Spiriva symptoms and conditions

I have had COPD for years and treated with daily prednisone and Foradil but I wanted to come off prednisone so used Symbicort and Spiriva and was doing good until a new doctor put me on Advair 250/50 and my body went to h... I had terrible bronchitis with hacking cough for 5weeks, noise when on exhaling, severe leg pain, blurred vision, flu like symptoms and harder to breathe. Came off off Advair and felt better the next day. Saw another doc who yelled at me for stopping it but by the weekend I couldn't walk 5feet and this was using my oxygen machine. Stopped Advair and saw my regular doc so I'm back to my original meds and recovering. Yes, I think doctors get a kick-back and yes, there should be a class action suit.
Everyone......take charge of your own body!!!!!!

I have been on this about two or three months. In the last two months I developed hoarseness, laryngitis, and loss of voice. I sound like Mickey Mouse or like I have been sucking helium.

Any one else have these symptoms?

I also have powerful leg and foot cramps at night but may have had this before.

HELP

I have stopped for about 2 weeks now and no improvement. Anyone have an idea how long this could last? I need my voice for work.

HELP

This drug has not been properly examined in clinical trials. I will gladly suffer with allergies rather than suffer from anxiety and panic attacks caused by Singulair. It may be beneficial to some people, but not to me. Never again, Singulair.

I've had all these same symptoms at one point during the two years I've been taking Advair. I've had exercise induced asthma since I was 18 but I can still work out at age 38 regularly with the help of Albuterol/Proventil. I stopped taking Advair after I completed my last disk in Sept, 08. It all makes sense now after the fact from reading here. Firstly, I cant tell you how severe the muscle cramps were. No words can describe upper body cramping in every muscle that I endured for weeks (it felt like knives all over)!!! The same happened with my legs...the muscles became so tight they contorted! My Dr. gave me an m.r.i. took x-rays and several blood tests...even gave me an h.i.v. test because he had no idea what would cause all these symptoms. He said it was "complicated". The test results found nothing. All lof my symptoms are gone now that I've stopped taking it (mouth sores, bleeding gums, strange skin lumps, hair loss, dry eyes, swollen tongue feeling, lump in throat feeling, severe cramping all over my body for 3 weeks). The Dr. noted that I had gained 10lbs since my last visit. I told him, "I've barely been able to MOVE with this cramping much less exercise with my regular weekly routine!" "It even hurts to breath deeply!" I still have a dry cough that hasn't gone away and normally I clear up after the seasonal rag weed season is over. We have had two hard frosts already...that usually clears my allergies.

My uncle has COPD and takes Spiriva and Advair. He has had pneumonia since June 08 off and on through Sept. I've been concerned about this and have been reading up on Advair for people with COPD causing pneumonia. My question is what other choices does he have for medication if he stops taking the Advair? Does anyone know that has been through this? He is on oxygen all the time and his dose of Spiriva is 100/50. After reading the posts, I'm convinced his pneumonia is a result of the Advair.

While I am sure that Singulair has adverse effects for some children/teenagers/adults, I took Singulair for 2-3 years (until my asthma symptoms improved to the point where I didn't need to take it) while I was a kid and had no adverse side effects. Started back on Singulair in April after having severe reactions to my new puppy (I am now 21). Since then, I really haven't had any side effects at all. I agree that they should black box Singulair and possibly not prescribe it to some children/teens, but for some people (like myself), it works, and shouldn't be taken off the market 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!

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.

I have been taking Advair 500/50 for about two years ( I am now 60 years old,) to help control my allergy related asthma (that only presented itself when I had to take steroid eye drops for glaucoma.) While I had the hoarseness, dry mouth and occasional mouth sores, they seemed livable compared to uncontrolled asthma.

One morning about a month ago, when I was taking my normal AM puff, I suddenly felt as though a giant sledge hammer banged down on my head - pounding me into the floor - almost losing consciousness. Then, I experienced pounding, racing heart that felt as though it might jump out of my chest. I turned white and gray - my family and I thought I was having a heart attack.

I was terrified to take another puff - thinking it might be my last. Two days went by, when, I decided to experiment by taking a very light puff, barely taking any into my lungs. (I had been further scared by warning about suddenly going off steroids.) My doctor was out of the country and no one wanted the liability of advising me.

One hesitant puff of Advair caused the exact same pounding - heart jumping and racing reaction. I decided right then that I did not need further evidence to "pound into my head" that Advair was now toxic for me.

The odd thing is that my doctor seems to discount my experience by saying I am the only person this has ever happened to (implying there must be something wrong with me!) When I asked about the dangers and appropriate process for suddenly stopping steroids, she pooh-poohed my concern saying there are no side effects from inhalers with steroids. (Several nurses recently told me that was not necessarily true. Who knows what to believe!)

I have stopped Spiriva and Advair and have scheduled an appointment with a doctor and nurse practitioner who use diet, exercise and nutritional supplements to help treat asthma. A friend has gone to them for several years and is now off all asthma medication, has lost about 50 pounds, has improved health and looks 10 years younger! I can only hope this works for me!

I am also writing Advair manufacturer with my experience;copies to FDA. I can only wonder if there are others as 'rare' as me? If so, let it be known. thanks

I

I was on advair for almost two years, It worked wonderful for my breathing. I been battling chest pain, hip pain, skin rashes, short term memory loss/complex problem solving, severe calf pain when sleeping, and always feeling lazy. I been to three doctors about my problems and have ask if advair is causing my problems. They all said there is no way it is. I spend thousands of dollars trying to figure out what is wrong with me and the doctors and my wife think I making everything up, that it is in my head. Last month I thought I'll try to quit using advair. My chest pain has be occurring alot less, like once a week instead of 8 hours a day, my rash is gone, I still have light hip pain and haven't had any calf pain while sleeping yet. I just hope nothing is long term. My breathing is kind of bad now because I'm not taking anything but its better then ever the effects. Has anyone notice their cholesterol being higher on advair?

I started using Advair 2 months ago. I developed a serious and stubborn case of mouth Candida, joint pain and dizzy spells. My doctor just shrugged so I fired him and weaned myself off the drug. I just received an rx for Spiriva but after reading the fine print it appears to also cause mouth Candida as well as other problems. Any suggestions from anyone what I can replace the drug with would be helpful. I have COPD.

I am a 71 year old man with COPD (emphysema) My pulmonologist has prescribed Spiriva and Advair. I have taken Advair for over three years and Spiriva for about 18 months. Lately, I have experience a rapid heart beat (sometimes 138 bpm), problems with hoarseness, thick mucus in the throat, weight gain including an unpleasant, distended belly after eating, leg cramps at night, heartburn, dizziness and slow stream urination. I've been checked for prostate problems, the results of which were normal. My heart has always been healthy but lately with the rapid heartbeat, I've become very concerned. I am going to stop taking the Advair and see what the results are. The Spiriva seems to be doing a good job for me and I will continue with it since it is not a steroid.

I have allergic asthma/copd. I use 2 inhalers: Pulmicort and Spiriva. A recent visit to Ga. with exposure to the acrid smell of the smoke from the forest fires affected my breathing terribly.
Took Singulair for 10 days. My breathing vastly improved. However, on the 11th day, I awoke with severe leg cramps, toe cramps, and the beginning of a rectal irritation. Are these things a common occurence and why are they not mentioned in the official side effects listed.
I have stopped taking the Singulair. Is anyone else having these problems?

I have been on Advair 250/50 since it was allowed in the USA. I also take Spiriva. I told my pulmonary doctor last October that I would like a lower dosage. Now I am on 100/50. The side effects have not dimished and I am getting scared. My skin has aged and the forearms are like goosepumps. Just diagnosed with cataract in one eye and I was told I have severe osteoporosis. I have COPD, the reason for taking Advair. I now have HIVES. I do not suggest anyone try Advair. It is a killer. Tomorrow I have an appointment with my regular doctor for the hives and I am going to inquire about getting off Advair. I don't know if I need any other medication? I use oxygen at night when I go to bed (concentrator). When I was working I didn't need the oxygen during the day but I know I have a lot of anxiety which leads to depression. I have small canisters of oxygen in case I need it. When I get upset, I can use it but notice I recover on my own.

I have been on Advair for a total of about 5 months. I have experienced almost all of the various side effects that others have listed. I am just now realizing it was not in my head. I had the heavy chest feeling with pain that radiated into my left shoulder. My voice would give out before finishing a sentence and as someone else has already mentioned, it feels like something is stuck in my throat. I was exhausted and experienced pain in my neck and back. In spite of having excellent eye vision all my life I noticed I wasn't able to see clearly. Finally, I too had the ear thing going on. I would wake up in the middle of the night with severe pain in the ear I was sleeping on.

About one week ago I visited a pulmonary doctor. After a careful evaluation of my asthma, he promptly took me off the Advair. He prescribed a new medication that has worked wonderfully. It is NOT a steroid. In addition to this, I have noticed the side effects of Advair have completely vanished with the exception of my throat still feeling like something is stuck inside it. Although that too has gotten considerably better. This drug scares me! I don't recommend taking it without careful consideration. There are much better choices available!

after returning to Advair for breathing problems, (was on Spiriva) i have had several sever bouts of vertigo, plus my voice has become husky and increased phlegm. taken off spiriva due to contradicytion of other meds,

Lipitor has successfully controlled high cholesterol for about 2 years.
My recent diagnosis with Mitochondrial myopathy at age 54 leading to surgery for ptosis on both eyes was concluded after a year of various tests with cardiologists, neurologists and optical surgeons. There was no apparent cause and just my bad luck. No-one linked Lipitor with the symptoms experienced but I am now convinced that there is a link and intend to stop Lipitor treatment.
I suffer with tendonitis in my thumbs and elbow, have exercise intolerance, extreme tiredness, no libido, muscle aches, heavy head that neck does not support well, very sensitive to bright lights, occasional nosebleeds.
Can all this be merely a coincidence - I think not.
Happy to discuss further.

HAVE BEEN ON aDVAIR, sPIRIVA AND aLBUTEROL FOR 3 YRS NOW. have gained 40 lbs, exercise 5 times a week, walk,swim,aerobics.. no weight loss.. also diet. have shortness of breath all the time no matter what i do. chest pains, body itches everywhere all the time. doctors keep writing prescriptions and have no answers, so i ignore the new prescriptions and am now my own doctor. AFTER READING all of this, i just THREW out my Advair. the weight i gained is all in my stomach and i look like an old pregnant lady.. what a mess. i'm waiting for a Class Action Suit and it should be soon.. someone is going to pay for all of this. those doctors getting paid for writing RX's for money and gifts st our expense could go on forever. should be tarred and feathered.