolerable, but I'm between a rock and a hard spot, because it has made it possible for me to get off of the rescue inhaler which I was previously using every two hours. My hair periodically falls out by the handful, my legs swell every night and a deep bruise to my right leg has created a four week odyssy of the ankle swelling to twice the size of the other by dinnertime and the bruise is only just starting to appear - I suspect the steroids have slowed healing. I also have most of the same side effects as listed by others here - belly-bloating, diarrhea, severe stomach cramping, charlie horses, quicker temper, hoarseness, sore throat, heart palpatations, and chest pressure, trouble swallowing, bruising, blurred vision, most disconcerting is the way this stuff is affecting my short term memory. I just started back to school and I can't absorb anything into my memory and my ability to conceptualize (one of my best skills, previously) is now frightenly limited. For the first time in my life, I know what it is like to be the one in class scratching my head with a dumb expression on my face. I realized that it was the Advair, because I tried studying in the early morning (after the last dose of Advair had worn off) and Voila - my memory and conceptualizing abilities had partially, but dramatically, returned. But I need the Advair to GET TO class and by the time I reach the test (after my morning dose of Advair), I can't recall anything in a timely enough manner (test taking had always been my strength). I hate to think what this drug is doing to the minds of children in this country. I now know for the first time in my life, what a horrible feeling it is to not "get it" after trying with all your might. I flunked a math test last week after studying days and nights for it - first test I've ever flunked in my life and I used to get Bs in college while not opening a book until the night before a test. Does anyone know of anything else that is anywhere nearly as effective without all the side effects? I suspect it is the fluoride in Advair that makes it so dangerous - a good percentage of the dangerous drugs taken off the market or still on the market, but with blackbox warnings contain Fluoride - it is highly reactive and unpredictable. Flonase (nasal spray made with steroids and fluoride) makes my father and sister nearly psychotic!

I was a 2:42 marathoner. I used a synthetic varnish containing isocyanates, pentanedione, organic solvents, in one 7-hour session; the company-recommended respirator did not in fact prevent transmission: Severe chemically- induced asthma, plus neuropathy, plus, plus.

I've used Advair 500/50 for six years. There have been many diverse effects from the chemical exposure; I'd not questioned any being Advair side effects. But the raised blood pressure was not initial, and certainly not a priori. Diminished hearing, diminished eyesight, anxiety. Again, not to lump in, but these questions are new for me. But the point I'd like to bring before this group is this: In August I was diagnosed with ehlichiosis , and was prescribed 28 days on doxycycline. They recommend eliminating many possible antagonists to the doxycycline. My respiratory capacity had been continually diminishing. My ongoing physician said this was to be expected and recommended only the next more powerful steroid. Not a good solution. Before all this I was strong; repaired myself. In the absence of constructive answers, wondering if the Advair was weakening me, making me dependent, I quit the Advair as well on beginning the doxycycline. Today is eleven days post-doxycycline. Eight days ago there began with increasing severity, a terrible wracking deep cough producing dark yellow mucus. Painful. No fever. Grevious throat from the wracking, but I question whether this is a cold or infection. It's just in my lungs. Maybe it's as though I've thrown off an epithelial coating. These past two days the quantity of deep yellow mucus is not as ready, but the wracking and coughing is more severe. And my lung capacity, my respiratory capacity, is frighteningly diminished. Until these past two days I'd considered this an infection, especially post-doxy. But it doesn't feel like an infection. And I'm scared. Is this because I quit the Advair abruptly after long regular use? Have any of you had a similar experience. Can you discuss the effects of abruptly discontinuing Advair. Have you stayed off it. What's happened to your respiratory capacity. Have you any professional studies, trials or experience to recommend. Thanks.

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.

My diagnosis for needing this med was taccycardia, irregular heart beat, and now very slightly evalated blood pressure (that seems to bother me more than the DR says it should )I have been trying to find a new drug that doesn't interfer with my COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease...in other words trouble breathing) Most of the heart meds add to your symptoms causing thick phlegm to build up, or wheezing. Most of the side effects for Betaxolol did go away eventually. I had horrible anxiety that seemed to ache from the inside out - that has finally dissipated. Itching & irritability also went away. I don't sleep well on this med at all - find my self waking in the middle of the nite and can't get back to sleep. To reduce the breathing problems this med causes for my lung condition I have tried taking the drug every other day and I experience my heart bouncing around in my chest, squeezed throat, serious trouble breathing cause my lungs don't work when my heart rhythm is wacky. Of course nothing shows up on the 30 day Event Heart Monitor they put me on so I might as well talk to the moon. Boy would I love to hear from anyone with asthma, COPD, emphysema, etc that needs BP meds and what works for them!

1. Sciatic pain
2. Left leg is numb; tingling, burning, shooting pains
3. Foot pain/numbness
4. Constance shortness of breath/palpitations
5. Incident of high blood pressure
6. Weight Gain: Belly! Bloated appearance
7. Constipation
8. Fatigue
9. Periods of depression
10. Anxiety
11. Neck pain.
12. Coughing like choking

I only took Lipitor for 20 days but those were the worest twenty days of my life. And well be with me for ever. All the above started 3 days into taking the pill. One night after another one I was in so much pain. But worst of all I couldn't breathe. My back and neck hurt so bad. I couldn't lay down on my back and breathe. I felt like in one week I was finally going to die. after 20 days I threw the Lipitor away and went to the internet. Scared me to death, I called my Doctor. I went in for more test, he said I was just having a heart attack and put me into the ER. They said NO heart attack here and sent me home. $3000.00 for hospital and $900.00 for doctor's. And no one knew what was going on.
After four days I started feeling better but the breathing didn't get better. so went back to the doctor after two weeks. He said he read up on Lititor and it was a good thing "I" stopped. Lipitor will effect your muscles and the heart is a muscle. What the Lipitor did to me was trigger off COPD. He said I might of gotten COPD 10 to 15 (maybe) years down the road becuase I'am a X smoker but the Lipitor changed all that. Lipitor did nothing for me except to make my life harder on Oxygen. I'm only 59. Constance shortness of breath/palpitations for the rest of my life. Let me stress this I was totally in good health. Always had low Low Chocholesterol 120. But something else was a little high and Lipitor could lower it. GOOD Health. 20 pills trashed my life forever.