Advair Diskus and sinus problems

I am a 51 year old female who has been taking Advair 500/50 for a number of years now. About a year ago I got a severe sinus infection and have been battling recurring bouts ever since like clockwork. I've lost my sense of smell and my voice sounds like I am sick 24/7. The ENT I went to was absolutely clueless on asthma and allergy medications and their side effects. She told me my sinus problems were caused by my allergies. They may have caused the problem but I should be healthy enough to recover in a week or two not a year or two!!! I have NEVER have a sinus infection before taking Advair. I also now have been diagnoses with Osteopenia and a recent blood test showed elevated blood sugar and cholesterol. My GP says it is a side effect of Advair. I have also recently went thru a barage of tests because of an irregular heart beat and palpitations. I am a triathlete and marathon runner, eat a healthy balanced diet and work hard at trying to keep my weight in check. There is no doubt in my mind that Advair is the cause of these health problems.
I decided to come off Adbvair cold turkey. For about a week I felt exhausted (an understatement). I did experience a few episodes of tightness in my chest but using a puff or two of albuterol was all I needed. I take peak flow readings ever morning and actually had some of my highest readings in months, after stopping. Best part of all, I am starting to get my sense of smell back and have been without symptoms of sinusitus for the first time in over a year!!! My energy is coming back. But the big test will be when I start back training at full throttle.
When I was prescribed Advair the only thing I was told was to make sure that I rinse my mouth out after taking it. No reason and no education on the short and long term effects. This forum is AWESOME!!! This is the first site that I have encountered that gave me honest hard facts and information I can work with. THANKS TO ALL who have posted!!!

Boy, after reading quite a few posts I wonder if my problems are linked to my advair use. I started about 2 years ago, 250/50 and have had to go to 500/50 during the spring-early fall because this is the time my allergies are the worst. I have year round allergies, highly allergic to weeds and grass pollen, also molds, cats, dust, etc. I started having problems when I was 15 with asthma, I am 30 now. I've been on multiple meds since I was about 20 for my asthma. During the winter I always have problems with chest congestion, coughing, and sinus problems. About 2 years ago these problems suddenly got a lot worse, and I could not get over sinus infections, I was referred to a specialist, they tried 3 different antibiotics, but as soon as I got off them my symptoms returned. I had a cat scan, and they found my sinus cavities were terrible, full, swollen, etc. He reffered me to another specialist, who I think is awsome. They changed my asthma meds, back to singular, q-var inhaller twice a day, and advair twice a day. My asthma is better, my sinus problems got better and I was able to have sinus surgery about 16 months ago which Greatly improved my problems. I started allergy shots about 1 year ago. Since July of this year I have been having strange problems, which I think are caused by the advair. Lots of times I shake for a few hours after taking my advair and q-var, for the last few months the shaking has gotten worse. In July I suddenly started having problems sleeping, my legs and arms move involuntarily - most of the time violently thrashing around while I am sleeping. I am always tired, and since July I now have severe tiredness in the day, especially while driving, I have to fight falling asleep! Very concerning to me since I have a 6 and 3 yr old, and the 3 yr old is always with me when I start to get to tired (exccessive daytime sleepiness). The leg and arm movements are called Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, similar to Restless Leg Syndrome, but PLMD is usually only during the night, and you don't feel like you have things crawling up your legs or the constant need to move. My symptoms have grown increasingly worse, I had all types of blood work done 2 months ago, nothing was found to be wrong. I've tried different chiropractors, stretching my back/legs before bed, less caffine, etc. But nothing has helped. I started taking Requip about 6 weeks ago, increased the dose about 2 weeks ago, but still having problems. I have had leg and feet cramps for the last month, almost daily, and have periodic leg shakiness during the day, like I have worked out really hard, but I have been sitting! I noticed that Advair lists sleep disorders as a side effect, but doesn't specify what types. I will definately be talking to my doctor about weaning off and stopping advair!
Thanks for having this site and for sharing!