Serevent symptoms and conditions

I am a 60 year old woman,and was on Singulair in 2000 for the treatment of asthma. At the same time I was put on inhalers Flovent and Serevent, taking the inhalers twice a day. Almost immediately, I began waking up at night, screaming my lungs out, having a very strong, vivid feeling that my heart had stopped, the blood was draining from my head and arms and this was my last breath and I was dead! It scared the hell out of me. After calming down I would go back to sleep and it would happen again. Sometimes it would happen 10 - 12 times a night, and sometimes even while I was awake. It wasn't a dream. It frequently was accompanied by a restless leg. I spoke to my allergist, my primary care doctor and a pharmacist, and all said it wasn't related to my drugs. I had a sleep test and woke up screaming my lungs out, scaring the night-shift technician, but nothing showed up on the tests. This went on for about 6 months, and then I quit taking the inhalers at night. My "night terrors" eased off a bit to only once every couple of nights, but didn't go away. I quit taking Singulair and Serevent after about 2 years, and only then did the terrors really subside. I had thought they were caused by the Serevent alone, but after reading these stories I suspect it was a combination of the 2 drugs. I still have the terrors a couple of times a year, generally preceded by a restless leg.

My daughter took advair. She was an asthmatic for years. Last April she had bronchitis, and went on prednisone, I don't believe they took her off the advair. She developed a severe septic pnuemonia, went to the hosp. on a Monday with body shutting down, kidneys involved etc. Wed. seemed to pass the crises, Sat, developed a staph, and died on April22. Ask your doctors and pharmicists, about this combination. I will always believe it was a contributing factor to her death.

I am a 45 year old woman. I have been on advair (it is called serevent in Australia) for about 2 1/2 years. I have noticed the following symptoms:
insomnia, headaches, weight gain, severe mood swings, chesty cough, sore chest, aches and pains all over and many more. Every time I would try to go off of it my asthma would seem to get worse so out of fear I would resume using it. I have now been off of it for 3 days and already I can feel the chesty cough starting to dry up. The irony is that I never had severe asthma, I was given advair because I got a very nasty flu and my asthma got worse. In hindsight I think it would have proably cleared up on its own. I would urge anyone to be very careful with this drug it is very, very dangerous!!!!

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...

Depression has followed each time I have added Serevent to my Q-var. This happened twice, each time about a month after I had added the Serevent, and disappeared when I stpped using it.

I have Cystic Fibrosis and am age 54 in a few months. I have cataracts and detaching vitreous, opthalmic conditions which are common to people 20 years older. The opthalmologist suggested that use of steroids over the years could have caused it. My use of steroids was very limited until age 40 when I started Flovent/Serevent inhalers. I believe the Advair, which became continuous use 4 years ago caused my eyes to degrade within one year of use. Please bring back Serevent and Flovent, and please discontinue powdered inhalers. That is in conflict with reactive airway disease in my opinion!!!

i was on advair for about 4 months, i too experienced many of the side effects mentioned.

i had hoarsenss, thrush, sores on my gums and tongue.
my body i experienced hip pain and immobility, arthritis in pinky. i am very active in sports, i noticed muscle weakness in my abdomen, i also noticed i couldn;t get ripped like i used to while on advair, and a sagginess and roundness to my face. also experienced back pain/ache due to the advair. i noticed i tended to get injured much more quickly. i felt i constantly had to exercise to maintain my strength.

also frequent urination and slow urination, dribble etc.

then i tried serevent and flovent, almost all the same symptoms, got off of that

also had sinus problems, , when i got off advair, it's been around 4-5 months the side effects are all gone.

right now , i'm not on any meds except albuterol inhaler, it's been tough, but i am experimenting with other alternatives.

I had sinus infections on a regular basis and refused to
take antibiotics any longer. I put up with the yukky nose
blowing daily. My doctor gave me Singulair 1 a day for a
week. Within on day, I had relief. My concern is>>>>
I also take Advair for my asthma. Both are a marvellous
drug but would be interested if there is any concern to
be using both.
I would not give up Advair as I was a chronic asthmatic
who was statis asthmaticus on several occasions. Yes I did
take Serevent and Flovent before Advair. I salute the doctor's
and especially the chemists who are able to give so many
relief from this horrible disease ASTHMA. I never thought I'd
live beyond 40 yrs of age because of this illness. I'm now 65
and many years ahead of me. Due to the severity of my illness, a sore throat, hoarseness, loss of smell and taste is
not a priority as I can breathe. Yes, thank you all the people
and companies trying to rid us of that terrible disease. I hope
a young child can be given something else to help him through this problem if side effects occur.

I have a lot of bruising on my arms and hands as a result of Advair. Also I have a severe rash on my back that started when i first started using advair. I discontinued advair and went on serevent for a bit and the rash went away. However i was always out of breath so i started back on Advair and the rash came back so I know it is a direct result of my using it. Another problem is loss of bladder control. On serevent I didn't have much trouble but now that I am back on Advair I lose control of my bladder

I too used to feel the imaginary impending doom and dread towards the future. I believe this was due to my extreme anxiety that was caused by Serevent in Advair.
Every little thing in my life became a production. Not only was I tired all the time but the muscle tension caused by the Serevent made things even more difficult.
I am in my late 30's but I began to feel old and run down.
ASMANEX has given me my life back. I feel young again and have so much more energy and the muscle tension is gone and the anxiety is gone.
When I was on ADVAIR I couldn't even have a Latte w/o feeling like I was going to take off like a rocket!
It is such a relief to be calm again---to be ME AGAIN!

This website is wonderful! I finally have peace thanks to being off Advair and knowing that all those dreadful symptoms were side effects of Advair.
I have been on ASMANEX now for 29 days and haven't misssed my life before on Advair. When I was on Advair, my asthma was not in control. I used my inhaler at least 2X/day, I was panting when I exercised, my asthma woke me up at night and my leg cramps kept me from falling asleep for many hours every night.
I was on Advair 250/50 and felt awful. I now take ASMANEX 220mcg only once per day; before I go to bed and my asthma is in control. I am taking 280 mcg LESS of steriod than when I was on Advair and no Serevent and I feel better than I ever have!
It's amazing b/c I tried Advair 100/50 and it didn't work for me at all but ASMANEX(mometasone) is much more effective.
I have been waiting for this drug to come on the market for some time (it is the same drug as Nasonex just like Flovent is the same drug as Flonase) b/c I have horrible allergies which flares my asthma and I have found that Nasonex (mometasone) was far superior for clearing nasal congestion than Flonase so I assumed it (Asmanex) would work great for asthma too and I was right.
As a matter of fact Nasonex works so well compared to Flonase that at the moment it is pollen season and I don't even feel like I have allergies. Now that is amazing.

I just recently came off Advair after 5 years of side effects, boy was I brainwashed! And a/o I am now taking Asmanex (corticosteroid) I began having withdrawal but I believe to the Serevent.
Until I read some posts here, I began to question what was going on with me. I thought at first it was withdrawal from Advair particulary the Serevent. But I just couldn't believe something we inhale could do that. But this inhaled drug did cause me and many others systemic effects.
The first couple of weeks off the Advair my anxiety was worse than when I was off the drug. Who thought that was possible.
And the most alarming withdrawal symptom was the tingling in my hands and feet.

I took Advair for almost 5 years and just recently decided the side effects just weren't worth it. With each year on Advair I developed more side effects. I knew I had to try some other medication and as the FDA put more and more warnings on Advair, I decided it was time to make my move.
Within the first 3 months of taking Advair I began having terrible muscle cramps in my calves which bothered me at rest, so it started taking longer and longer for me to fall asleep due to this pain. Serevent can deplete your body's level of potassium which these cramps are the result. What my doctor told me. I lived with these cramps b/c I thought the benefits of Advair outweighed this side effect. I was wrong. As the yrs went by these cramps got worse and worse and then the other side effects started showing up.
Advair had always made me hyper and increased my anxiety but the problem just started getting worse and worse. By last fall, I had horrible overbreathing like panting from any exertion even climbing a flight of stairs. My asthma was never that bad before.
I also developed a fast and irregular heartbeat, seemed to skip a beat and had hand tremors.
I recently started taking Asmanex and haven't ever felt better. My muscle cramps went away after 3 days off Advair and slowly the other symptoms went away as well.

Severe upper and lower extremity cramping, hair loss and mid-cycle bleeding. Took myself off the inhaler, went to the specialist and he tested my breathing. Only down by 5%. I now live with radial nerve tension in my forearms due to muscular cramping and mid-cycle cramping in my feet.

For information to the previous posts:

I have been off Advair now for 10 days (last post was on March 2). I switched to Qvar and it is working great. It took a week to get rid of the after affects of Advair - legs cramps, palpitations, nervousness, not sleeping at night.

For the last year and a half I wondered what the leg cramps were about; why I wasn't sleeping soundly at night (I thought it was pre menopause); all these different palpitations at various times; waking up in the morning feeling a "heavy" feeling. I also developed diabetes during this time. I really believe the Serevent in the Advair was doing a number on me.

I wrote to the FDA regarding this. On March 6, 2006 the FDA put out a new warning regarding Advair and Serevent (it's on the internet).

I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE TO TAKING ADVAIR OR SEREVENT. BUT SEE YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STOPPING SO THAT HE CAN PUT YOU ON ANOTHER TYPE OF ASTHMA MED. AND CHECK THE PRESCRIBING INFORMATION!!!

Been on advair for 1 1/2 years always had muscle cramps especially in feet and legs - leaped out of bed at night because they were sooooo bad. On each leg they were so bad the cramp indented my calf muscle and tore blood vessels and my legs were purple for about two weeks. I did not know it was Advair until.... February 28th sitting at my desk at work my heart went out of whack 160 beats a minutes...ambulance called...hospital ER doctor told me I had SVT (supraventricular tacycardia) told me to get off the Advair...scary situation...I reported it to the FDA (it is the serevent aspect of the medication that does this). Am now on Qvar.

My sister has also been taken off of Advair. I would recommend to anyone taking Advair to stop.

Hello my name is Tiffany, I have a 13 year old daughter whom is going through alot of issues and I now guessing it is all caused by advair not sure yet. My daughter suffers from Asthma, acid reflux, allergies since she was born, she was a premie and only seems to suffer with the asthma issues. She has gained over 60 lbs now weighing 204 from 160 last year. She is constantly complaining about back pain, phlegm in her troat, headaches, mentral cramps. can't sleep, now she seems to be going depression, the doctores wants her to see an therapist he wants to put her on lexipro. My god she is only 13 what is she depressed about, she is always nervous, and upsets easily. She missed over 40 days of school last year. Advair seems to be the only thing that has helped her breathing she has not had as many attacks but she is suffering in othe areas. What do I do. she has been on singular, flovent, provental, pretizone when she is suffering. She is on xopenex for her daily nebulizer treatment or when needed now. She takes flovent, allegra, advair 250/50, topanex for headaches, all of this daily. We are finally getting to a pulmonoligist this month hopefully he can relieve her of some of this medicine. I am going to do research on this serevent we have not tried that one yet. Now since she has been on the advair she has not had problems with her acid reflux. She did change her eating habits. Can someone tell me if they have childred suffering from this medicine as well.

Been on Advair for 10 months, and have gained 20 lbs since then!! Also experience sharp head pains, foot & leg cramps, short term memory loss, irritability and mood swings, increased menstrual flow, slow healing of wounds, etc. Main concern is rapid weight gain! I went to my dr today to discuss...she claims to be unaware of any of these side effects being related to Advair....she can't imagine weight gain as Advair is a powder that goes into just the lungs. My mid section is where I have gained mostly. After reading all the boards on different websites, I am surprised to see how many are experiencing the same side effects with Advair, & I am convinced that it is the cause. I asked dr to prescribe something else, & she did...asmanex & serevent....haven't tried it yet...but I now read that asmanex is also linked to weight gain. I feel so frustrated that I can't rely on my dr for this, & feel like I have to fiure it all out on my own. I'm scared to continue with these meds but I need something to keep my mild asthma under control....everyday. Can anyone recommend anything to me? Should I switch to non-steroid? Any feedback on Singulaire somethin similar? Any information will be helpful. Thanks!

Mona

I have been using Azmacort (Corticosteriod) for the treatment of my Asthma for over 8 years with great success. With the new laws elimating the use of CFC propellents by the end of 2005, I decided to go to my Allergist to discuss possible alternatives. She immediately prescribed Advair telling me that it contained both a Corticosteriod and a long acting bronchodilator (Serevent).

I started using the 250/50 Advair diskus and within a week was experiencing all of the symptoms describe by other users:

Stomach Bloating
Anxiety
Constant throat clearing
Hoarseness
Sleeplessness/Night sweats
Chest tightness
Worsening Asthma

I immediately went back to my Allergist the very next week and told her of the problems I was having. After a complete check-up, including a breathing test, I was told everything appeared normal and that there was no explanation for the problems I was experiencing. She reluctantly told me that I could go back to using the Azmacort, which I did, and all of the symptoms eventually disappeared within a couple of weeks.

I have been researching Azmacort articles and found that KOS pharmaceutical has acquired a 10 yr agreement to produce Azmacort, along with testing of non CFC propellents.

From my personal assumption, it appears that the Servent additive of Advair may have been the cause of my problems.

Also I have been wondering whether the diskus (powder) was effective in reaching my lungs, or was it just hitting the back of my throat and being ingested into my stomach causing both the throat and stomach problems I experienced.

One thing for sure, I will NEVER use Advair again.

my name is danielle. i am 29 and have had asthma all of my life, properly diagnosed by age two. i have been on many medications, and advair seems to be the only one that works for me. i use 100/50 once a day, because it does keep me up at night, and i already have troble getting to sleep. however, i do have side effects that until now i have disregarded, but upon reading this website, i feel that i am no longer alone, and that some of these side effects are not a part of life, but a part of the advair.
metal side effects:
irritabilty
aggresion
mood swings
depression
hard to concentrate
short fuse
stress
and the above mentioned insomnia

over the years i have been on many different steroids for my asthma, and the docs always said that that amount wouldn't
have side effects, and sent me to shrinks to be medicated. currently i have no insurance and am not taking anything besides advair and albuterol as needed.

physical side effects:
sore/scratchy throat
always have to clear throat before talking
hoarseness
sores on tounge
dry throat, mouth and nose
deeper voice
dental problems
a lot of these may be my fault because i never rinse my mouth after wards.

more side effects:
abdominal weight gain-no matter what i do
gas a lot!
constipation
blurry vision-i now need glasses
floaters
acne on face only ( i'm 29) and not only at that time of the month
dizzy spells on ocaasion (just last night in fact)
muscle cramps in upper back, shoulders and neck
chest pain/lung cramps-sometimes i think i am gonna have a heart attack, but then the pain goes away
i do notice an increased heart rate after taking advair. i had to give up caffeine so as not to make it worse.

i don't know if these side effects are due to the steriod or the serevent, which i read here is now being investigated. i am not sure what to do at this point. without medcation, i am sure to end up in the hospital emergency room. i have been on advair for going on three years. i am ready for a change. i tried not taking it today and my chest became tight. i had to give in. i know i should not wean myself off it anyway. i will make an appt. with a doc once i gather some research. what have other people done?? i am willing to try anything at this point. my email is ****** thanks for listening. i feel better already.

I am a 55 yr old female that has battled with asthma my whole life. In the more recent years, it seems to be more related to allergies, than the earlier years when I was more affected by temp changes and activity. I have used a form of albuterol in inhalers for years to control it. About 5 years ago my doctor put me on Serevent and Flovent. Last year he changed me to Advair saying it was the combo of the two of them. I have gained a lot of upper body weight in the last 5 years. I have never had a weight problem until now and can't seem to lose it. I have also developed high blood pressure and have to take meds for that and for "water weight", and joint pain and have to take meds for that. I stumbled onto this forum and it has been a real eye opener. I realize that some of this is due to my age and body changes but I now wonder how much has to do with the medications, particularly Advair. I wonder if I can drop the weight - and therefore lower my blood pressure and cholesterol and maybe lessen my joint pain if I stop the Advair? Has anyone experienced anything like this. My asthma was pretty controllable prior to Advair - Thanks for any info you may have.

Coughing at least 3 times during daylight hours.
Nights are horrible. I'm lucky if I get an hour of sleep before the coughing starts.
Have had a chest xray-negative
They have me on Serevent and two other inhalers.
Nose also dried out.
I am falling asleep 7:30pm some nights or as my husband is driving I will fall asleep.
It's been weeks now since I have slept in our bed the entire night.
My sister in law said to check side effects. I will be calling my doctor tomoorow.

Just wanted to add my comments on Singuair use...I am 64, suffered from asthma for the last 5 years..have taken Singulair for the past year along with Serevent, Azmacourt and Premarin.... The side-effects I have experienced are the cramping in my calves and feet at night if I have been on my feet a lot during the day. I have just stopped taking Premarin because I seem to be developing phlebitis in my leg veins. Singulair has really helped me avoid using Prednisone. I dont' know what is causing what, but my asthma has really been much more manageable thanks to Singulair.