Hi all. I am a 37 year old female. I was diagnosed with severe ...

Hi all. I am a 37 year old female. I was diagnosed with severe asthma when I was 30. Nothing helped me, nothing! I was coughing blood, in and out of the hospital, had to leave my job and for two years resigned myself to knowing I was going to die sooner rather than later. It was a daily struggle just to walk through the house. Eventually a pulmonologist started me on Advair 50/500. Almost immediately my breathing became better. I had my life back. I had the energy to start my own business and am doing things I never thought was possible. Sure, I have experienced some of these side effects...weight gain, moodiness, leg cramps, slight swelling in my throat and a very annoying urge to constantly clear my throat. BUT...I AM ALIVE! I have read some of these other posts. If you can get by without the Advair then maybe it is not the best choice for you. If simply drinking enough water, as one stated, made me not have to use my albuterol, I would never even consider taking it. Hopefully someday there will be something better that does not have these side effects. But...until then, if you are like me, and need it to literally survive, then these side effects are worth living to spend another day with my family. Although, I will say that it is a shame that it has to be so expensive. Since there are people that need this medication to survive, they should come up with a better plan to lower the costs.